Pointe Claire (Montreal) to Waterloo
So, after 4 days at the Baker ranch servicing the bikes, getting kit washed, being fed properly and generally being pampered by our respective wives we are on the move again. TimB’s local knowledge was invaluable in finding our way along the complicated route that took us along Montreal island, around the city and over the bridges to get off the island and head east for Granby and Waterloo. After about 20km we passed two a man and a youth on bikes who a short while later caught up with us at a red light. They were lost and had no idea where to head for to get off the island. They were father and son and wanted to ride back south to Vermont where dad had left his pickup truck. Dad asked if they could follow us so we led them for the next 30km to the bike route which would take them to Chambly where they would be able to turn south for the US border. It turned out to be a pretty slow business because dad is pulling a loaded trailer and his rear derailleur grip shift is broken so he only has 2 useful gears making him very slow. We lost about an hour with all this but we had to feel sorry for them because they had a much tougher day ahead of them than we did. We can only hope they made it ok.
About 50km further on we caught up with another biker who was carrying an enormous load plus a little girl on a seat in front of the handlebars. It turned out that they were a father and daughter duo and had been on the road for a year. They were riding to raise awareness of the poverty that single parents in Canada are subjected to. There really is no end to the surprising types of people that we find pedalling around this country.
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