Blog Day 13:
We have officially made it to Montreal! 400+ miles, 13 days, and hundreds of memories from the road (with still more to come). The sigh of relief that was exhaled as we rolled up to the Alt Hostel was universally felt.
As we ate a bagel + cinnamon roll breakfast, the group decided to simply book it to Montreal and take on an unassuming Chinese buffet as soon as we arrived. 35 miles worth of brewed hunger had us eating enough food to put half the group into immediate food comas. At this point in the trip, we have become unhinged enough to take naps right in the restaurant. We rested and rallied for round 2 (well more like 4 or 5).
To aid digestion and explore Montreal’s ‘Little Asia’ a little, we walked around the busy shopping area and into air-conditioned stores. We then went back to the hostel and loaded our bikes and bags through the narrow stairwells and properly settled into our new home.
For a ‘light’ dinner, the leaders surprised the group with 70 Canadian dollars worth of pizza and poutine. To cap off the day’s energy intake, we entered a very busy (and now even busier) Ben & Jerry’s. Few things beat roaming a new city on a cool summer night with a giant ice cream in hand. It’s amazing how Montreal quickly transforms from cobble-stoned streets with buildings centuries old to a modern city with glass skyscrapers.
We then showered and did laundry late into the night before we climbed into freshly made triple-bunk beds.