Biking in my old borough

About a month ago I went to hang out with my good old childhood buddy up in Blainville, the town he calls his new home. There is a beautiful nature park there and he really wanted me to see it so he invited me to bring my mountain bike so we could go ride the trails. It was an great experience, the park was beautiful. But, the whole experience made me realize that not once have I gone biking since I moved back from Ottawa. My legs felt like spaghetti noodles when we came back after an hour. Just one hour! I used to bike for several hours on end just two summers ago! Also, that would explain why my legs lost a lot of strength. I knew then that I had to get back to it and bike more often.

So a couple of weeks ago I went bike riding in the Parc de la Pointe-Aux-Prairies in my childhood borough of Pointe-Aux-Trembles in Montreal's east-end. This park was my peace haven through school. I would just take my mountain bike and race all the way to the park, go through it, and come back. That would take me at least two hours and boy did it feel good.

Mah wheels.

Here are a couple of videos to show you what it looks like. WARNING: Mind your speakers' volume!

The Parc de la Pointe-Aux-Prairies is a nice nature area at the east tip of Montreal Island. It's a little forest spotted with marshes and a few clearings. It's probably the only area in Montreal where the air actually feels breathable, even though it is surrounded by refineries to the west, a highway goes through it and the city's water purification plant sits in the middle of it. That says a lot about the air quality in Montreal.

Riding through that park is so relaxing. It's a beautiful area with wild flowers everywhere. I always come across different animals such as groundhogs, rabbits, turtles, ducks, deer, etc. I remember this one evening, I was on my way back home and I came face to face with a small deer. It just stopped, raised its head and I stopped dead in my tracks with a surprised look on my face. We just stared at each other like two idiots and it just went on in the woods all chill like it was nothing. That was pretty awesome. There are also tons of birds there and it's a favourite spot of many birdwatchers.

The most rewarding part, in my opinion, is when I reach the other side of the park and end up on Boulevard Gouin on the banks of the Rivière Des Prairies. The view is beautiful and I always like to stop by the water and sort of meditate. Water helps me relax so much and is a way for me to empty my mind of all stress.

I eventually backtracked to head back home and I noticed that the city has worked on a new path to go to the woods of the Chapelle de la Réparation, Pointe-Aux-Trembles' go to church for local Catholics. I wanted to see the new work that had been done and that path would take me closer to home anyway.

They actually dug a trail. That was so unnecessary!
The trail was perfectly fine before!

*Angels signing in the background*

As I exited the church parking lot I finished my run through the streets of Pointe-Aux-Trembles and went back home. My legs were, once again, all wobbly and I could barely support myself, but god damn it felt good to bike again!