Hub on Wheels

It's 21st Sept and Stuart and I have hired a car so we can drive to Boston to do the Hub on Wheels ride.

We still get a buzz every time we drive out of Montreal when we see the sign that shows us we can actually drive to the US!

We spend an hour and a half waiting to cross the border (ok driving can have its downsides too) so by the time we are State side it is almost time for lunch.  This gives us the excuse to stop in St Albans, Vermont! I've always wanted to visit as this is the name of my home town in the UK.  I smile to myself as we pass the "Historic" St Albans sign.  I can't resist asking the waitress how old the city is - about 200 years she replies.  I tell her that my St Albans originates from about 200 AD.  I don't think she comprehends my answer! (having just checked wiki, I find that the Roman settlement was even older, but St Alban himself was actually beheaded there in AD 324, so I wasn't far off for a wild guess!) I see the house prices in the window of a realtor - $149,000 for a detached plus 1 acre, and compare them to prices at an estate agent back home. £525,000 for a 3 bed semi! 

But enough about St. Albans!  We have friends waiting in Boston!  We meet up with Nathanial and Ann from Boston and Mark from New Jersey all of whom we have met on previous rides, plus Richard and Jackie from Edinburgh who we cycled with in the previous week on the P'tit Train du Nord. We arrive a  little late, for a great meal at Massiminos! 

 

Last year, Nathaniel said we should try the cannolis at Mike's Place, as they were the best in town, but the queue was so long we gave up!  This year we persevere, despite another around the block queue. It's been a long wait, but when I finally get my cannoli it doesn't disappoint!

 

 The weather forecast in the run up to Sunday, was pretty much cloudless skies and sunshine for the week before the ride, rain on Sunday and cloudless skies and sunshine for the week after the ride.

Damn the forecasters they were right!

Sunday morning we wake up to torrential rain.  We'd left the bikes in the car overnight, so whilst Stuart reassembles them, I wait in the car! (it doesn't make sense both of us getting wet!!!)

 

I'd be lying if I said the rain didn't dampen spirits, numbers were significantly down on last year.

 

Undaunted Richard, Jackie, Stuart and I are looking forward to the ride

 

 

 

On the map below there's a 50 mile route in red, which Stuart, Nathanial and Mark are planning to ride, and a 30 mile route in orange for Richard, Jackie and myself (I'm feeling lazy, and quite frankly worn out, work is intense and I have just found out my iron levels have plummeted to 6 (transfusion levels!) which explains a lot about my recent fatigue!

 

Here we are getting ready to take the separate routes

 

 

The ride around Boston is beautiful, it's a year since I'd been to the city and I'd forgotten how lovely the city is. 

 

 

 

Jackie points out the contrast to Montreal.  Boston is so clean and graffiti free, it really does make Montreal look scruffy (but I still love Montreal despite it being a bit shabby round the edges, and in the middle, and underneath.....!) In Boston the buildings are a delightful mix of wooden Coloniale and Brownstones and I forget to take any pictures (sorry!) but I do manage a picture in the park!

 

The parks are wonderful to cycle through and the roads very smooth and pothole free.  However, I had also forgotten how much of the ride was on roads that have not been closed to traffic.  I love doing city rides, when the cars are completely excluded, it feels so safe, so it's a bit disappointing to have cars on part of the route.

We have agreed to meet up at the final rest stop - Carson beach.  After waiting half an hour, Richard and Jackie decide to finish the ride, so they can return their rental bikes.  I wait for the boys to catch up and magically the sun turns up and stays with us for the rest of the day!

 

I wait and I wait.  Am I really that speedy now?  No!  Stuart had two punctures on the way round.

 

As we head back round to the finish, we have to stop at a particularly scenic photo spot to remind ourselves that our good friend Catty from Australia should have been with us!   She did the Hub on Wheels ride with us last year and we have a photo in the exact same spot with her last year.

Stuart and I are the last to arrive, and it was quite easy to find Richard and Jacky - they were in the beer tent!

 

 

Sadly, Anne couldn't ride with us, due to a hand injury, which was a great shame, as I had particularly enjoyed riding with her during the training for "The Ride"

 

See earlier blog

 

 

 

 After such a rainy start who would have thought it could have ended up such a lovely day!

 

 

 

P'tit Train du Nord - Val David to St Jerome

Our last day today, and we need to get back to St Jerome by 1pm.  Plans are made to breakfast at 8am and depart at 9am.  Unfortunately, breakfast is not served until 9am!  This adds a certain pressure to put some pace on as we ride.  The scenery that we ride past is particularly pretty this morning, with Autumn colours beginning to show.  Eventually the need to take a picture is too much and we stop for a break.

 

The final station before St Jerome is called Provost 

 

and we stop to buy a post card 

 

We also  find that they are selling fresh out the oven chocolate muffins ( these didn't survive long enough to be photographed!)

Amazingly we get back to St Jerome by 12.30.  Today much of the ride is downhill, there was a tailwind and the asphalt track was pretty good, these factors all may have helped!

 

 On the bus home it seems that the riding has taken its toll!

But overall a great holiday with great group of people!  
(Richard, Jackie, John, Sarah, Stuart, Sally, Mary, Chris and myself!)

 

 

Thanks to Stuart for organizing!

 

P'tit Train du Nord - Mont Tremblant to Val David

When we leave the Onwego Auberge the weather forecast is grim and the outlook threatening.

 

 

However, it's not long before the sun comes out and rain jackets are removed and sunscreen applied

The ride is truly beautiful as it passes by the lake

We find an interesting sculpture by the path, and Richard and Jackie investigate the heart shaped padlocks hanging from the tree.

We also take the chance to pose on a white carriage parked nearby, which was particularly rickety, but somehow survived ( we decided that it probably couldn't take all 9 of us sitting on it!)

At one point along the trip some cycling stretches turn more into ballet manoeuvers.

And John and Sarah demonstrate a lift that Sarah remembers from her childhood ballet lessons 

The ride today was about 50km and it felt like the first 30km were uphill.  Not serious hills, just a slow steady climb.  Fortunately, the weather remained good for most of the day, but for the last 15 minutes of the ride the heavens opened.  As we enter the village of Val David this is the only bear that we saw on the trip.

Our stopping point for this evening is Prema Shanti, a funky looking hotel by a lake. 

We manage to dry off, but forego the lovely outdoor seating areas for a dry beer inside the hotel.

 

We watched another lovely sunset from indoors!

Although the hotel was very picturesque and a served a lovely meal in the evening, we feel they have to lose a point for the great pudding debacle.  Instead of asking everybody which of the 3 desserts on offer they would like, the hotel staff delivered to our table 3 portions of each type of dessert.  If this is a Canadian thing, then don't do it to British people, they don't like it!

P'tit Train du Nord - Nominingue to Mont Tremblant

A beautiful start to the day!

 

Whilst the weather forecast is not perfect the outlook is good.

Breakfast is served in a small building to the side of the auberge.  When we enter we ask where the menu is.  The owner says there is no menu, we can have whatever we like, he has everything!  Now that's my kind of breakfast!

 

After  yesterday's spectacular navigational error, Stuart and Chris use Stuart's schoolboy compass to ensure we are heading in the right direction!

 

Although we are expecting to head due south at all times, we find that this really isn't the case when we consult the map

 

We have decided to schedule a coffee break at Rivière Rouge and when we arrive all we can find is a roadside cafe.  Despite orders of Americano, Regular Coffee, Cafe-au-lait and a Latte we all end up with exactly the same - cups of filter coffee plus a carton of milk to share!  

 

Due to a huge stroke of luck the only rain of the day starts whilst we are drinking our coffee and ends before we set off again!   Almost as if we had planned it!

 The weather brightens up enough to enable removal of rain gear, for some photo opportunities on a bridge.

 

Along the route many of the old stations have been preserved,  we arrive at Labelle station at lunch time.

 

Some of the stations have been converted to information centres or museums, but luckily at this station we find that it has been converted into a restaurant!

 

Sarah  has her first beer of the week, I think that she enjoys it!

 

When we arrive at the next Auberge we now have fantastic weather !

 

Which is just as well, as there are so many fun things to do in the water

 

 

As the sun goes down, we all gather on the deck and are treated to a spectacular sunset