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Six finalists presented their interactive Web projects at CYBERPITCH 2.0: Forum des Nouvelles Écritures, at the Montreal International Festival of New Cinema and New Media (FCMM), in collaboration with MindAvenue, and the Bell Fund. The Tongue Rug project tied for the Bell Fund Award with Chia-Yi Tung's project.
Friday, October 18, 2002
Monday, September 2, 2002
Progress: September - October 2002
Was chosen as one of the finalists for CYBERPITCH 2.0. Made several QTVRs, a 3-D prototype of the Tongue Rug with Axel 3-D modeling software and a Flash version of the Paths Map: Phase 3. I started to explore how the various components would start interacting with each other.
Used to making things with my hands, it was a challenge working with 3-D modeling software. When creating object with the software, I kept trying to draw things in perspective. It was a high learning curve and I was unable to fully integrate my ideas in such a short time span. Also, I would have had to update my computer to get higher processing power and speed. Realized that it was not the right medium for the Tongue Rug project, though I did appreciate the chance to experiment with it.
Saturday, August 17, 2002
Path: LE-9
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This was one of the better trips simply for the fact that the destination was closer: I did not have to cycle so fast. I could take breaks and explore more. Left Montreal towards Dorval taking the CN Rail shortcut. Soon I was on the lake shore path. I had done this route before with two cyclists in 2001, camping along the Ottawa river, and with Randonnée Aventure. Yet I was still anxious as I was not sure if I could remember the way off of the island.
There are two major bridges and a ferry ride to get to Oka. On one of the bridges I got on, I realized by the traffic flow that I was a major highway. And then I noticed other cyclists on the other side of the bridge. So I backtracked hoping that the drivers could see me, and started over. That is what I am learning. To watch – to spy on other cyclists – and see what they do.
Cycling on the West Island is so relaxing. There is ample space and sometimes there is even a designated path passing through Lachine, Dorval, Pointe-Claire, Beaconsfield, Baie d’Urfé and Sainte-Anne de Bellevue. Much of the West Island is anglophone and so the character of the towns are singular. They remind me of the South Shore in Nova Scotia. There is the whole gamut: big, beautiful mansions or estates, to little bungalows and even cabins by the water. You can smell the fish in the air at some points from what I first considered to be the fleuve Saint-Laurent but is actually called Lac St-Louis. You see a lot of people fishing.
There is a bike path across the first bridge onto L’Île Perrot and another onto the ‘mainland’. Then there is a route along the lake which leads to Hudson where there is a ferry. Again this route reminds me of the Maritimes. There are lots of sailboats and heron, ducks and geese in the water on one side of the road and on the other, bright ochre fields with red barns. The ferry across is quite fascinating. It is actually a barge – with cars and passengers intermixed – that is pulled quite effectively by a boat. There are about four crossings an hour and there are three boats. So there is never a long wait. And the crossing itself is a relaxing twenty minutes of watching the shores and water.
Once in Oka, I cycled past La Trappe. This is where you find the Abbaye Cistercienne d’Oka that sells the famous cheese. I passed this time. Could you imagine what would happen to the said cheese after two days in a sweaty enclosure? I also passed the Parc québécois d’Oka where you can swim and camp. Tempting but my destination was uphill to Oka-sur-la-montagne towards Legault Stream/Ruisseau Legault. This was total countryside, passing cabbage fields, cornfields and even a ‘vignoble’.
The river flowed between Saint-Benoit and Saint-Hermas. I ended up taking pictures of a creek I thought was my waypoint until I came to a bridge a few meters further up. There was a huge tractor that was trimming the weeds in the ditches and so I was rushing so that I was not in this way. We did a little dance where I would pass him and then he would pass me as I took photos and then I would pass him again so that he could pass me again taking the second set of photos. The sunlight was warm and reflecting on the water in a beautiful way.
I then biked to Saint-Placide and passed through Kanesetake (Mohawk territory) where I saw about three vans with the $20 cartons of cigarettes signs that I have been hearing about on the news. I am not sure why, maybe the long stretches of road are attractive: I have never seen so many bikers. I mean motorbikes, traveling in groups of 4 – 6 people. As this is part of Quebec’s Route verte, there was also many pods of cyclists.
Stayed at a B&B in downtown Oka and ate at the Marina which looked out on the boats and the water. Bought a paper and could hardly stay up to read it.
The next day I took the same way back except this time I took the scenic route around Île Perrot, following the lake shore, and stopped to dip my feet in the water. It was a hot humid day with lots of flies. I was hoping it would rain, but the sky only managed to force out a few drops before giving up.
I stopped at the Quinn farm for lunch. Fresh rhubarb pie. This is a farm where you can pick your own berries. I had been there before with Randonnée Aventure. The farm has passed on to Quinns through generations. I chatted with Mr. Quinn outside as I ‘unholstered my horse’ as he put it. Had an interesting conversation about theft.
I also stopped at a yard sale in Sainte-Anne de Bellevue. Got home early and had time to relax before going to work on Monday. This, I decided, was the way to go. The first day was 100 km but the second day was only 70 km so I was not burnt out afterward. Pleasant Sunday stroll.
Day 1 - August 17, 2002
| Time | Location | Trip Odometer | Moving Time | Stopped | Max Speed | Moving Average |
9:15
|
Waypoint Beaconsfield Legault Street |
9 km
|
||||
| Stop: 12:15 Stop: 1:35 Depart: 3:30 Arrive 5:14 |
Île Perrot Oka Ferry LE-9 |
33.4 km 46.5 km |
||||
| Stop: 6:15 Arrive: 6:50 N 45°267'794" W 74°05'213" |
St-Placide | 88.4 km 101 km |
6:50 | 1:05 | 50.4/h | 14.8/h |
Day 2 - August 18, 2002
| Time | Location | Trip Odometer | Moving Time | Stopped | Max Speed | Moving Average |
| 10:30 Stop: 11:53 |
Quinn Farm N 45°21'489" W 73°55'471" |
14.5 km | 53 min | |||
| Depart: 12:45 Arrive: 4:30 |
Décarie | 70.9 km | 3:52 | 47 min | 36.2/h | 18.3/h |
Progress: August 17-18, 2002
Traveled to and documented LE-9 Legault Stream. (Mirabel, Laurentians, Quebec, CA)
LE-9 ( map l path )
Mirabel, Laurentians, Québec, CA
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Saturday, August 10, 2002
Progress: August 10-11, 2002
Traveled to and documented LA-6 Lapalme Stream. (Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton, La Haute Yamaska, Montérégie, Quebec, CA)
LA-6 ( map l path )
Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton, La Haute Yamaska, Montérégie, Québec, CA
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Path: LA-6
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I went to Granby on the weekend. Took the Green Route through Longueuil, Brossard, Chambly and Farnham. The trails were so well organized, it was a dream. I can’t believe the ‘country’, the eastern townships are so close. When you leave the city and look back, you see this blue, smoggy blanket of haze, like a bubble-city.
Chambly (where they make the famous Blanche de Chambly beer), is a pretty little town by the water. A good stop-over for cyclists. Half the trails to Chambly are paved. Going to Farnham they are inter-mixed: you follow the river and it is a pleasant trail with many stop-overs with water, picnic tables and bathroom facilities. Farnham to Granby is almost a straight country road going through an innumerable series of fields. I found this one longer with few cyclists.
Counting the few loops I took when I got slightly lost, it was a 100 km ride, not counting the ride to Longueuil in the morning. I took the navette across and highly recommend it. It is $8.00 return and it is a really nice view of the harbour.
I stayed in Granby at a cheap B&B for the night. I was wasted. Not so much from the distance but from the blazing heat. Ate in town and was in bed by 10:00 PM. Gourmet breakfast in the morning. Left early and found Lapalme Stream/Ruisseau Lapalme by 10:00 AM. A little anti-climactic. A small creek in a field. Still I got a good glimpse of the amazing trail system there — l’Estriade. I will have to go back. There is a 58 km loop that goes around the lake. There’s another one that goes to Waterloo. I think these two are fully paved.
I did not want to take the same way back so I decided to take the Route des Champs. I looked for it for about an hour. The beginning of it has not been completed, so it is basically a cruddy trail. I accosted the first people I saw in cycling gear and asked for help. A man named Jacques very generously rode with me to find it. There is a big cycling club in Granby but I am talking hard-core. People who do 200 km a day. No thank-you. My back side was sore already.
This trail is pretty unremarkable, but goes straight to Chambly. Much faster than the one from the day before. I would go on for miles before seeing anybody.
I slept in the park by the fort at Chambly before setting out again. The heat was so intense, I would apply sunscreen and lip balm every hour. I ‘got lost’ again on the way out losing a lot of time andbecoming very frustrated. It was too hot to think. I could not find the trail I took into the city. I ended up leaving by the highway and finally looping back to the trail later.
Later on, another woman kindly showed me a better way to cycle through Longueuil and I got a good glimpse of some nice communities there. Pretty houses and lots of parks and trails. The trail led me right to the marina.
So I think that is the way to go. Instead of trying to do everything in one day, I will half my commutes and stay at a hostel or B&B. Would like to get a pup tent and go out camping sometimes too. It feels good: four waypoints done… twenty something to go?
I am taking a break from my bike this week. There is a smog warning – a high humidity warning. Thirty-four degrees today. If I have trouble breathing just walking to the metro, can you imagine biking up hills in this heat?
Plus I am still sore. I cycled like a maniac: a woman on a mission. I would have been a pain to cycle with. I hardly took any breaks. I drank probably ten Gatorades. It was too hot to eat, but I would force myself. I found that as long as I kept moving, there was a slight wind. It was worse when I stopped.
Day 1 - August 10, 2005
| Time | Location | Trip Odometer | Moving Time | Stopped | Max Speed | Moving Average |
| 8:30 Arrive: 9:10 Boat departure: 9:35 |
Longueuil Marina N 45°30'409" W 73°32'850" |
GPS predicted 65 km from Montreal to Granby as the crow flies. | ||||
| Depart: 9:55 Stop: 12:30 Depart: 1:45 Arrive: 6:30 |
Chambly N 45°26'882" W 73°17'252" |
101 km | 6:31 | 1:23 | 32.8k/h | 15.5/h |
Day 2 - August 11, 2005
| Time | Location | Trip Odometer | Moving Time | Stopped | Max Speed | Moving Average |
| 8:30 Stop 9:30 | LA-6 N 45°27'48" W 72°43'14" |
15.5/h | ||||
Depart: Depart: 2:30 |
Chambly
Was lost until 4:20 |
42.4 km Stopped: |
2:31 | 18 min | ||
| Arrive: 7:00 |
Longueuil Marina |
Saturday, August 3, 2002
Progress: August 3, 2002
Traveled to and documented PA-1 Panache Lake. (Whitefish, Ontario, CA)
PA-1 ( map l path )
Whitefish, Ontario, CA
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Path: PA-1
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I had made this trip perhaps hundreds of times as a child growing up in the Valley, and then as a young adult living in Sudbury. My cousins and I would spend most of the summer at camp swimming, fishing and basking in the sun. In the winter, there were shorter stays when my uncles would ice fish on the lake. Winter highlights were the night sauna or doing donuts on the lake by riding the tobbogan that was attached to the car.
Yet this was the first time I would cycle to the family cottage — le chalet. On a hot summer day, I borrowed my brother’s mountain bike and made my way down Lorne Street which led to Route 55. My Lac Panache waypoint (PA-1) was about 45 km away.
Passed the municipalities of Lively and in Naughton, noticed the road that leads to the Reserve. I’ve only ever been to the tiny store at the entrance, where cottagers buy cartons of cigarettes. In fact, a significant portion of Panache Lake lies within Atikameksheng Anishnawbek (Whitefish Lake First Nation Reserve), who are descendents of the Ojibway, Algonquin and Odawa Nations.
There was no shoulder on the highway which was pockmarked in areas. Big, lumbering trucks and campers whizzed by. Turned onto Municipal Road 10 (Panache Lake Road) in Whitefish. Lac Panache was another 10 kilometers south. Further West was Espanola and its paper mill as well as Manitoulin Island, the World’s largest island in a freshwater lake (Lake Huron). Manitoulin means spirit island in Anishinaabemowin.
Once on the regional road, there was little traffic and I could absorb my surroundings. Lakes and marshlands, rivers and the occasional dwelling. I kept my eye out for herons. Soon I was on the gravely road that lead to camp with the sweet smell of evergreens and wildflowers in the air.
I took a detour by the marina. Growing up in the 70s, my cousins and I would often venture to Delky and Louis Dozzi’s Penage Bay Marina in the pedal boat, or if we were lucky, with the motorboat. More often we would simply walk. It was a chance to meet other people our age from surrounding cottages and stock up on forbidden items like gum, popsicles and chips.
It is always a little disappointing as an adult to revisit a place that held so much meaning and memories as a child. The marina was empty and the old dog that used to greet me was long gone. I have since found a postcard from that time which seems to reanimate my memories more than having visited the physical location.
I took my photos in the round from the top of the “mountain” that looks onto the lake. From that vantage point, one can see why the name Panache is such an appropriate word to describe the many bays and inlets that look like moose antlers. The Killarney hills can be seen in the distance. Panache is really an incredible lake. I cannot count how many times this lake has surfaced in my dreams; its wide expanses and the deep mystery of its depths.
Sunday, July 28, 2002
Progress: July 28, 2002
Traveled to and documented A-9 Angers Bridge. (Sainte-Marie-Madelaine, Les Maskoutains, Montérégie, Quebec, CA)
A-9 ( map l path )
Sainte-Marie-Madelaine, Les Maskoutains, Montérégie, Quebec, CA
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Path: A-9
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Crazy ride three weekends ago. I didn’t really know how to get to Sainte-Madelaine except to go east. I decided to wing it. I went with my friend Mike. First we got off on the Longueuil metro – which drops you off on the South shore of the Island – and headed down a highway. It was a major highway (the 20) as it turned out, and it was pretty busy. Plus, there was construction. My instincts were flashing – it didn’t feel right. A lot of cars were beeping at us and there were transports. It seemed that the longer we stayed there, the more likely something would go wrong. I wanted to get off onto another road, but Mike seemed to think it was fine. I agreed to go on a bit hoping that after the construction stopped it would get better.
About 5 minutes after, we hear a loudspeaker. There is a police car behind us telling us to get off the road. I talk to the officer in French and he gives us a ribbing. Tells me it is dangerous and irresponsible. I play dumb and say we are not from here. We're from the Maritimes. (Technically not a lie as my cycling experience stems from out east during my Halifax days).
He proceeded to escort us to the next exit. I felt like we were in a parade. He blocked off a whole lane of traffic so that we could get off safely. As soon as we got off, Mike got a flat so we parked onto a grassy shoulder and ate while he changed his inner tube. Pored over the map.
The cop came by and his tone had relaxed. He was quite nice and gave us some tips on which roads to take. I was so relieved to be off that road. My heart had been beating fast, aware of how vulnerable we were. We were also lucky he didn’t give us a huge ticket.
We rode into St-Bruno de Montarville and went up some trails on Mont Saint Bruno itself. Beautiful winding trails through leafy foliage, fields and manoirs and mansions with delicately kept gardens peppered here and there. It was such a contrast to the highway. As it was a humid day, my asthma was acting up, and I wheezed as we went uphill.
Once in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Mike craved his habitual poutine so we went to St-Hubert. (He later had indigestion – no wonder.) Though we sometimes took the wrong route, re-circling a few times – I was fearful of finding ourselves on another major highway – we finally got to the strip of road where my bridge was supposed to be.
A note about the GPS. It is off about 30 metres as the US military scrambles the signal for civilians. That 20 metres can make quite the difference in a cornfield. I found two bridges: one on a road, a metal government-issued one, quite unremarkable, and another hidden in the bushes, over a swamp really, with the inscription G.B. 1959. Of course I decided the latter would be Angers Bridge/Pont Angers. It actually made more sense seeing that my research showed that the word "anger" often seemed to denote fields or meadows.
By this time, it was like a sauna with the humidity and the swarming insects. We were both shiny, glistening, and the only relief came from moving.
The ride back was less convoluted. We realized that our route could have been much more simple, but I laughed it off. I did not want to harp on it because these trips should be about letting go and making mistakes as I tentatively find my way around unfamiliar territory.
It got cooler at the end of the day and my energy quickened. Mike was pretty beat in the end but he was also faster in the morning. (I eventually crashed when I got home). He was an amazing cycling partner. I found him a good sport about the amount of times we got lost or backtracked. He also seemed comfortable switching roles. Sometimes he would lead and take control, and he seemed to be ok about ceding the leadership to me at times. He also had a really good pace. Faster than mine in the beginning which I prefer. It made me hasten my pace and we made good time despite everything. In the end, we cycled 120 km.
Saturday, July 20, 2002
Progress: July 20-21, 2002
Traveled to and documented LE-3 Legault Lake. (Sainte-Lucie des Laurentides, Laurentians, Quebec, CA)
LE-3 ( map l path )
Sainte-Lucie des Laurentides, Laurentians, Québec, CA
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Path: LE-3
 |
I have to say, using the GPS for the first time on this project, I was glad to have it with me. I would not advise using it without a good map though. I was glad that I had bought my topographical map along with me because half the roads were not indicated on the GPS. And even then, on the topo map it does not list the names of small streets, so I could have benefited from having my road atlas with me as well.
What’s great about the tool is how you can pre-program your waypoints so that whenever you are unsure about the way, you just point it straight ahead and see in which direction the arrow points. This is particularly effective at crossroads, the bane of my travels. It also gives a pretty good estimate of your going time and your arrival time. So I would not panic knowing that I was about 30 minutes away. This is good when you are going uphill on a gravel road with not a car in sight for over an hour.
I went camping on the weekend with Andrea and Heather. I wanted to bring my bike, but there was no bike rack. One of my lakes was – I believed – 10 miles from where we were camping. (I am slowly – the hard way – learning how to ‘read’ maps). So I set out on a rented bike with my GPS. I didn’t realize that the GPS gives the distance ‘as the crow flies” so that when you consider the loops and curves of the road, it ended up being 22 miles. 44 miles return: 113 km on a crappy bike.
The scenery was gorgeous, but all the way there it was uphill with lots of blackflies. On my own bike it would not have been difficult. But on this gear-skipping, too small mountain bike, it was admittedly unpleasant. In the beginning, I wanted to give up I’ll admit. I think my pride was hurt by all the noise the bike made.
I had to ask for directions several times as I felt like I was lost. Two women in bikinis with a child’s inflatable pool set up by the side of a lake appeared to be scooping the lake into it with buckets. A man with a hobbled gait, a walking stick and a friendly golden retriever offered to drive me to the lake.
Only once did I feel uneasy. I had stopped to look at my GPS by the side of the road. A old Chevy Camero slowed down and stopped, but nobody got out of the car. My heart started beating fast. I started a long animated conversation, talking into my GPS like it was a cellphone, though it did not have this feature. The car slowly drove off. For all I know, they had stopped to help me, but I had seen too many movies from the 70s.
When I finally got to the lake, imagine my surprise to discover that I had been there before. I had gone with Cindy Yip two years ago to Interval, one of those camps where you gather a group of friends to stay in a cabin and participate in group activities. St-Côme was like that. It is very popular in Quebec. Cindy and I had gone on a hike there, but had driven there through St-Donat. I must have biked there the back roads way.
You had to pay an admission fee to get in and there were no day passes. After all the trouble I took to get there, I was trying not to freak out. I told the woman that I was doing an art project and that I was visiting all these lakes with my family names. She either took pity on me or found my project interesting as she gave me an access bracelet and told me to sneak in.
Digression: As I write this I realize that I miscalculated. If I cycled for an hour and a half, then it must have been 22 km, not miles. And so 44 km return, perhaps at 15 km/hour as my progress was slowed by the gravel and the ascent.
Legault Lake/Lac Legault was gorgeous but there was a lot of people by the water so I did not take a dip. I found a quiet spot and took photos in the round. As I did not have a tripod, I simply manoeuvred the camera so that my bike was not in the photo. (My later documentations will reveal that I got lazy about having to camouflage the bike in my photos.)
I am so thrilled to have finally started the cycling aspect of this project - the fieldwork of finding my lakes.
Sunday, June 2, 2002
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