Le Petit Train de la Perfection

 It turned out that some of the early morning stalwarts were under the weather following their second vaccine dose so it was only Dorothy Cole and G. T. Bishop who took up the mantle for today's Fixture ride from St. Jerome to Val David.

After embarking on the slow train to the North, Dorothy and George Trenholme decided to start the ride off right with a coffee at the Café Velo Vert at kilometer 0. 

The croissants were excellent but we had to make do with regular coffee with the espresso machine going down just as we arrived.

The weather was cloudy and cool but we soon warmed up as the trail gradually but exorably slanted upwards. Still, we were able to maintain enough of a pace to pass a long line of school children out for a class ride with their teachers. "Laches pas, les enfants!" "Toi aussi, monsieur!"

In no time we were in Prevost and it was time to give back the coffee.

While the scenery is more than enough to enjoy as you ride along, there are many other things to grab your attention and provide an excuse to stop.

We carried on, still climbing, our croissants long used up and thoughts of lunch in Val David coming to the fore. There were some intrepid youngsters in the water passing the beach at Val Morin. Certainly the next time bathing suits would be welcome for a dip on the return journey on a hot, summer day.

Arriving in Val David, there is a plethora of choices for lunch but we took the closest one to the train and were not disappointed. Excellent soup and sandwich combo.

We were well and truly stocked up for the return to St. Jerome. Then, it was just a moment to slather up as the sun was out and would be in our faces.

It took a while to digest our lunch as the trail back was now in our favour and we barely had to pedal at all, just steer the ship and enjoy the view. We passed by, again, the students who were also on their return journey and before long we were speeding into St. Jerome just in time to get our tickets (well, for Dorothy to get her ticket; G. T. being known to always get his in advance though somewhat forgetful in the validating department).

While Dorothy was getting her ticket, G. T. loaded the bikes onto the train that was departing shortly. Stepping down to see how Dorothy was doing, G. T. noticed a couple of EXO inspectors standing around and realized, with horror, that he had not validated his ticket. With a flourish, he pulled out his ticket and passed it across the machine in view of the inspectors. Ha! Missed me this time EXOMAN!

The slow train home gave us lots of time to enjoy the chocolate oatmeal cookies Dorothy had brought along. She said good-bye at Vendome and G. T. continued on to Lucien L'allier.

Nice weather, nice company, nice food, excellent trail. It truly is a Petit Train de la Perfection.

Total distance 86 kilometers.

G. T. Bishop