Montreal and Véloroute Gourmande – Day 2

We met for breakfast on the second floor at 730. It was self serve – from getting plates from the cupboard, cold things from a fridge, and a small buffet of cold items. After eating we loaded the dishwasher, and went back to the room so I could plan a route and we bundled up for the 3° morning. We dressed in layers as the high was predicted to be 12°.

Here we are ready to go.

Cindy arranged to meet a friend, who works in Gare Windsor, the old train station, midmorning. I saw pictures of Beaver Lake on Mont-Royal last week showing the autumn foliage so we started by riding up to the top. It was challenging, but doable.

There is so much low rise medium density housing in Montreal. These are very typical  housing forms here.

This is Beaver Lake at the top of Mont-Royal. The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. He also designed Central Park in Manhattan, and created a park and Parkway system in Buffalo.

A little more climbing and  we reached the Kondiaronk Belvedere. Designed by Olmsted, and built in 1906, the semicircular plaza has a chalet and overlooks downtown Montreal. It was named for Huron chief Kondiaronk, who forged peace between the French and Indian tribes in 1701. The views are spectacular.

I thought it would be downhill after that but we still had some climbing to do before an awesome descent.

Part way down was another lookout, this time to the east, from which we could see Olympic Stadium.

From this vantage point we could see how high up we had just been. The monument is of Sir George-Étienne Cartier, a Father of Confederation.

Montreal has many bi-directional cycle tracks. It is one of the best cities I have experienced for cycling.

I love the cladding on the Hotel St Germain.

This is The Ring in Place Ville-Marie (PVM).  It is an art installation symbolizing the connection between “Montreal, PVM, Montrealers, and visitors from around the world.”  It was designed by the internationally renowned Quebec creator Claude Cormier and his landscape architecture and urban design firm CCxA. It is 30 metres in  diameter and suspended at the main entrance to  PVM . Cormier also designed the relatively new Love Park in Toronto where there used to be a highway ramp.

The courtyard of Gare Windsor, the old train station, which now houses offices, has a glassed in workspace. It is next to The Bell Centre where the Montreal Canadians play.

After coffee, a visit with Tushita, and a tour of her office, we rode along another bi-directional cycle track to Bonaventure Park.

Bonaventure Park was created on the site of the former elevated Bonaventure Expressway. The road is now at grade. There is a playground, public art, exercise, equipment, benches, ping-pong tables, and a bike share station. More than 300 trees and 30,000 shrubs and perennials were planted.

There are two of these sculptures, called Dendrites, by Michel de Broin.

This is  “Source” by Jaume Plensa, a 35-foot-high sculpture, weaving characters from eight different alphabets symbolizing cultural diversity and the roots of the city.

Next we wanted to visit Jean-Drapeau Parc on St Helen’s Island, the site of Expo 67. We had cycling infrastructure the whole way. Where it was under  construction, there were well marked detours.

We passed Habitat 67,  a famous housing complex, designed by Moshe Safdie for Expo 67.  It was an experimental project that aimed to combine the benefits of suburban homes—like private gardens, fresh air, and privacy—with the density and efficiency of urban apartment living. It is made up of 354 prefabricated concrete modules stacked in irregular patterns to form 148 apartments, each with its own terrace. The modular, Lego-like arrangement creates a visually striking, futuristic look and gives every unit unique layouts and views of the St. Lawrence River.

There was a cruise ship docked at the cruise terminal in the port of Montreal across from Habitat 67.

We rode across Pont de la Concorde, a relatively flat bridge to Parc Jean-Drapeau, which includes the Expo 67 site, and the Gilles Villeneuve F1 Circuit, which has lovely smooth pavement and is free of cars, most of the time. We rode the circuit.

Then we stopped at the Biosphere, which was the American pavilion at Expo 67 designed by Buckminster Fuller. In 1976, a fire destroyed the acrylic covering, leaving only the steel skeleton. The structure was repurposed and reopened in 1995 as the Montreal Biosphere, an environmental museum, dedicated to ecological and climate issues. The museum is closed for renovation right now.

This sculpture is via Alexander Calder, and is entitled Trois Disques.

This is the view across the river from Trois Disques to Old Montreal. 

We had lunch at a cafe in the park. It was a bit pricey, but the portions were large and the food reasonably good. The patio was sheltered, sunny and and a perfect temperature.

We rode back over the Jacques Cartier bridge, which is quite a climb, but has a separated multi use path, and a viewing spot near the apex.

From there we rode up a fairly steep, but not overly long hill to Le Plateau neighbourhood.  Parc la Fontaine is large and car free. 

We then had a quick stop at Vélo Québec – Maison des cyclistes. There is a coffee shop, pamphlets about cycling and a Vélo Quebec representative who can help plan cycling trips.

We stopped nearby at C&L Cycle. They sell Bassi bikes, which have steel frames, and are made in Canada.

Last night Cindy showed me a picture of this bird eating a french fry, which she saw on a previous trip. So we had to stop and take a picture when we passed it.

Even though it doesn’t look it in this picture, the bi-directional cycle track on Rue Rachel was very busy. Cyclists seemed to come in clumps.

We spotted a great cycling mural just as we approached the intersection where we finished our descent from Mont-Royal this morning. 

This time we rode around Mont-Royal rather than over it, passing thought the University of Montreal. This parking garage was interesting. It appeared to have angle parking with each angled projection from the structure containing one car.

And here we are back at Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mont- Royal. It was awesome weather for riding and Montreal is such a great city to ride in.

Dinner was late and light, given the large late lunch we had. It was also cheaper.