Normally I wouldn't consider taking the train if I could cycle, but in this case I felt like I really had to get to Montreal in time to enjoy with my friends and time was running out. One friend of mine in particular from Korea was traveling through Eastern Canada and was about to leave to return back home on the 22nd of July. I had to make it there in order to spend some time with her and have a chance to say goodbye, so rather than cycling through Algonquin National Park and going to Ottawa that way, I decided to take a ride from my aunt and then go to Ottawa VIA Rail.
It was easy to put my bike and stuff in the car because I suppose as a muralist, Sonja got a vehicle with tons of space to hold her gear. After putting everything in the car, we set off.
We rode to downtown Toronto and she dropped me off in a parcade where I packed my bags and rode the short distance to the railway station. From inside VIA Rail I waited in the lineup and prepared to go to Ottawa, but it was actually impossible for me to go to Ottawa because there aren't baggage cars and they don't take bicycles. The original plan was to stop off in Ottawa and snap a couple of pictures at Capitol Hill and then take the bridge to Quebec and ride via the highway very quickly to Montreal in a couple of days, but this was impossible now.
Instead, I decided to skip Ottawa and go directly to Montreal. It was too bad to not see the nation's capital, but on a positive note it meant that I could arrive in Montreal earlier and spend some more time with my friends there.
I took my bike down to the baggage claim and it was easy--I just took all of my gear off and the lady handed me a stack of cards one card for each item like checking luggage in an airport, and finally I just handed her my bicycle. Everything was there for me when I arrived on the other side. It was a 4 hour train ride and I arrived in Montreal sometime after dark, maybe 9 p.m. My brother's best friend and honorary brother Reg came to get me by bicycle and we cycled back to Reg and his wife Amber's apartment to enjoy the first night in Montreal.
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