20 October 2023 Lunch at Mont St Hillaire

 Unsatisfied with just one South Shore Sortie a week,  G.T. Bishop,  Alice Hawkins, A.T. Lane, Laura Snowball, Louis Rubenstein & Mark decided to have a second ride, this time to Mont St Hillaire.  They headed out on the REM after an obligatory cafe and photo in Gare Centrale.

The discussion on this trip often about trains, and when would Via Rail bicycle transport return to pre-Covid policies.  This was supposed to happen once the new trains come into service, but looking out the window one could see that this is not the case.

  The REM trip was a bit of an experiment.  G.T. reported that bikes were not allowed on the REM during rush hour (before 9:30 am). In actual fact, it seems that when headed in the opposite direction than the traffic this rule is not being applied.

  Louis decided to test another aspect of the system.  Would a free senior's "A" zone ticket allow him to travel to the South Shore on the REM?  The inspectors were ready to check for that once the train past Nun's Island and he sweet talked his way into a mere warning.

  Once safely arrived on the South Shore, the group sought out the nearest bathroom break before continuing on.

 

  Although the club has been to Mont St Hillaire a number of times in the past, this route from the REM was new to the club.  Thankfully we hooked up to signs that pointed the way.

Soon Mont St Hallaire could be seen in the distance.

The last section of the ride is along the river.

Then lunch, ride to the Mont St Hillaire EXO station, train back to Montreal.