montreal turns up the heat

I almost fell off my chair laughing yesterday when I read about Montreal’s ‘heat and humidity warning‘. Sure, it is hot right now. 33 degrees celcius, to be exact. And with relative humidity, the temperature feels more like 42 degrees. But a warning? Really? This is nothing compared to many summer days back home in Australia (which have, in recent years reach well above 45 degrees with humidity on top of that!). Well, I guess it’s just what you’re used to, right?

So yep, summer has arrived. I’m loving it. To the extreme.This is probably the main reason I’ve been fairly quiet on my blog recently (aside from sharing stories from the G20 chaos). There’s just too much fun stuff happening on the streets of Montreal and beyond.

Anyway, here’s an attempt to bring you up-to-date on my latest adventures in Montreal…Well, a small snapshot of some of the more fun things at least :

Fringe Festival Montreal

This was my first experience with a “fringe festival” – an international arts movement that evolved in Scotland in 1947 as a reaction to the first Edinburgh International Festival. The Montreal Fringe has been around since 1991 and is built around principles of audience accessibility (cheap tickets), a lottery selection process, artist accessibility (anyone can apply to lottery), and a ‘no censorship’ policy. 100% of ticket sales go to the artists.

While it was difficult to choose between the hundreds of shows, I enjoyed the unpredictability of turning up to a (fairly) randomly picked show.

I made it to Una Aya Osato’s one-woman show, which focused on a group of seven-year-olds and took the audience into the hearts and minds of children navigating their way through the NYC public school system. Brilliant and shocking all at the same time.

The other show I saw was Rob Gee’s Fruit Cake, Ten Commandments from the Psych Ward. Another one-person show, Rob Gee’s hilarious show revolved around storytelling – stories about his time spent working as a nurse on a psych ward, shedding interesting light on mental health education and ideas of ‘normality’.

I also spent some time at the ‘Fringe Tent’ where several bands and singer-song writers shared their music (free) to the public.

Les Francofolie de Montreal

To put this music festival into perspective, consider the following facts: 1,000 artists, 13 countries, over 250 shows, 180 free outdoor performances, seven outdoor stages, two weeks.

In two words: utterly phenomenal.

A culture where the arts is valued so strongly. It does exist!

It was so exciting to wander around downtown amongst such a diverse crowd listening to quality music for free!

One thing you’ll often hear people talking about in Montreal is the notion of the city having a ‘living’ culture, rather than a ‘working’ culture. (Rarely are you asked ‘what do you do for a living’). For me, this festival experience kinda sums that concept up in a nutshell.

Montreal Jazz Festival

Of course, the jazz fest has even better stats than the francofolie festival: 3,000 artists from 30 countries, over 650 concerts, 450 free outdoor performances, 2.5 million festivalgoers, 10 free outdoor stages, 10 concert halls…

impressive, yeah? I’m constantly blown away by the accessibility of music in this city.

Aside from attending a full week of free gigs each evening (not much sleep for me at the moment!), I decided to splurge on a paid gig (many were over $70 bucks each). It was a toss-up between Herbie Hancock or John Zorn, Lou Reed + Laurie Andersen… In the end, my heart was won over by Herbie.

At the age of seventy, Herbie is still playing brilliantly and has just released a new album. He even brought out his Key-tar!

I have to admit to being a little bewildered at the festival programming though. So many of the gigs I saw didn’t come anywhere near to fitting into the celebrated genre, regardless of how broad you actually define jazz. That said, I saw some great performances of contemporary jazz at L’Astral.

World Cup Soccer

While I’m not a huge soccer fan, I have been following the world cup fairly closely. It’s been the perfect excuse to hang out in the terrace at Club Social or Cafe Olympico two of my favourite cafes in the Plateau district of Montreal. And with a big screen television, a good-sized crowd and a killer iced late, what better way to spend a hot summer’s day.

Greeeeen spaces

I’m loving the green spaces in Montreal. There is a huge network of parks throughout the city. Aside from hanging out under a tree reading a book, dancing to the tamtams at Mont Royal, or picnicking with friends, I’m also able to swim for free in some of the park’s community swimming pools.

So, uh, there’s a small snippet of my latest shenanigans… more about my trip to New York City, New Hampshire, and other adventures in due course.

Right now, I’m off to water my mini vegetable garden (which is kicking-ass!) and soak up the last of the daylight on the balcony with some iced-tea and a good book! I don’t want this summer to end!

a letter to the canadian prime minister

Dear Prime Minister Stephen Harper,

As an Australian citizen currently on a work holiday visa in Canada, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed living, working and traveling in your country for the last 15 months. I’ve felt honored to be a temporary resident of Canada. Given the recent events in Toronto surrounding the G20, however, I’m beginning to question whether I now feel safe and happy living in your country.

I am shocked at the violent actions of the police towards journalists, peaceful protesters and non-protesters, portrayed in the numerous news reports and video footage published over the last week.

I am appalled that the right to peaceful assembly was taken away so blatantly from the Canadian people. I am appalled to hear that many of the 900 arrestees experienced sexual harassment, abuse, and limited access to food, water, warm clothes, phones and legal advice. This treatment is not only illegal, but a basic violation of human rights.

You spent over 1.2 billion dollars on security measures. So I’m wondering why I’ve seen footage of the so-called ‘black bloc anarchists’ destroying shop fronts and police cars while riot police simply stood by and watched? Shockingly, I’ve heard reports that the police were given commands to stand by.

Why were innocent peaceful protesters brutally attacked while violent ones condoned?

I request a public inquiry into the police actions during the G20.

Many Canadian citizens have been traumatized by the events on the streets of Toronto in the last week. And not just the ones who were punched, threatened, attacked, wrestled and abused by the police. I didn’t attend the G20 protests, yet I now feel scared. The police are supposedly working to protect the people and make them feel safe. If they can so blatantly hurt innocent people, where does that leave my health and safety let alone my democratic right to peaceful assembly?

Your country prides itself on being a civilized, democratic place. The actions of the police during the G20 protests threaten this image.

I trust that you will do everything in your powers to make sure that the truth of these matters are revealed and that those traumatized by the events of the weekend are provided with support to heal.

Your sincerely
LD

a collection of important G20 coverage and analysis

This letter is being circulated on facebook by by Peter Garden of Turning the Tide Canada. It’s an update of events and a list of important coverage and analysis of the g20 events on both sides of the fence…

Dear friends, fellow community members and supporters of Turning the Tide Bookstore,

As many of you know, 20 of the most powerful people in the world and their respective entourages gathered in Toronto and Huntsville, Ontario for the G8/G20 meetings. Protecting them was a $1 billion dollar security apparatus including a 6 km long security fence and thousands of police and private security. Mobility of the entire city was limited by the security presence and in many areas of downtown Toronto, Charter rights were suspended before the meetings even began. The events which unfolded over the weekend saw thousands (some say upwards of 25,000) of protesters taking to the streets to bring their challenges and concerns with the policies of this elite group of leaders to the attention of the world. The weekend also saw militant protesters in the black bloc attack corporate property and police vehicles followed by the largest mass arrests of protesters (nearly 1,000 people) in Canadian history.

While black bloc tactics of property destruction were a divisive issue within the movement and public at large, protesters were united in one voice against the draconian police crackdown on overwhelmingly peaceful protests. According to long-time social justice activist an author Judy Rebick who as at a press conference with police representatives today, the Toronto police have admitted to receiving stand-down orders while property destruction took place and many people suspect that police cars were abandoned in the middle of streets as decoys to attract vandalism and were let to burn for over 90 minutes for media photo-ops. Many believe that the police used this situation as a pretense to brutally repress protesters not involved in property destruction (about 50 to 100 people were involved in the vandalism while nearly 1000 have been arrested).

Meanwhile, independent media journalists and social media tools were used to document what happened over the weekend and what thousands of people around the world are seeing is quite shocking. Other independent and a handful of mainstream were providing substantial critical coverage of what was going on within the G8/G20 meetings.

Many of us have been glued to our computers watching as our friends in Toronto bravely challenged the security apparatus and felt brunt of the violent crackdown of the state. We hope that once you have seen and read about what happened over the weekend that you will take action both to support the protesters who were arrested and do what you can to hold our governments and the police forces responsible for their actions.

What we hope to provide here is some of the most important coverage and analysis of the events that unfolded on the streets and behind the fences at the summit.

Taking Action:

Stay tuned for the announcement of a Saskatoon fundraiser for the G20 arrestees.

http://movementdefence.org/G20appeal
Appeal for broad political support for the G20 arrestees.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canadians-Demanding-a-Public-Inquiry-into-Toronto-G20/131026933597789
Facebook group demanding a public inquiry into the actions of the police in Toronto

Call your Member of Parliament, write a letter to your local newspaper, call in to radio shows, mobilize your friends.

The Issues:

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/28/toronto_police_arrest_over_600_in
Democracy now! has produced the best video piece overview of the summit and the issues of the protesters were raising.

http://www.rabble.ca/rabbletv
Rabble livestream rebroadcast of “Shout Out for Global Justice Teach-in” on June 25th with Naomi Klein, Amy Goodman, Vandana Shiva, Leo Gerard, Maude Barlow, Pablo Salon, and Clayton Thomas-Muller

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/opinion/sticking-the-public-with-the-bill-for-the-bankers-crisis/article1620729/
Naomi Klein’s analysis of how the G20 leaders are sticking the public with the bill for the banker’s economic crisis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3vRNBeMwVA
An interview with Vandana Shiva about the (il)legitimacy of the G20

http://www.metronews.ca/edmonton/canada/article/564338–harper-rejects-advice-to-eliminate-production-subsidies-for-oil-sands
Harper refuses to eliminate subsidies for the tar sands

http://toronto.mediacoop.ca/story/free-market-stealth-economics-g20/3867
Free Market Stealth Economics at the G20 – An analysis of the threat of bilateral trade agreements

Police repression and the security apparatus:

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Heb9BXjYcII
Peaceful protesters singing O Canada rushed by a line of riot police

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiLt40d_AbU
Police attack a peaceful group gathering outside the jail to support their fellow activists

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7OA920pbv8
Journalists attacked, deaf man arrested for failing to hear police orders

http://vimeo.com/12925239
Independent journalist Amy Miller describes detention including rape threats, strip-searches of women by male officers and touching that could be considered sexual assault.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZgjX5vHt2o
A young man embarrasses police before protests by demanding his Charter rights while entering a public park

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaYbq484abs
Police surround protesters and attack at Queens Park on Saturday

http://toronto.mediacoop.ca/fr/video/compilation-videos-about-police-violence/3897#comment-4727
Compilation of videos on police violence

Articles:

http://www.thestar.com/article/828876–porter-when-police-stick-to-phony-script
The Miami Model – the blueprint used by Toronto police for repression during summits.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/828367–g20-law-gives-police-sweeping-powers-to-arrest-people?bn=1#article
Secret law passed to give police powers to violate charter rights and arrest.

http://rabble.ca/news/2010/06/challenging-toronto%E2%80%99s-corporate-security-walls
The link between the security fence construction and Canada’s arms industry

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/829921–i-will-not-forget-what-they-have-done-to-me?bn=1
“I will not forget what they have done to me” – 20 people arrested at the G20 tell of ‘inhumane’ treatment at the hands of police

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/world/americas/28security.html
A New York Times article critical of the police crackdown.

http://transformingpower.ca/en/blog/toronto-burning-or-it
Toronto is Burning! Or is it? By Judy Rebick – a look at the media distortions in the coverage of Saturday’s events.

http://toronto.mediacoop.ca/story/%E2%80%9Ci-woke-gun-pointed-me%E2%80%9D/3836
“I woke up to a gun pointed at me” – Pre-G20 house raids target activists and neighbours

The Black Bloc

http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2010/06/g20-capitalism-is-attacked-in-streets.html
Agree with them or not, it is important to understand the black bloc and why people engaged in more militant tactics.

http://vimeo.com/12920201
Professor David McNally discusses the political ideology of Anarchism and the black bloc tactic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5G7aCgXtWg
A photojournalist’s account of following the Black Bloc and how police did not intervene.

Naomi Klein against the G20

Toronto G20

This video is just one of many reports from the G20 protests which happened last week in downtown Toronto.

All week I’d been trying to decide whether to head down to Toronto to participate in the g20 protests with my flatmate, a freelance journalist intending on covering the weekend’s event. After much discussion – mostly focused around police brutality -  I decided to stay put in Montreal.

After hearing and viewing shocking reports of the weekend, I’m kinda glad I sat this one out. Over 900 protesters were arrested over the course of the week – 600 of those protests occurred over the weekend. Among those arrested were peaceful protesters, journalists and non-protesting citizens.

Police have drawn criticism over their aggressive and brutal tactics towards protesters. And community organisers are speaking fiercely about their experiences, not only on the streets of Toronto where police punched, kicked, hit, wrestled, harassed, intimidated and abused citizens, but also inside the makeshift prison where arrestees were reportedly given little access to food, water and experienced abuse, targeted profiling and violence against women.

Yet despite 900 arrests, thousands of police and $1.2 billion dollars, police did not stop the violent actions of a hundred-odd protesters who managed to smash windows and torch a few (conveniently positioned) police cars.

It is blantly obvious that the police could have stopped this if they wanted to. Yet they didn’t. As the above video shows for the hour that this photo journalist followed the ‘black bloc’ there were no police in sight.

It’s so confusing. Why would they allow such violent acts to occur while intimdidating and harrassing peaceful protesters?

The only explanation I can think of is that: violence favors the politicians…

But allowing such violence to occur does far more than justify the billions of money spent on security. Violence also camoflages the issues being protested by distracting the media with dramatic images of burning cars and smashed shop fronts. The key issues that the majority of protesters are there to talk about – climate justice, anti-capitalism, poverty, racisim, food security, corporate greed, childcare, healthcare – are then safely ignored and the politicians can get along making strategic decisions that perpetuate these issues while benefiting the privledged few.

I’m angry that our rights to voice our opinions and our right to peaceful assembly (let alone basic human rights of food, water and shelter!!) are being rapidly shut down… and so blantly.

Canadian Civil Liberties Association is calling for a public inquiry into the police actions over the weekend. While it’s yet to be seen whether this will take place, I’m certainly curious to see whether the police are up to old tricks again.

In the meantime, we need to continue bringing our messages concerning climate justice, healthcare, childcare, racisim, corporate greed, poverty, hunger, police brutality etc. to our politicians. Let them know that we want to see justice in OUR world.

Alongside mainstream media, you can read more about the protests at one of Canada’s independant news sources Toronto Media Coop

a female prime minister

Well. I never thought i’d see the day. Australia now has a female prime minister, Julia Gillard. And what a dramatic entrance. A coup led by right-wing factional leaders. A tearful Kevin Rudd. A smiling redhead with a strong vision of a better Australia.

It’s certainly yet to be seen whether the labor government’s move to change leaders before an upcoming election was a smart one. Seems risky business to me. And given her mumblings about aslyum seekers already, it doesn’t seem that policies will even change that dramatically…

Nonetheless, I’m excited about having a female leader. This is a huge feat for australian women. A giant step in australia’s history books. And it has given me a little hope for future change.

mental health reform

This is just a quick note about an email i received today from GetUp and Prof. John Mendoza, ex-head advisor to the Federal Government on mental health. Resigning yesterday in disgust at the governments lack of action, he has joined a public campaign for mental health reform.

A petition will be presented at Parliament House on Thursday – please add your name now through the GetUp website below:

www.getup.org.au/campaign/MentalHealth

Mental health affects EVERYONE. Over half of us will experience mental illness in our lifetime; ALL of us know someone who has suffered from mental illness.

There is absolutely no reason for the inequality of access to effective treatments between physical health and mental health.

Mental ill-Health is the leading killer of Australians under 45. Let’s change that statistic and demand better health care.

——–

Below is a copy of his letter:

“I lost my beautiful youngest daughter to suicide 3 years ago… She was not referred on to an appropriate service after suffering post-natal depression… She had 3 children whom she adored, and she had so much to live for. She said to me not long before she died, ‘Mum, I wish I had cancer, then people would be more understanding and caring’. We need improved and increased specialised services NOW.” –Mary, a GetUp member who shared her story.

No parent should have to experience this. Please sign this petition today before it’s delivered to Parliament House on Thursday: http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/MentalHealth

— A message to you from Prof John Mendoza —

Dear Dan,

On Friday I resigned my position as the head advisor to the Rudd Government on mental health. And it’s because of stories like Mary’s and my frustration over the Government’s failure to do more to prevent them.

So, today I’m taking the unusual step of writing to you through GetUp to ask you to sign this petition, because I’ve come to the regrettable conclusion that my advice was not getting through – only public pressure will spur politicians into action.

Every day 330 Australians with serious mental illnesses are turned away from Emergency Departments, and 1,200 Australians are refused admission to a public or private psychiatric unit.

Every day more than 7 people die as a result of suicide, and more than a third of those have been discharged too early or without care from hospitals. For each of those 7 Australians, there are 7 families who mourn them, 7 groups of friends who ask themselves, ‘why?’

And every day our political leaders fail to take action, this crisis worsens. This petition will be presented at Parliament House on Thursday – please add your name now through the GetUp website below:

www.getup.org.au/campaign/MentalHealth

On Thursday, I and over 60 mental health organisations from across Australia intend to present a letter to Kevin Rudd with a plan of action for mental health. But so far, the Prime Minister has declined to receive it, and so too has the Health Minister, Nicola Roxon.

If 60,000 Australians get behind those 60 organisations by signing this petition, perhaps the Government will stand up and take notice. Please join us by adding your name through the GetUp website below:

www.getup.org.au/campaign/MentalHealth

There are programs on the ground right now, proven to be effective – but we need real leadership and new investment to roll them out nationally. The Headspace youth mental health centres and psychosis intervention services pioneered by Professor McGorry are excellent and can reach hundreds of thousands of young Australians, if we make an additional investment of $250 million a year. The lack of spending right now means that tens of thousands of young Australians have no access to care.

We also need to expand programs for child mental health, so that the parents of every child with a learning or developmental disorder can access effective services. We must also provide more support for the 63,000 homeless Australians suffering from mental illness, and invest in e-health services that can reach hundreds of thousands of sufferers cost effectively.

Lastly, we owe it to our children, and their peers, to implement a national suicide prevention service. Suicide is the number 1 cause of death for men 16-44 and women 16-34 years. But across Australia, life-saving suicide prevention services are starved for funds. $100 million would expand these crucial services and concentrate on suicide hot spots like ‘The Gap’ in Sydney, where just last week the Federal and NSW Governments passed up on the opportunity to fund an effective suicide prevention project.

www.getup.org.au/campaign/MentalHealth

For too long, successive Governments have failed to take mental health seriously. It’s now the leading cause of disability for all Australians and the leading killer of those under 44. On Friday, the Prime Minister restated his commitment “to do more on mental health” and that the next cab off the rank was mental health.” They’ve been saying that for six months, but if they’re serious, these sensible investments can start saving lives and alleviate suffering today.

The concerted efforts of mental health campaigners, including GetUp members, have been effective in securing small pledges from the Government this year – but we need an investment of at least $500 million to start turning this health crisis around. It’s within our grasp. A poll commissioned by GetUp this weekend found that 83% of Australians would be in favour of investing $500 million in mental health immediately.

The policies are there, the public support is there and million of Australians are waiting for help – now we need the public political pressure to make it happen. Please join the call by adding your name at: http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/MentalHealth

Thanks,
Prof. John Mendoza

*Mary is a GetUp member who shared her family’s story with other GetUp members when we launched the mental health campaign. Her name has been changed in respect for her privacy.

living with an open heart…

‘it takes courage to live with an open heart’, remarked my yoga teacher this morning as we began our first yoga session for the summer.

What my teacher is talking about is love. Without love, we are closed to the wonders of life itself. When our hearts are open – when we love ourselves – we can love others. Love is about finding the courage to embrace our true beings. Love is about allowing ourselves to follow dreams. It’s about feeling empowered to explore our creativity, feeling grounded in our sense of self, learning to open ourselves to the possibilities of life. Love is about knowing and accepting our true selves.

And so with today being the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, our yoga practice changed pace. Summertime – in the Kripalu yoga tradition – is the season for backbends, where we explore the concept of open heart space through postures that physically open up our chest (think back bend type asanas) in order to explore deeply into our minds and emotions.

This all has got me thinking. Back bends and yoga gurus aside, what else am I doing in my strive to live with an open heart?

Inspired by the words of my teacher and also by reading my friend’s dynamic blog today (gotta love synchronicity!), here’s a list of other things I’m currently doing to find courage to live with my heart open:

* daily writing. each morning I spend half an hour spilling words onto three pages of a notebook. the writing is rambling and stream-of-thought style. I’d never show them to anybody, but the exercise grounds me and helps me to find my centre. It’s a technique I learned from a Julia Cameron book many years ago

* weekly artist dates. another Julia Cameron technique. I take myself on a date once a week, choosing a fun, frivolous activity in which to indulge my artist. It might be as simple as a bubble bath, a visit to my favourite thrift store or a walk to the park

* nuturing my relationships with others. whether its dinner dates with friends, picnics in the park, skype dates with friends who are faraway or an intimate night with my lover, spending quality time with people I love is important

* circus class. Not only is it an absolutely challenging physical and mental workout, it’s also super fun

* snuggly nights reading bedtime stories outloud

* weekly art making. messing about with charcoal, finding myself up to my elbows in paint or doodling with ink pens all make me feel fresh and invigorated. Creating is fun! I’m also currently learning how to knit.

* cooking. Being in the kitchen is so soothing, especially when I’ve got a pile of scrumptious ingredients to convert into a giant dinner feast. and did i mention baking?

* walks up ‘the mountain’. There’s something about meandering through the twisting paths of Mont Royal that just makes my heart feel so soft and gentle. love it!

* having big heart-to-hearts with friends

* traveling adventures. there’s something about being on the road, meeting new people that always seems to encourage my heart to be wide open and free

* drinking cups of tea over a good book in my favourite chair by the window

* dancing

* going to a bunch of (often free!) music, theatre and dance gigs in montreal each week. So many festivals on at the moment, it’s mindblowingly inspirational!

My teacher is right. It’s not easy living with an open heart. Many days I feel vulnerable and exposed. Sometimes I get worried that I’m having too much fun and just ‘fooling around’ instead of getting on with it, growing up and getting a ‘real’ job. Until I realise that love is getting on with it. Without love, there is nothing else. So it has to be a priority: loving myself and those around me; supporting and nurturing each other. Laughing and rejoycing at the rawness of life. This is living. All i can do is keep trying my best.

bonny’s vego feast

A friend and I dined at Bonnys last night – a Montreal hot spot for vegetarian and organic cuisine. We shared a plate of indonesian satay noodles, green salad and quinoa taboleh. Desert included a vegan chocolate mousse and a chocolate brownie (with soy icecream). The food was delicious, especially the brownie… and the service friendly… If you’re in town, check it out!

lake champlain and more cycle touring…

With the weather predicted to creep up into the mid-thirties the other week, I decided to organise another impromptu cycle tour to explore the Lake Champlain region in Vermont (USA). Initially, my partner and I had planned a three day (cycle-rest-cycle) round trip of 300km from Montreal to North Hero State Park, situated on the northern tip of the island North Hero and a breeding ground for soft shelled turtles.

At the last minute, however, some friends decided to join the camping aspect of our adventure. They were only able to stay for one night and so we hitched a ride in their car to the lake in order to maximise our time spent together.

Driving also provided extra time to laze on the beach, soak up some sunshine, swim in the lake (first of the year!), watch turtles poke their heads out of the water along the shore line, drink local microbrew and enjoy the incredible scenery.

Upon arriving at the rangers office (after a two hour long queue at the border crossing) we were disappointed to discover the camping area was yet to open for the season. Yet after a secret convergence back in the office, the park rangers decided we could stay. This meant we had the entire camping area to ourselves for the weekend!

Aside from the soft shelled turtles, we saw a forest clearing of fireflies dancing about mysteriously just after dusk. Frogs were also abundant, their croaking echoing throughout the forest as we meandered through the overgrown nature trails. And, of course, with so much marshland alongside the lake, mosquitoes fiercely attacked us despite the gallons of teatree oil in which we drenched ourselves. (I’m still itching from them…)

Dinner was cooked over a wood fire – BBQ potatoes, zucchini, haloumi cheese, tomatoes, apple… then BBQ chocolate and banana for desert. More local beer – Vermont is well known for its microbreweries – was drank and a game of scrabble initiated while the sun began to set spraying a daring mix of reds and oranges across the sky.

I awoke to the chirping of birds on the first morning and spent the first few hours happily writing in my journal and listening to the water break gently against the rock where I sat. It felt so good to be in a quiet and peaceful environment. Each wave gently washed away the stresses and intensity of the city, energy that had built up in just the two weeks I’d been back from my last cycle trip.

Sunday was spent reading, walking around the island, practising yoga, snuggling on the beach, drinking beer and dipping in the lake…

Then came Monday. Cycling day. What a treat to have had two days of restful bliss beforehand. 150km is a long way to cycle in one day! The most I’ve ever cycled in one day previous to this was 100km…

The day began with a missing nut on the bolt of my back wheel. Uh-oh. Not a good thing when you’ve got to ride on your bike all day! Presumably it had fallen off while on the back of the car two days prior. hmmm… what to do?

We wanted to make an early start and leave by 7am, but the nearest town was only 20km away and this meant we’d arrive by 8am. We didn’t think the hardware store – if indeed there was one – would be open before 9am. But since there wasn’t much point speculating and worrying – we’d just figure it out once we got there – we packed up our camping gear, filled our panniers and off we rode towards Alburg (my bike wobbling ever so slightly) to see what we could find. An hour later, we pulled in to the hardware store driveway alongside the shop keeper who was just about to open up shop! What synchronicity!

So with my bike fixed, we were off. The Champlain Bike Route meandered along quiet back roads through empty corn fields until we reached the border 20km after Alburg. Once crossing the border, we eventually tracked down the route verte (turn west onto the route 202 for 5km). The route verte similarly wound its way through back roads of farmlands.

By lunchtime, we’d knocked off 75km having set a good average of 22km/hour. We ate alongside the River Richelieu feasting on avocado and peanut butter sandwiches and crunchy apples, while admiring the revival gothic churches on the opposite shoreline of the river.

For the next 20kms after lunch the bike path squeezed – two lanes wide – between a canal and the river. Gorgeous. And what luxury. No cars to contend with for once, just other cyclists and a giant head wind! Not that my partner actually noticed the headwind for a very long time since I was upfront and conveniently drafting. I received a slightly confused look when I announced that my turn was over: ‘Can you take over for a while please?’. And the look vanished soon enough: ‘Oh wow, this wind is strong!’ Um, yep…

I am, of course, just teasing though. We cycle well together my partner and I. Our cycling speed and style is similar. Things flow well. And when they don’t, we both appproach problem solving with a nonchalant make-do attitude; we do spontaneity well. And this is especially good because it leaves ample time for silly photo shoots, icecream stops, long drawn out picnics, and lots of ooooing and ahhhing at the amazing scenery…

And speaking of icecream shops, we found one conveniently placed at our 100km mark (synchronicty again!). It was possibly *the* most amazing icecream I’ve ever tasted. Or perhaps I was simply overjoyed by the icy coldness after having cycled 100km in 30 degree heat and a head wind!

The final 50km saw us cycle further along the canal, through the forests trails of longeil before getting hopelessly lost only 20km from downtown. Well, it wasn’t so much that we were lost. I could see many familiar landmarks. It was just incredibly difficult to find a way onto the J.Cartier Bridge. Eventually we did though. And I certainly can’t say I enjoyed the tendon jerking agony of getting up and over it. But I managed it all the same without having to walk my bike or flopping down in a hot, miserable mess!

And then suddenly, we were in the familiar chaos and buzzing energy of Montreal. Eeeeeeek…

Despite the head winds, the intense heat, getting lost and numerous icecream and food stops, we made excellent time and arrived in Montreal after 7 hours of cycling, which made for an average of 21km/hour.

After celebratory apple cider on the balcony and some scrumptious food cooked by another house mate, I was certainly ready for sleeping…

I’ve realised I prefer cooler climates for cycling. The colder weather – numb feet not included – on my cycling trip from Montreal to Ottawa was far more enjoyable than the intense heat of this trip…

But I’m certainly not complaining too hard. It was an amazing adventure. The perfect mixture of beach laziness and intense cycling mayhem.