At the instigation of Louis Rubenstein, a triumvirate of members (Louis, Laura Snowball and G. T. Bishop) embarked on a fixture ride to investigate the status of the REM construction in the West Island. Louis requested the flag bearer to plan out a route starting at the EXO station at Ste. Anne de Bellevue and meandering back towards Montreal following the elevated spur from Ste. Anne.
G. T. proposed the following route that would take in as much of the elevated portion of the line as possible and then end up at Eduard Montpetit station:
The members joined together on the EXO train bound for Ste. Anne with Louis and Laura embarking at Montreal West. Within very short order, Louis was proposing the first deviation to the planned route when he suggested that we should depart the train at Baie d'Urfe or go on to Ile Perrot since there were too many stairs at the Ste. Anne station to manhandle a bike down.
Ile Perrot was chosen by democratic vote as the new starting point as it would provide a scenic ride over the bridge back into Ste. Anne. We checked with the conductor about our choice and he advised that it would be no problem but we had to make sure we were in the last 2 1/2 cars to get off at Ile Perrot because of the short platform. With hardly anyone on the train, the conductor found lots of time to chat with us about life on the rails and before we knew it we approaching Ile Perrot and needed to shuffle Louis' and Laura's bikes to the right location one car back (where G. T.'s bike was already properly sited).
The conductor evenly kindly helped Laura descend her bicycle and we were ready to start riding.
Laura expressed the desire to take chemin Senneville as she had not ridden that stretch before so we were quickly into our second deviation but all members were happy to take it on and enjoy the fall colours and the dream mansions.
Chemin Senneville is not all mansions, though.
A right turn at l'Anse a L'Orme and we were finally heading towards our planned route and our meeting with the REM.
The above photo might have been the last evidence of Louis on this world as he decided to engage one of the construction workers and then proceeded to walk under a load being suspended by the crane! Fortunately, the crane operator thought better of lowering his load at that moment and the amount of paperwork it would involve so Louis remained with us.
Louis kindly offered to take a picture of G. T. with the support columns in the background.
Well, once he figured out how to work an Android phone.
As we prepared to continue on our way, Laura suggested that riding along beside the 40 looking at one identical column after another might not add much to our understanding of the REM network and proposed a further deviation to our route by doubling back and picking up the bike path just north of us. This excellent idea was passed by unanimous acclaim and we did a short return to pick up the Timberlea Trail running along the hydro lines.
As it was getting near on lunchtime, the members looked for a 'Red Zone' suitable location to stop for a socially distant break.
After a short pleasant stop in the sun with the suburban sound of lawnmowers humming in the background, we prepared to continue on our way. Hold that. To continue on Louis' way. Deviation number...oh, who knows by now; Louis was adamant that we should feast eyes on the monstrosity that is the Du Canal EXO station way down in Lachine so, with Louis now taking the lead, we headed towards boulevard St. Jean and a short ride along the sidewalk to keep away from the speeding vehicles heading to and from the 40. This choice did give us one last look at the dream system rising from the ground that is the REM.
One can't help but wonder how many pedestrians and cyclists are going to be drawn to the REM with widely spaced stations in the West Island, and bordering a major highway on one side and shopping centre parking lots on the other. Will there even be bicycle infrastructure leading to these stations?
South of the 40 and Louis in his 'hood, the members wound their way through the suburban streets until they reached the next barrier of the 20. But Louis knew all the nooks and crannies, and found a way past...under at Pine Beach (with no stairs!).
Once again astride our bicycles, we followed Louis towards his nightmare EXO station at Du Canal with a couple of brief stops; one for the call of nature at Dorval Gardens Mall and one to ponder the tenuous nature of this world at the Lachine dock where a tragic accident had occurred recently when a driver somehow managed to reverse his vehicle off the dock and into the water.
Sobered by these thoughts, the members continued on with the nice sun lightening their mood with each pedal stroke. Laura suggested that we should continue along the shore but Louis would not be deterred. We had to see Du Canal!
Once on scene, it does boggle the mind to consider that this arrangement is the best the authorities could come up with especially given the nice, gentle roadway beside it that, for some reason, can only be used for emergencies.
Oh, the inanity of it all. Who could not understand that it would make a man's blood boil.
Damn you, EXO mandarins, building stations with stairs. Damn you, REM oligarchs, building stations to nowhere! Just listen to Louis!
Ahem, the member's ride was almost finished but there was one last obstacle to surmount: Deadman's Hill!
It took some huffing and puffing; and a bit of walking but no dead men were claimed this day.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable and interesting day. The members went their separate ways at the top of the hill.
Total distance varied for each member but was somewhere between 50K and 55K.
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