Thursday: Vermont to Camp Hole in the Woods NY to Montreal

Thursday I awoke to a wet, cold day with low dark clouds. Made me homesick. I don't really like wearing rain gear but i needed to try to keep some body heat in. Normally I'm a human furnace waiting to spontaneously combust but when one is tired deep down it can be hard to "fire up" in the mornings. I had pulled a lower back muscle at some point and it's been a pain for a week. Probably the weight of my big fat belly pulling me into the shape of the Pilsbury dough boy that's done it. Anyway, old grumpy socks set off on the 9 West and within a few miles I saw a fantastic motorcycle dealership, Ronnie's Cycle Sales of Bennington Inc, so I whipped in to find a waterproof tank bag for my camera. They warmed me with a coffee, explained the way to the I87N to Lake Luzerne and were very friendly. No suitable bag though.

I slogged on through the cold into New York (the Empire State... I thought empire was a bad word?) and finally saw some sun as I pulled off to Lake Luzerne an hour early. I stopped for a hotdog and coffee (ugh, hotdogs don't do it for me...why did I eat it?) and discovered that the camp was 2 minutes away around the little lake. I met with Eileen Nash at 2pm and had a tour of the facilities. She was very busy so we kept it brief. This camp was not built from scratch but was converted. The log cabins in the woods have that real camp feel and as always the amenities to care for the kids are all there even to assist them experience skiing! One amazing story from the camp. See that tree? After the camp was named the Double H ranch that tree was discovered growing like the letter H. Freaky eh?

Although the sun was out and I was beginning to cook, I didn't trust the weather and sure enough I hit showers as I rode the I87 north to Montreal Canada. I generally don't enjoy the Interstates but I have to remark on this ride. The views here in upstate NY are amongst the best in America. I was stunned by the size and spectacular views of the mountains and forests from this motorway and the best of the best was about 20 odd miles south of Plattsburgh NY. I had no trouble crossing into Canada (shock of all shocks as my experiences in the past have been nightmares of neurotically paranoiad, gun-slinging, swaggering, aggressive border guards). The friendly lady with the french accent asked sensible questioned and wished me a pleasant stay. How nice! How do Canadians say the alphabet? A eh, B eh, C eh, d eh...

Here the scenery becomes flat and boring within minutes. The whole area is just flat farmlands so I spent my ride time mentally calculating miles into Kilometres and just trying to will myself as far as Montreal. I crossed a huge bridge on the 15N into Montreal and was instantly struck by how French it was. Looking down from that bridge I had a strong sense of looking at some industrial estate outside of Paris. The roads in Montreal are 3rd world standard - if that. I wanted to stop and contact Marc Norton and Frank Buell who are ACCs in Montreal. I walked into a restaurant/bar and told the older woman I just wanted to sit at the bar and have a coffee. "No. You must eat to get a drink" she said. I was in France. "Goodbye" I said and walked out. Balancing a laptop and camera and mobile phone on a slippery tank of an R1 in a Tim Horton car park is no way to find that everyone has gone home. I searched for a motel until Frank called me and gave me tips that saw me comfortable and warm in a motel in Pointe Claire. 286.5 miles wasn't a big distance but I was on the road for over 10 hours so I was glad to settle in for a hot shower and the most expensive McDonalds burger on the planet. Get me out of Quebec before I go bankrupt!