The ride that has it all: Covey Hill 200k

Yesterday I rode what is one of my favorite routes in the Monteregie region south of Montreal.

 After riding on the St. Lawrence Seaway dike and a short section through the suburbs on the South Shore, I headed south on this great road. Having been repaved only last year, it's super smooth and has almost no car traffic.

 On one side of the road is a little river, on the other side agricultural lands and pretty little houses with old trees in front of them.

 The wind turbines were spinning rather slowly today, with the wind seemingly changing direction all the time.

 After a short stretch on highway 221 into Saint-Michel I was back on another long, straight, and quiet back road. Rue Principal ends at a T intersection, and once you turn left the asphalt soon turns into gravel.

 With the 35mm tires on my Cross-Check this was pleasant to ride, and for kilometers the only other person I encountered was a farm worker on his MTB.

 The soil here is rich and dark, forming a pretty contrast with the green tones of the freshly planted vegetables. The landscape is still all flat here, but in the distance one can see the foothills of the Adirondacks.

 After the gravel section ends, the landscape turns from fields into a forest with lots of wild flowers lining the sides of the road. Last time I rode here the pavement was rather rough, but most of the road must have been repaved recently.

 In Hemmingford, a charming little town, I stopped for lunch. There are several nice-looking restaurants and cafes there, but I just had my PB&K(imchi) sandwich and two 1.5l bottles of water on a bench in front of the town hall.

 Just before the US border, the route now turns west towards Covey Hill. On Sundays there is quite a bit of tourist traffic on this road, but it's still not too bad. The road is a mix of little rollers and several long false flats. In the blistering noon sun this was quite draining.

 But hey, the orchards, old churches, and stone walls along the way provide plenty of distraction.

 The actual Covey Hill doesn't look like much from a distance, but the last bit up is quite steep, especially after having done all the previous false flat climbing.

The compensation for the climbing comes with the gentle downhill on the other side of the hill, passing through green maple forest and crossing gurgling little streams. You can also catch a distant view of the Montreal skyline and Mont Royal (too distant for me to get a decent picture), but you have to pay attention, as most of the time trees are blocking the view in that direction.

In Saint-Antoine-Abbé I had planned on having an espresso break at the local bakery, but unfortunately they are closed Sundays and Mondays.

??? No idea what this refers to

 Heading northwest now, I passed through a distinctive landscape featuring flat rocks, little swamps, and stubby hard pine trees.

 And an explosives factory.

 Once I reached the Chateauguay River I saw an old railway bridge just a little bit down the road and decided to check if this was part of the bike trail I had read about earlier. And indeed it was. The trail wasn't finished yet, but the bridge was easily passable.

 Now the route turn north and follows the Chateauguay River. Pretty much all car traffic happens on the other side of the river and I only had to share the road with the occasional motorcyclist and a few other cyclists.

The visitor center of the Battle of the Chateauguay historic site appears to be permanently closed, but there are numerous informational markers along the road.

Took me a while to realize that they were reusing the rear sides of other road signs...

In Sainte-Martine I said goodbye to the river and headed towards Saint-Urbain-Premier. From here on the route can feel a little less awesome. However, that's not so much because it's actually bad, but more so because the other parts are so great. And maybe also because my behind started to get pretty sore...

Back in Sainte-Catherine I made a quick stop at the kitschy shrine of the eponymous saint and decided that instead of taking the direct way home on the Seaway dike I'd stay on the South Shore and cross the St. Lawrence via the Jacques Cartier Bridge. This would add a few kilometers but avoid the risk of riding through the thick cloud of insects that is almost guaranteed to be around at this time of year and day on the dike.

This turned out to be a good idea, as once I got to the little park on the de la Concorde bridge near the Old Port I encountered huge swarms of moths circling around the tree tops. Riding through this would not have been fun.



In the end the ride clocked in at just under 200km. I highly recommend this route, and if 180km (this would be the length had I returned via the Seaway dike) are too long, one could also turn this into a two-day trip, as there are a few campgrounds near Hemmingford and Covey Hill. I've written about this ride before, and you can find a cue sheet for a mostly identical route in that post.

First 200 of 2013

This winter in Montreal was much harsher and longer than last year's and therefore I hadn't gotten too many miles in so far. Yet, May marks the beginning of the brevet season, with a 200k. I probably won't be able to do any brevets next year, as we'll be moving to a town with a rando club and I therefore wanted to get a good number of rides in this year.

Important things first: Once again, I managed to not put back my memory card into the camera. I really hate it when that happens, especially when there would've been many opportunities for taking pretty pictures on this nice and sunny spring day.

The ride was scheduled for 7. I got out of bed at 5:30 and my usual slow morning self completed the last bits of preparation necessary. Other than forgetting the memory card, I also failed to prepare sandwiches -- something I would dearly regret later. The forecast for the day was a high of 24°C and pure sun. Given how pale I am after the winter and having seen my SO getting badly burned from a relatively short run, I decided to play it safe and wear my longsleeve wool jersey.

When I arrived at the starting point, there was already a big crowd of riders assembled -- possibly the largest number I'd ever seen at a CVRM event. Jean, our club president, quickly explained the rules of the ride for the newcomers and after the obligatory group picture we headed out. I stayed with the front of the group, and riding through the quiet morning streets in a pack of 15 to 20 riders at high speed was exhilarating. Once we got out of the suburbs, a group of 8 or so cyclists increased the tempo further and after a short attempt of keeping up with them I let myself fall back and rode by myself for a while. While I had my first Clif Bar of the day, I was caught by another group of 6 riders and we stayed together until the first control stop at 41 km. On the way there, I -- for what I think the first time of my life -- managed to drop my water bottle while being near the front of the group. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and I was able to retrieve the bottle, but I was rather embarassed.

Going with my usual policy of keeping the control stops short, I only had my card signed, went to bathroom and headed out again before the rest of the group. After a couple minutes it dawned on me that I hadn't refilled my water bottles because somehow in my mind the next rest stop would be before getting to the big climb of the day. A quick glance at the cue sheet, however, confirmed that that was not the case and I therefore bought a bottle of Gatorade at the next gas station. The lost minutes, of course, meant that the people behind me would soon catch up with me. I considered hanging on to them but they were just a tad bit too fast and I therefore continued by myself.

The route had been flat so far, heading straight south towards the US border. At the last turn before the crossing, we then turned west and rode parallel to border. This was also where things started getting hilly. It starts out with gentle rolling hills and a lot of false flats and I started feeling a little exhausted. This was exacerbated by my maladjusted rear derailleur that kept ghost-shifting into a higher gear. On the other, this stretch of the route is also the most scenic part. Vineyards and orchards, old stone walls, and nice views (you can see a bit of it here). The final climb up Covey Hill was mean, as always, but I made it up, huffing and puffing.

The following downhill to the next control stop quickly made me forget the hard work, though, and soon I arrived at Boulangerie Chartrand, which was as busy as usual, both with regular customers and other randonneurs. I only had an espresso and a Clif Bar, refilled my bottles, re-applied sunscreen, fixed the derailleur, and headed out again, once again by myself. The sun was burning by now which on the one hand made me glad to have the protection the long jersey provided, but on the other hand also made me pretty hot. Once again, I was being passed by the group of people I'd been playing cat-and-mouse with. The route out here was again all very quiet -- there's only one little town, Saint-Chrysostome, on the 60 km between rest stops 2 and 3.

Having a properly working derailleur was nice, but now I had to struggle with a headwind (even though it seemed to switch directios many times during the course of the day) and me being absolutely sick of eating and drinking sweet things. This is not uncommon for me, but usually doesn't happen as early. I dreaded having to eat yet another Clif Bar and longingly thought about those savory sandwiches I never ended up making. My feet were also complaining, but in the end I made it to the third control stop (which is the same as number 1). A few other riders were there, fixing someone's flat, and this time they actually headed out before me. The V8 and coke I had had at the control made me feel better, as did the knowledge that only a good 40km were left until the finish.

Just before reaching the outer limits of the suburbs I was caught by yet another group. This time, I did ride with them and had a nice conversation with one rider who was doing his first fixed gear 200k. We arrived at the final control at 15:37, a good 8.5 hours after the start. Given how early in the season it was and that I had ridden mostly on my own, this was a surprisingly good time and I didn't feel too bad. I also seem to have avoided getting burned by the sun. Overall, a very happy ride!

Ride report: CVRM 200km Brevet

After the tough but successful 147km Populaire in late April, I was determined to do at least one 200km brevet this season. I missed the first opportunity in May but last weekend there was another one scheduled.

Great summer morning riding

Rolling hills

 As per usual, I didn't get much sleep the night before and at 4:47--13 minutes before my alarm was going to go off--I got out of bed. Despite my attempts to prepare as much as possible the night before, my slow morning self still had to do a couple of things and I only got going at around ten past 6. My ride to the start leads across Île-Sainte-Helene and I was lucky to still get through, as there were already barricades and plenty of security people in preparation for the Formula One Grand Prix weekend.

Rando-panda cockpit shot

After the obligatory group picture, we got going a few minutes after 7. Overall there were, I believe, 9 or 10 riders and I started out with the lead group of 4 others. As I tend to stop at traffic lights and only ride through stop signs carefully, I fell behind the group a couple of times but always caught back up when they got stuck at a traffic light. Like on the populaire, the route led south but on a slightly different route due to construction. By the time we had gotten out of the suburbs, one of the four riders had gotten ahead and quickly disappeared in the distance. The speed of the other three was just a bit too high for my taste and I stayed a bit behind all the way to the first control at a gas station in St. Cyprien, after 41km. From there to the second control I stayed with the three others.

One of several vineyards and cider mills on Covey Hill Rd

Covey Hill in the distance

The route took us pretty much straight south towards the US border, parallel to the A15. The weather was lovely, the roads were scenic and quiet, and I was very much enjoying myself. At the "last exit before the border" we then turned west towards Covey Hill which I had just climbed a three weeks ago. Before getting on the actual Covey Hill Rd, there was a horrible but fortunately short stretch of very rough gravel road. After that the initially gentle and rolling climb to Covey Hill began. Me and one other rider of the group had an easier time with the climbing and after a while we each went off on our own before regrouping at the top of the hill. The last bit of Covey Hill felt pretty mean again, but I arrived on top first. The rest of my group arrived after a few minutes, almost at the same time as those riders who so far had been behind us. From here to the second controle it was all downhill which, despite the poor road conditions, was very enjoyable.

Gunnar on top of Covey Hill

View down Covey Hill's western flank

Controle 2 was a nice change to the usual gas station/depanneur stops: Saint-Antoine-Abbé is a tiny village but it features a lovely bakery, Boulangerie Chartrand. Of course, they didn't have anything vegan but that was alright. I refueled with an espresso, a can of V8, and a homemade lemonade. With a group of nine riders arriving and the usual customer traffic the rest stop took fairly long but the folks I had been riding with previously were also eager to get on the road again.

Their pastries looked awesome

The next part of the ride would lead us back east, and the roads we were riding were awesome. The espresso (my first caffeine of the day) worked wonders and at some point I decided to ride ahead at my own speed. After a while, another rider from my previous group caught up with me and we rode together until the next rest stop. For most of the time we shared the work and were going at a very good clip. Only for the last 20 km before the controle, my partner was starting to bonk a bit and I pulled for the rest of the way. This didn't slow us down too much but it definitely drained my energy reserves; and we were both very happy once we got to the gas station controle. I had just started drinking my bottle of Pepsi when the 5 riders of the bigger group and after another couple of minutes our two riding buddies arrived, too.

On one stretch of road there were dozens of telephone poles with stuffed animals nailed to them. Very weird.

With only 40 km to go I didn't feel like hanging around for too long and thus headed out by myself ahead of the others. As I was now riding mostly into the wind I kind of expected to be caught by the others but that didn't happen. My speed was still decent and at 3:47 pm I reached the final controle. I would have gotten there at least ten minutes earlier but my bike computer and the cue sheet didn't quite match and I therefore rode past the controle and had to turn around.

On the way back from the ride finish. Masses of people at the Grand Prix

To conclude: this was a great ride, both in terms of performance and of experience. I was fast (moving average of 27.8 km/h), the route great, the weather awesome, and never during the ride did I feel particularly crappy. Next stop: 300km.

Ride report: Covey Hill 185km (with cue sheet)

The important thing first: I forgot my camera at home, and this will therefore be text-only. Which is a real pity because the ride went through some really lovely countryside.

The triangle between the St. Lawrence, the US border and the A15 is very flat. Covey Hill is the one exception to that rule, and it's a pretty popular destination amongst cyclist. I had read some lovely-sounding ride reports on Montreal Cycle Fun, but up until now I didn't have enough confidence in my abilities to make it there all the way from Montreal, meaning at least 180km of riding.

Yesterday, I finally gave it a try. After some searching on GPSies I initially planned to follow this route by the Club Cycliste Cycle Pop. After looking at the route more closely, however, I realized that there were long stretches where the route needlessed followed busy provinicial highways and I decided to create my own route.


From our apartment on the Lachine Canal, I followed the Route Verte across the Pont Champlain Estacade and then went upstream to the St. Catherine Locks on the Seaway. If you haven't been there before, this stretch is a real cycle super-highway: It's a service road on the dike separating the St. Lawrence river and the Seaway, continuing for about 20 kilometers between Parc Jean Drapeau and the St. Catherine locks. Due to dense vegetation on both sides it's actually a somewhat boring ride in summer and fall -- I guess just like driving on a real highway. Once you're back on the mainland, the route goes more or less straight south, first on cycle tracks and then on quiet country roads. The area south of the Montreal suburbs is primarily farmland and thus not too exciting. After following one of the many versions of "Rue Principale" for many kilometers I turned left on 1er Rang which turns into a gravel road through a forest. In the middle of the forest, I unexpectedly crossed a paved rail trail, the Sentier du Paysan which runs northwest from Lake Champlain towards Beauharnois. My route continued south on Chemin White, however, and soon I reached the junction with Route 219. This road is slightly more busy but still nice to ride on. In Hemmingford, a charming little town, I made my first stop, and I noticed that I now was in a clearly bilingual part of Quebec. Right before getting to the US border, I turned west on Covey Hill Road. It takes a while to get to the actual hill, but the road is a very scenic country road over rolling hills and lined with romantic overgrown stone walls. Covey Hill itself is only 350 meters high but the approach from the east is pretty steep. I used to be a decent climber while still living in hilly Upstate New York, but after a year in Montreal (and in the searing heat) it was tough to get up there with my 34-27 gear.

I was mildly disappointed when getting to the top, as I had expected nice vistas of Vermont's Green Mountain and of Mont Royal. Well, not so much, at least at this time of year, as the trees block the view in all directions. The western approach to the hill is much more gradual and it was very enjoyable to coast down the road to the intersection with Route 209. Ideally one would turn north one road earlier, but Montée Covey Hill has an impassable bridge, thereby requiring a detour.

Once again, despite being a provincial road, 209 had very little traffic, and soon I turned on more quiet country roads through a nature preserve. After not too long you reach the Chateauguay River which I followed on its western side (on the other side is busy Route 138). At this point I had run out of water and the sun and heat were relentless. In general, I don't mind riding in the heat, but in mid-May my body wasn't quite in summer mode yet. Unfortunately, my exhaustion detracted a bit from the great riding along the river. Finally, I arrived in Sainte-Martine and after some confusion stopped at a supermarket. I was feeling pretty crappy at that point, but a 1.5l bottle of water, a can of V8, and a Clif Bar mostly got me back into shape. The most direct way back to Montreal from Ste.-Martine would be on Route 138 but that is definitely not advisable. Instead, I turned southeast again on Route 205 into the little village of St.-Urbain-Premier and then headed left onto Montée de la Grande-Ligne/Route 207 (another very popular road name around here). Another nice and quiet road, even though it probably had the worst pavement, which my hands and lower back did not appreciate. Route 207 leads right into Sainte-Catherine and on a cycle track I got back to the locks.

After less than 10 hours and 185km (this must be a bit off, as the planned route was 188 and I had at least one detour) I arrived back home. I was probably still dehydrated, but after a cold shower and a cold beer I quickly recovered. Overall this is a highly recommended ride, and since there are several campgrounds along the route one could also do it as a two-day trip.

For your convenience, I'm providing a cue sheet for the ride.

Start at the end of the Pont Champlain Ice Control Structure on the St. Lawrence dike.