Vale Joe Cooper

Our dear friend and neighbour in Heathcote passed away early on Wednesday morning AEST (25/7/2018) at the age of around 90 years – he was never that sure of his birth date. We met Joe right after we moved in to our Heathcote house, and he became our weekend visitor, usually dropping in for a coffee and chat on Sunday mornings. He lived life on the edge, and in his later years when his body could no longer keep up with him, he lived vicariously through the exploits of others. He had a keen and inquisitive mind, a sense of wonder about the world around him, and a real soft spot of animals, especially cats. Many of our family and friends met him over the years. There’s a big hole in Kilroy Street now, and it is going to be dreadfully quiet come 10am the first Sunday we are back and he is not at the front door looking for a coffee.

Bike trails all the way to Montreal: beautiful canal paths

It’s an early call, but I’ve got to hand it to Quebec. They have bike infrastructure nailed.

After a huge breakfast at Le Bonnes Soeurs (enough to keep two cyclists going all day) we hit the bike trail for the 50km trip to Montreal. From Saint Jean, we follow La Route Verte 1, which takes us along the Chambly Canal.

Once a major commercial route, and part of a waterway between the Saint Lawrence River in Canada and the Hudson River in the United States, this canal has been a recreational route since the 1970s. Around 45 vessels pass through the canal each day during the summer, keeping the lock-keepers busy.

The large vessels get through some fuel. One lock-keeper we spoke to told us he used to work at a boat fuelling station. It cost $3,500 to fill one of the tanks, and the big vessels have multiple tanks!

For cyclists, this is a lovely path. Mostly hard packed dirt, with occasional sealed sections, the track runs along the canal to Chambly, passing by lock stations where you can get a good view of the operations.

From Chambly, we weave through town a little before hitting the dedicated bike track that takes us most of the way to Montreal. The bike lanes in towns are extraordinary – separated, two-lane paths running along the side of the road in most cases. We feel pretty welcome here. Car traffic is great as well with most drivers giving us right of way at intersections, waving us through the four-way stops, even though it would be quicker for them to take priority.

Entering Montreal is pretty spectacular. We cross over Pont Jacques Cartier, in our own special bike lane, catching some great views over Montreal. Getting up and over the bridge is the hilliest part of today’s ride.

We’re a little early for our AirBNB, so we stop for an ice cream in nearby Boulevard Saint Laurent, where we are overlooked by a giant Leonard Cohen mural.

You’ve got to love a city that loves Leaonad Cohen. After dropping our stuff off at our apartment in The Plateau district, we take a stroll into town, and end up having a beer in Rue Crescent, where there is another incredible mural monument to the great man.

Stats for today:

• Distance: 51.44km
• Climb: 151m
• Average speed: 17.3km/h
• Average temperature: 30C
• Moving time: 2:58:47
• See our ride on Strava

The beer picture

At the end of a day’s ride, our tradition is to enjoy a beer, and to photograph it for posterity. Today’s beer picture was taken at 3 Brasseurs brewery in Rue Saint Paul.

Along the way today: