Barrages

I’m currently in the midst of satisfying a curiosity with the entire region surrounding the old Soulanges canal, West of the island of Montréal, between Pointe-des-Cascades and Les Coteaux. This zone is amazing for its cycling possibilities. On this outing, I parked along the Soulanges canal, riding a few kilometers past the old power station at Les Cedres, along the  Digue Coteau 4 and across three power dams into the town of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. From Valleyfield, I continued to stretch my legs along the Saint-Lawrence Seaway to the first bridge on its Beauharnois canal. Running out of light, I had to turn around, but a new world of exploration has opened up to me now!

The route

Piste cyclable over the first dam

First dam from the side

Another dam

Is this Russia or Valleyfield?

Bridge over the Beauharnois canal

Open sesame!

A dam fine view on the way back to the Soulanges canal

Lush spring foliage along the digue coteau 4

End to End Burner

In the world of graffiti, when you paint a train car from one end to the other, you call it an ‘end to end burner’. One of my favourite bike rides lately has been to drive out to Pointe-des-Cascades and ride along the Soulanges Canal to its other end in Coteau-du-Lac and back. It’s about 50km round-trip, but there is no elevation gain; the only thing that can get you is the wind. Along the canal (which is not serviceable by watercraft, and lies in various states of disrepair) you can find the remnants of an old powerhouse, many locks, picturesque landscape, and all sorts of wildlife.

I typically begin in Pointe-des-Cascades and ride into the prevailing Westerly wind, returning with the wind at my back

Looking West from the end of the pier in Soulanges

The final lock at the West end of the canal

There is a fort at Coteau-du-Lac, and the remains of the first canal works in Canada - a precursor to the St. Lawrence Seaway

Rapids of the St. Lawrence in the background, and the reconstructed canal in the foreground

Picturesque landscape

Powerhouse built in the late 19th century at Les Cedres

A detour and construction marking the site of a new bridge that will cross the St. Lawrence

Some photographer using an old-fashioned camera at the lookout in Pointe-des-Cascades

View of the Easternmost locks in Pointe-des-Cascades

A fox on the prowl

Virtual Cyclist

Foreseeing the current heat wave in Montreal, I took advantage of the last cool evening and went on a 40 km bike ride.  I tossed the GPS in my packsack and headed through St. Henri and Verdun to the Ice Boom (Estacade) that runs parallel to the Pont Champlain and serves to break ice up in winter.  After crossing to the spit of land separating the St. Laurence from the Seaway shipping channel, I followed it East to the Victoria Bridge and made a lap of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (the Grand Prix racetrack), before crossing the Pont de la Concorde and taking the Lachine Canal home to NDG.  I did not bring a camera on the ride, so I cannot take credit for any of the pictures below.

My route

The Estacade (Ice Boom) running from Nun's Island to the St. Laurence Seaway

Aerial photo of the Ice Boom running parallel to the Pont Champlain

Old map of the Peel Basin, along the Lachine Canal

Aerial photo showing the section from the Pont de la Concorde (right) through the Peel Basin and along the Lachine Canal