DAY 65: HAWKESBURY TO MONTREAL, 113 KM

5 August 2007

Today's ride was absolutely amazing. We finally crossed the border into Quebec, and rode along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. Quebec is filled with cyclists, which is so nice to see! We were taking a highway that followed the river to a town called Oka, where there was a ferry that would take us back to the south side. On the way to Oka, we ended up racing a group of cyclists on nice road bikes, carrying no weight, and we beat them! It was such a rush, and we felt quite pleased with ourselves.

On the other side of the river, we cycled for about 10 km and met up with Matt so he could lead us right into Montreal. Matt hadn`t taken this route before, and it was meant to be quite confusing. Luckily, as he was trying to figure out which way to go, two cyclists stopped to talk to us, and ended up leading us right through the confusing part into the city. Carol and Tina were both really excited that we were cycling across Canada, and were both so nice. Carol was a super athlete--she`d completed two Ironmans, and placed 10th in her first one! It was amazing to meet Carol and Tina, and they really simplified our ride into the city!

Montreal is an awesome place for cycling--it`s covered in kilometres of bike paths, and so many people use them. Toronto should follow its example! On the ride to Matt`s house in Westmont (in central Montreal), we had our first fall of the trip. Matt had unexpectedly slowed down, and I didn`t realise this until it was too late. I rode into Matt, and fell right over. Luckily, I fell on grass, and didn`t even get a scratch.

When we finally arrived at Matt`s house, we were thankful for the showers and the excellent feast that Matt`s mom, Janet, had prepared for us. There was chicken and potatoes and tabouleh and all sorts of wonderful salads--perfect for us hungry cyclists! Later on, Matt`s dad, Jim, drove Dan and I downtown and we checked out some of the outdoor festivals that were going on. We were exhausted after all the walking around and the hard bike ride, and we were happy to go to sleep in a bed, rather than our tent.