Two weekends ago, Vic and Jen came to town to ride the Tour la Nuit and Tour de l’ÃŽle. They arrived on Friday evening just in time to scarf down some Southern Fried Tofu and head out for the night ride. Never missing an opportunity to blow 10,000 minds at the same time, I spent a few minutes covering myself and my cargo bike with LED lights. Spectators and cyclists alike were unsure if I was a Christmas tree or a billboard but all enjoyed the view. The ride was quite fun, from the botanical gardens to my neighbourhood and back, and there were lots of people out both riding and watching. I lost Vic and Jen fairly early on but it was easy enough for them to find me at the end of the ride. On the way home, we stopped by La Banquise because Vic hadn’t had real Québec poutine in far too long – a suitable ending to a fun evening.
On Sunday, we rode with cpirate and vierge_en_trop in the Tour de l’ÃŽle. This was a longer (50km) ride out to the eastern edge of the island and back. Some parts were actually pretty close to being a real tour since we followed the edge of the island fairly closely. There were fewer spectators than at night, probably due to the less metropolitan route, but there were far more riders.
I was supposed to work on Monday morning but I ended up having a leisurely breakfast with Vic and Jen at the café on the corner. At breakfast, I decided to accompany them on the first part of their ride to Québec City since I didn’t feel like working anyway. They strapped their suitcase trailers on (the suitcases hold clothes and camping gear while touring, and the bicycles themselves while flying/bussing/training) and we headed down Hôtel-de-Ville in a light rain. At Sherbrooke, we headed over to Berri and then east along the Notre Dame bike path, some of which was familiar from Sunday’s ride. A long, leisurely ride (with a few minor mechanical problems) took us to the edge of the universe island. Vic and Jen bravely rode on, and after a few photos I rode back along Rue Sherbrooke as quickly as possible to make a physio appointment.
Goodbye
So yeah, a great weekend all in all. Bye for now.. come back any time!