Very southern Monteregie ride - Sentier de Paysan, Lacolle, Covey Hill loop

An almost 100 km ride. Go over the Richelieu on the 202 bridge to bring it over 100km

Clockwise from highest point on ride loop:

• Sentier des Paysan (paved bike path)
• The Axe cyclable Vallée-des-Forts on the right side (shared country road)
• Follow the canadian side of the Canada-US border westwards for a long time
• Until you ride up to the top of Covey Hill until Stevensons sideroad
• Zoom downhill back to the start at left side of map.

Get the map on Bikely: click here.




Winds were 50 km/h gusting to 70 km/h, luckily from the side

You can get the two Montérégie cycling maps here at the Montérégie tourism website.

Note that the Sentier de Paysan in southern Montérégie is now extended east past Lacolle to Route 223, making a big loop ride from Montreal with the Axe cyclable Vallée-des-Forts much easier. (it will be easier still when the Pont Mercir finishes building its much-improved replacement bike sidewalk (note the Pont Mercier bridge is presently closed to bikes/pedestrians).




This is one serious new railroad crossing. I think they want us to pay attention.




Larch (tamarack, meleze), the "evergreen" that isn't, is growing its needles for 2011.




This weekend is traditionally a great one for apple blossoms.




Historic Odelltown church, built in 1827.




How historic is the Odelltown church? Those are horse sheds behind the church!




Riding south, not supposed to be beside the river but the flooding changed that a bit.




The Richelieu river was at a historic high level on the weekend.




Hmmm. That road looks... kinda flooded.




OK, it's crossable. But by bike?




We have to decide: do we get the shoes wet or not?




Not.




Hmmm, not cold at all. But definitely wet.




This ride has only one hill, just one. The famous Covey Hill.




The bottom part of the ride's loop is directly along the US-Canada border.