New York - Montreal Trek Gets to Know the City of Montreal

The first New York - Montreal Trek had a great day exploring the beautiful Old City of Montreal. They discovered a huge screen set up down by the water, where they watched the World Cup final match.  Most the group shared Leader Cassie's enthusiasm for Argentina and reaction when Germany won:

   

Cassie, before and after Argentina's loss.

The group cheered up (somewhat) when they found a street festival along Rue Saint Catherine, though. They hiked up Mont Royal, the summit that gave Montreal its name, to get a view of the city, then shared a final dinner together before packing their bikes for the overnight bus back to NYC.

New York - Montreal Trek Makes Montreal!

Our first New York - Montreal Trek has reached its destination!  They biked from Rouses Point, NY to Montreal in one day -- 50 miles.  They stopped for an ice cream break before getting on a bike trail that runs down the middle of the St. Lawrence River toward the city.

They happened upon a salsa dance party in the park before crossing the Jacques Cartier Bridge into the city of Montreal. They went out for Asian food for dinner near the hotel, and afterward, found an acrobatic dance performance going on in the park across the street from their hotel.

They'll spend a couple days exploring the city, then take an overnight bus back to NYC on Monday night, and have one more day together there before the Trek officially ends.

New York - Montreal Trek Visits Burlington, VT

In Burlington, the New York - Montreal group had a chance to do laundry and ride around the (very charming and very cool) city.  Then they biked the Island Line trail, which extends out from the mainland into the middle of Lake Champlain, bringing them to a series of islands in the middle of the lake.

They're camping next at Grand Island State Park, and then heading to Canada!

New York - Montreal Trek Reaches Burlington

The New York - Montreal Trekkers biked along the peaceful shore of Lake Champlain, where they could see the high peaks of the Adirondacks across the lake and the Green Mountains reaching up above them on their side.  They made Burlington with time to take a long swim in the lake, and watched the World Cup semifinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands.

They're going to come back through the corner of NY state before crossing into Canada, and then biking through Quebec to Montreal.

New York - Montreal Trek Explores Rural NY State

Trekkers Abie, Addie, Avery, and Theo collaborated on a description of day 7 of their Trek:

We had all feared today from day 1 of our trip, since it was going to be our longest-mileage day: 48 miles! About halfway through, we passed a barn, where we stopped to feed and pet some horses. We got back on the road, biking up and down some intense hills that left us thirsty by early afternoon.

We stopped at a house to ask if we could fill up our water bottles, and the woman who answered our knock let us drink from her hose, which poured out warm water that smelled like sulfur. . . but it did keep us hydrated.  Back on our bikes, we passed more farms and smelled at least a couple different kinds of manure.

We got briefly excited when Addie and Avery spotted some Target trucks, but it turned out that they were at a distribution center, not a retail Target we could go into. Our hard work paid off, though, because we got ice cream from Stewart's, a chain no one in our group had heard of before this trip. After that well-earned break, we only had a little farther to bike before we made camp at Moreau State Park and had dinner.

The Trekkers have a much easier day ahead: only 22 miles to get to beach and water fun at Lake George!

Capital Times for the New York - Montreal Trek

The New York - Montreal Trek had a great time in Albany. Friday, they got in to town and went down to the plaza for the evening. They enjoyed some live music, had dinner, and watched the fireworks at the 4th of July celebration. Saturday, they visited the New York State Museum, had a picnic lunch in Washington Park, went out for Mexican food for dinner, and saw a musical performance at the park playhouse.

New York - Montreal Trekkers Bike the Hudson Valley

Our New York - Montreal Trekkers are having a great time making their way up the Hudson River Valley.  They're getting good biking weather and bonding well as a group.

Two nights ago, they lived it up at a hotel in Fishkill, NY, with a pool:

The night in left them refreshed for a 32-mile day. They biked across the Walkway Over the Hudson at Poughkeepsie, a former rail trestle that's been converted into a stunning pedestrian bridge, 212 feet up and 1.28 miles long -- the longest bridge of its type in the world.

From there, they went on to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt House, where they toured the grounds and the first Presidential Library ever founded.  They hit a little rain on the way to their campsite for the night -- but it had been a hot day, so even that worked out all right.

Over the next few days, they'll head toward Lake George, into Burlington, VT, and then cross into Quebec!

NY-Montreal Trek Rides North Along the Hudson River

The New York - Montreal Trekkers had a nice ride to Croton Point Park -- just over 20 miles.  They saw beautiful scenery, fixed a flat tire together, and shared a gallon of ice cream to cool off in the afternoon. 

For dinner, they cooked up some delicious red bean quesadillas.  Everyone had a shower, and then they explored the campground and told ghost stories around a camp fire.

New York - Montreal Trek: Off and Running

Our New York - Montreal Trekkers are on the road!  They're riding to Croton Point Park today, on a peninsula in the Hudson River.  They'll camp out and cook their first meal together!