Montreal to Frankfurt: Biking and Smoked Meat

September 1, 2015

Today was our final day in Montreal. We packed up in the morning, and got everything organized for our flight. We were so fortunate that our Air BnB host, Serge, let us keep our bikes and panniers in the apartment for the day. This made a huge difference to us as our flight doesn't leave until 9:25 PM tonight. I am typing this from the departure lounge at the airport.

Mark arrived and we made plans to rent bikes for the day. We gave some consideration to the Bixi bike system here, but bikes must be docked every thirty minutes, so it wasn't really user friendly for what we wanted to do. Bixi is the public bike system. You buy a daily, monthly or seasonal pass and pick up a bike at one docking station, then drop it off at another. They are, great, but most suited to short trips. Mark has a station right outside his apartment, and another right outside work. Perfect, until the snow flies. The system shuts down on November 1 for the winter. We rented great bikes, at a shop called DYAD (dyadcycles.com). Mine was what I would call cruiser style, and I really enjoyed it. I wanted to ride without a helmet (in true Montreal fashion) but Keith said safety first, and that was that.

Today was gorgeous weather wise. Warmer than it has been. I believe it got up to 30 degrees C. Still, all in all, Montreal is pretty flat, so it just felt lovely and warm. We rode through Outremont and I loved the beautiful homes. We took quite the route as we all forgot to bring a map. Honestly! Mark and Keith had duelling phones going and we eventually achieved the first goal, the Oratoire. The building and the views were really impressive. So were the people running up and down the many stairs for exercise. That would be quite a workout.

Then we jumped on the separated bike route and headed down to the waterfront. There is a controversy in Victoria right now about building a two way bike lane on a one way street. I wish I could beam in the council members to see how well it works in Montreal. It simply didn't seem to be a problem. We swooped our way down to the waterfront and explored. There was the obligatory ice cream stop.

Once headed back to Blvd. St. Laurent we settled on the famous Shwartzes for a late lunch/early supper. I am not usually a smoked meat fan, but oh my goodness, I am a fan of this smoked meat. We had their famous sandwich and a giant pickle. Yum yum. The atmosphere of the place is pretty perfect too, and lucky Mark, it is just down the street from his apartment. It was a great way to spend the last of our visit with Mark.

We had arranged for our cab driver with the van to pick us up at 5:30 and he was right on time. I was pretty blue saying goodbye to Mark. We got to enjoy rush hour traffic out to the airport, and Mike, our driver, made the trip go quickly with his knowledge of the city and stories. Once we arrived everything went smoothly. We were surprised that the bike boxes had to be opened, but it wasn't a big deal. It did seem odd to us though, that little wee Victoria Airport has a scanner big enough for them, but great big Montreal airport doesn't. Security was straightforward, and quick. Fingers crossed we get some sleep on the flight.

The Oratoire. It was beautiful. If you like, you can run up stairs all the way to the dome. How about that for a hill run!

The gardens surrounding it were beautiful and meticulously maintained.

The dome was completed in the 1930's and I liked the interior.

DYAD Cycles. They rent scooters as well.

Yummy smoked meat sandwiches. I have helmet hair, a mouth full and Mark looks quite serious.

Getting our luggage tags and printed copies of our boarding passes.

Opening the boxes at security. The guys were great.

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 35 km (22 miles)

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