It is actually Tuesday the 10th as I write this. We got into Montreal just a bit after noon yesterday but the hostel we are staying at does not offer WiFi so I couldn’t update the blog. This morning we are sitting in a diner in the downtown business district having a very leisurely breakfast, handling all of our email both personal and business, and finally updating the blog.

To back up a bit, we left St Jean yesterday morning along Route Verte 1 which was a path along the Chambley Canal. Sometimes it was paved and sometimes it was crushed stone. Other than riding through a couple of clouds of huge unidentified insects, it was a quiet, peaceful way to start the day. The route can be a little bit tricky to follow when it makes its way through towns, but for the most part it is well signposted.When we were in Longueuil and Saint-Lambert, just across the river from Montreal we did have a bit of difficulty. In Longueuil the path spilt and there was no sign to indicate which way we should go. We had a 50 / 50 chance of picking the right way, so of course the branch we chose soon ended at a housing development and we had to turn around and go back.

In Saint-Lambert we were on the path until we reached some road construction that had the path blocked, and we soon lost the detour. We simply kept moving further upstream and cutting back towards the river, repeating this several times until we finally found ourselves past the construction and back on the bike route. Our route took us through the Parc Jean Dapreau and across the Pont de la Concorde, which was a nice entry into Montreal. Then it was a quick climb up Peel Street and a left past the Centre Bell — home of the Montreal Canadiens — to the hostel.

As we sit here eating breakfast this morning, we are debating whether we should continue on to Quebec City or start heading back towards Boston from here. It took us a couple of days longer than originally planned to reach Montreal. We should have enough time to go to Quebec, but it adds a bit of pressure to get back home by a reasonable date. If we skip Quebec and head home from here we would have the luxury of a day off someplace if we get tired or we run into weather not conducive to riding. We will make the decision in a few minutes. In the meantime, so long from Montreal.

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