I must admit I'm not the most patriotic of Canadians but gladly took the holiday to go for a ride West of Montreal (Dorion - Rigaud - Dorion for those who know the place) with a friend this morning. 68 km in 2h30m, by far my fastest so far... Ok he was drafting me a bit but I did long stretches by myself, and it was moderately hilly with one big hill and lots of ups and downs. We also caught up with another guy, a 62-year-old who decided to ride with us. Turns out I had heard of him before, he did the tour of Corsica with my ex-in-laws last Summer and he was one of the best climbers. He was less in shape this time because of little riding so far this Summer and I think he was a bit burned down, but quite happy, when we finished.

And I must say: the friend I was riding with is amazing. I LOVE riding with this guy. He's such a gentleman. Although he races is much faster than most, he's always pacing himself so that it will remain enjoyable for the slowest person in the bunch, and peppering things up for himself as needed (going down the big hill he just climbed and up again while we slug up, for example). He pedals flawlessly, in a very straight line, points out potholes, and has cool stories to tell from the races. I really feel lucky to be riding with this guy and even to feel that he enjoys it!! I wish you all to have a person like that in your cycling life!

Now what am I going to do tomorrow and Sunday? Probably take a ride to my parents (and then drop in the pool!!!) tomorrow, and Sunday a bit of hills after breakfast and then go and try to raise my tan lines a bit, reading a book on the Mont Royal by the tamtams (there's a weekly improv drum fest in Montreal at the foot of the Mont Royal) in a bikini and perhaps even dance a bit...

What a great city to live in. And then I'm moving to Vancouver in September. How lucky can you get?