Test run success

[finneco]

In preperation for my Otesha tour, I zipped off this weekend for a short camping trip in the Oka National (i.e. provincial) Park. And by zipped off I mean biked for 7 hours (with some breaks from collapse and getting lost) each way. Graeme and I were following one of the trails of the Route verte, which beats the pants off of biking along the

Comments

[finneco]

The 7 hours was travel time, not bike motion time. It includes some misshaps: on the way there we had luggage explosions, getting lost and major slow down after dark, on the way back we had a detour to Deux Montagnes' Canadian Tour outlet because of my back tire blew. The route is longer for all the twists and turns and shore side riding - I clocked over 80 km on my odometer. And with the hills and city traffic limitations, we averaged 17-18 km/hr, so you can guess how much time was spent on the map and basic needs.

As to the Route Verte book, that was much of the pace problem. It is full of inspiring materials but the maps were horrible: you can go 8km+ without knowing what street you are supposed to be on, and it underestimates distances according to the information on local signs. Every path intersection, we had to spend 2 to 20 minutes working out what direction we were expected to take because the indications were so vague. I should have work out the path on an alternate map to have something more detailed to work with.

From our experience on the road, I can't imagine getting to Ste. Agathe in 6.5 hours, unless I had been training hard, knew the route like the back of my hand, and was on the highway.

[blueheron]

I didn't mean to make it sound like you guys did anythingc wrong or bad. I haven't actually ever ridden my bike to Oka.

While Google Maps says that you can walk there in 50ish KM, I suspect that the Route Verte instructions are a bit longer -- they likely detour you over to the east (Christoph Colombe?) to get over onto Laval, and then from what I can remember, the Laval paths are a bit tricky as well. My first time exploring them (a pre-ride so that I knew the trails, so I didn't get lost on my way to Ste-Agathe), I hit more than a couple of dead ends. Of course, I also hadn't thought to bring my map book (which is at least 8 years old now, if not older... maybe time for a new one!)

The ride to Ste-Agathe is one that you should consider for the next time. Once you get to St-Jerome, it is very straight forward. You hope on Le P'tit Train Du Nord, pay your park access fee, and you have something better than the high way: you have an old train line! The ride is very nice, and there are some good stops along the way for food and supplies. The park runs up right past Mont Tremblant, if I remember correctly, then turns into a regular path and goes up through Val d'Or, Rouin, etc. The hardest part is getting to St-Jerome, and now that you have done Oka, you know more than 1/2 the route to get to St-Jerome. :)

[blueheron]

I wonder if this route is better than going through Laval?

I have done Lakeshore over to the western tip of the island, and then over the 20 to Dorion. It is a nice ride, with bike paths for most of the way, and a few sections of shared road here and there. All in all, not bad.

I just have never done the stretch from Dorion to Hudson, along St-Charles. It looks nice enough, but I don't think that there is a bike path, it will really depend on a nice wide shoulder. Hum...

Plus, then you get to take a ferry! Who doesn't like ferries?