Sunset bike ride up Mt Royal - deluge avoided

Beaver Lake and diabolical cloud

Our bike ride up Mt Royal's Olmstead Road last night was interrupted by a storm cloud extraordinaire as we arrived at slopes above Beaver Lake. Usually this is a great view. Tonight it was a great view of a highly not-great cloud.

So extraordinaire was this cloud that we immediately changed our direction and headed west, and away from this cloud.

Within minutes some major winds arrived, and a minute more and rain was washing away the road, and everyone on it. Our quick action meant we had avoided the rain, unlike all of eastern Montreal.

We headed over to the Westmount lookout and saw that downtown had disappeared under the rain! Or as two roadies said, that's what 2012 would look like.


View from Westmount lookout: black cloud that ate Montreal

Next stop was the other side of the Westmount summit at St-Joseph Oratory - uppermost parking lot. This location is one of the most primo sunset viewpoints, and tonights mixed clouds did not disappoint. In fact we rate it as one of the best sunsets ever.



Sunset time from St-Joseph Oratory

Actually, this is a pretty good Mont Royal three-view ride.