Montreal, Quebec
Steve Rouleau is a magician. The owner and bike mechanic supreme at Mecano Cycles fixed Bron’s bike which had suffered travel in-flight damage as well as a potentially trip-ruining pannier rack bolt sheared off inside the bike frame. Oh, and a puncture thanks to a shifting blackberry thorn that came with us from Vancouver. A bit of drilling, new thread tapping and gentle pannier rack manipulation had Bron back on the bike.
We have learnt to leave ourselves a day on these trips to iron out bike niggles and logistics, and we needed it. It also took all day to get over the fact that we could have sent our bike bags home in business class seats for the price UPS are charging to send them to meet us in Ottawa.
Still, we squeezed in a 17km test ride along the canal trails and through the roadworks of central Montreal so we’re feeling ready to get going tomorrow. Dinner was fantastic at Joe Beef, with a meet-up with Bron’s brother Mike and a plucky French waiter who is predicting a Rugby World Cup win for the TriColores.
Trans Canada Epic 