Countless times I have driven by “Mont” Rigaud on my way to and from Montreal. Each time I wondered what it would be like to ride there. The hill looks challenging but certainly nothing crazy. Last year, coming back from Montreal, my wife dropped me off and I rode back to Ottawa via Vankleek Hill. It was a great ride but I didn’t attempt the “Mont”.
This last weekend I was heading to Grand-Mere (refer next post) and so I decided to ride to Rigaud with my wife being good enough to pick me up in Rigaud on the way. I had two objectives. Firstly to ride up the “Mont” but also to explore the roads south of the 417.
I made my way over to Devine and then headed south on Saumure, turning left on Indian Creek. I stayed on that road through the Larose Forest and then turned right on Champlain. This is a beautiful route through the woods although about 8km of it is gravel. (This is basically the way the group rides to Montreal for the UCI race).
I turned left off Champlain on the straight road to Saint Isidore. This road is not identified on Google Maps but I think it may be #3. Its a great road with a paved shoulder that ends in Saint Isidore. I stayed on the road east of the town and took a right on another unidentified road toward Dunvegan. Its amazing to me how quickly I went from “French” Ontario to “Scottish” Ontario and transitioned from agricultural land to a mix of agricultural and forest. Once in Dunvegan I headed east to the end of that road and took a right toward Laggan. This road was already in good shape and yet I rode on a section that is freshly repaved. With the wind I was at 40kph at about 125 watts!
Next is the Laggan Glenelg Rd (according to Google) and yes I really did come across a guy practicing his bagpipes on the front lawn. This road had very little traffic and was in good shape. This area is nice to ride in-it is not dead flat but is only mildly rolling.
I stayed on this road until the Quebec border (#325) and headed left toward Rigaud. Until now there was no climbing to be done. My first attempt at the “Mount” was a right turn onto Chemin Saint Henri. This is a fantastic road. (Like Old Carp Road only longer and with better pavement) It goes over the ridge but at a gentle grade. Its like a very long false flat. The road is in good shape, there was little traffic and much of it is through dense maple forest, check it out on Street View. The descent is nice and gentle with a few vantage points to see into the distance. It ends at the 201 and in spite of its beauty the road did not offer the climbing challenge I was seeking.
To challenge myself I took a left up Chemin Saint Georges. This is quite steep in places and generally in good shape. Its a challenge but doable. I swung right at the top and stopped at Chemin Bourget. This is where the attached photo is from. Even though you are at the top one does not see much in the distance because of the trees. I decided to go down Bourget. It starts off with three steep steps and the pavement is not the best. Full attention is required as it winds its way down to Rigaud. At the bottom I decided that was the hill climb I had been looking for so I turned around and up I went. It is much harder than the other two roads. On one of the last steps I checked my SRM: (HR 165, RPM 49, W 350, Speed 8.5kph) . I made it but there were a few moments of truth. Once at the top I toured around the roads up there and went down the other side via Saint Georges. The sign there claims a grade of 11%. (Next time I will try coming up this side of St. Georges.)
This area, both on top and below the ridge, is covered in beautiful forest with paved roads and low traffic. (201 was busy but has a wide paved shoulder. Along 201 and Saint Henri are lovely horse farms, polo fields etc). My total ride was less than 175km. Its not realistic to ride from Ottawa tour around and then ride back in one day but I highly recommend a remote start anywhere in the region. Saint Henri, although not a challenge, was a real highlight.
No comments:
Post a Comment