Finally...

It’s the perfect weather for a bike ride. After the snow and ice in March, the rain and gales in April, we have a beautiful sunny still day. There’s just one thing missing…

Stuart

He went to the dentist on Thursday for a tooth extraction, and only after the tooth was taken out did the dentist mention that he should do absolutely no exercise for 3 days! So our plans for a long bike ride to St Sauveur (stay over at a friends cottage and return on Sunday) have to be radically changed.

I’m cycling on my own on Saturday! I decide to take the nice easy option of the 60km ride to Pointe Claire and back.

The first part of my journey is along the Maisonneuve bike path. A path through the centre of Montreal, which has many many traffic lights on it. I am one of the very few Montreal cyclists who stops at red lights, so this path causes me a few issues. All is not well with my cleats today. Somehow, every time I approach a red light and need to unclip my cleats they get stuck. This causes a few nerve wracking moments, since if you don’t unclip fast enough you slowly start to tip to one side and with no foot to stop a fall, things could get nasty.

My sticky cleat issues lead me to develop a new unclipping method – I shake my whole leg from thigh to toe, whilst crying out in panic. Probably not as effective as a sharp twist and pull from the ankle, but after many red lights, I have my leg shake/strangled cry manoeuvre down to a fine art.

Next onto the bike path by Lachine canal, I am determined to work on my speed today. I am overtaken by a girl who is doing just over 20 km/hr. I tuck in behind and keep up, she slows, I overtake and she keeps up with me. This continues on for a few km. Things are going well. Just one problem, since I don’t know her, I can’t shout “can we stop and take a picture of that puppy”!

I am pleased to arrive at Pointe Claire at 8.55am, and after a quick visit to the bike store, I treat myself to a latte and a chocolate croissant. Sadly, I have to take my Billie No Mates picture using the self timer on my camera!



I get home at 11.40 am. Having set off at 7.05 and had a 1hr 5min break, that’s an average speed of 17 km/hr, my best yet. Hmm – I wonder if it’s Stuart that’s slowing me down!


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