2 May Fixture Ride to Olympic Village and Maisonneuve Park

Present : H.S Tibbs, Louis Rubenstein, J.J. Henry Strumey ,W.G. Ross & A.T. Lane  Minutes by J.J. Henry Sturmey
Length of ride: 40 km
Map of ride
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The May 2 meeting of the Montreal Bicycle Club was held at the club meeting hall the Shaika cafe in NDG.

Members drifted in from 9 to 9:30 while old acquaintances were renewed, new members acknowledged and stories of recent adventures to Washington were refreshed and recounted.  With five members ‘coffeed’and ‘croissanted’, our leader welcomed us all (A.T. Lane, H.S. Tibbs. Louis Rubenstein,  W.G. Ross and J.J. Henry Strumey. A.T.  spoke briefly of the planning for a trip across the Northern New Brunswick from Campbellton to Edmunston then on to Riviere de Loup  via the  Petit Témis. The next topic was a suggestion that a tour of Lac St Jean be considered with some side explorations of the Saguenay river and whale watching at Tadoussac. He produced a comprehensive cycling guide of the region.

 The newest member W.G. Ross was fitted with he team colours...we started our journey at about 9:30..Our leader proposed the following “sobriquets”, J.J. Henry Sturmey (of Sturmei-Archer fame),












 and W.G. Ross (a well medaled cycle champion of 1882).












The journey an overview..The Olympic Stadium was targeted as a destination with the routing subject to the usual preferences, discussion, debate and direction. We headed off along the de Maisonneuve bike path east to the Stadium...the following stops and highlights are to be noted. Photos were compliments of A.T.'s delight in using his voice activated Go-Pro camera.

1-The weather started out a bit brisk with suggestions it may get warmer or perhaps some rain...but defiantly some wind...which increased to about 15 km from the northwest slowing the trip home a bit.
2-The de Maisonneuve Bike path is not the speediest route across town with several stop signs and stop lights, however it provided the opportunity to take in the signs of spring and the aromas of a city getting ready for the 10 am coffee break..with fresh roasted coffee and croissants being prepared at the many cafes along the route.


3-Our first cultural stop was the Quartier Spectacles where we admired the new edifice Wilder, the new home of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Tibby provided some details on the structure as it had recently been featured in a Canadian architectural journal...after some discussion and some consultation we determined that the multi-faceted structure beside it was the soon to be new home of the National Film Board, impressed we ventured on.

4-Continuing on de Maisonneuve with some lefts and rights we happened upon the renovated/gentrified Angus yards complex historically significant as the location of the CP steam engine repair works...the complex has many housing developments and a burgeoning restaurant and shopping areas.








5-Next stop was past the Botanical Gardens to the Olympic Village...an impressive housing complex a hold over from the ’76 Olympics...we toured the mezzanine area but chose not to ascend to get a view of the city.










6-after some negotiations and discussions we decide to tour Maisonneuve Park, stop in the Angus yards to re-fuel and head back home via the north side of the mountain thru Outremont...our route took us along a bike/walking path adjacent to the CP rail lines thru Mile End, Rosemount and the lunch crowd along St Viateur..Tibby decided to stay about and went south of the mountain. taking note of a few wall murals along the way.  The remaining 4 took Louis's much preferred Cote St Catherine route...requiring a bit of a climb into the wind but resulting in a pleasant downhill coast back to the head office. Louis split off at Decarie, while A.T. headed east off of Girourard...W.G Ross and the writer parted company at Sherbrooke with W.G. continuing south home.

The technical data for the outing are as follows..
Elapsed time 9:30 to 2:20 just under 5 hours
Actual GPS distance 34.12 km
Riding time 2 hours 48 minutes
Average speed 12.16 km/hr
Estimated Calories 1126 slightly more than Louis’s sticky bun
GPS estimated elevations 168 meters
Temperature at start 13 deg C temperature at finish 25 deg C.
respectfully submitted
J.J. Henry Sturmey