Daley's blog

2026 Bike Ride 14

Sat, 16 May 2026 17:00:00 +0000

A few different parts today. First the bike shop, then a Costco trip and last testing out the new seat and foot pegs for Fernanda now that she’s almost too big for her bike seat.

Total trip distance: 22.8 km
Moving time: 1h44m
Bike: urban soul; cargo bike

Today's ride (Ride 14)

2026 Bike Rides 7-13

Sat, 16 May 2026 06:58:00 +0000

Ride 7

Work commute and first soccer night of the season. I rode a new stub of Bernard.

Total trip distance: 13.9 km
Moving time: 1h10m
Bike: cargo bike

Ride 7 on 2026-05-06

Ride 8

This is two rides starting at one house and ending at the other on moving day. In the morning, I took Doris’s e-bike and in the afternoon I took my cargo bike with Fernanda on the back.

Total trip distance: 12.52 km
Moving time: 0h56m
Bike: e-bike; cargo bike

Ride 8 on 2026-05-08

Ride 9

Work commute on an e-bike. I rode on Aylmer for the first time on the way out of downtown.

Total trip distance: 9.53 km
Moving time: 0h33m
Bike: e-bike

Ride 9 on 2026-05-11

Ride 10

Work commute on an e-bike.

Total trip distance: 9.54 km
Moving time: 0h32m
Bike: e-bike

Ride 10 on 2026-05-12

Ride 11

Work commute on a cargo bike with a detour to soccer practice.

Total trip distance: 11.78 km
Moving time: 0h53m
Bike: cargo bike

Ride 11 on 2026-05-13

Ride 12

Work commute on my single speed. I haven’t ridden this bike in 4.5 years since I moved it, in February, from our Pointe-Saint-Charles condo to our Griffintown one before leaving it in the storage room for all this time. It is a joy to ride this bike and even the Parc hill isn’t too hard. My right hand does search for the gear shift as I get to an intersection.

Total trip distance: 9.48 km
Moving time: 0h35m
Bike: urban soul

Ride 6 on 2026-05-14

Ride 13

Work commute on my single speed.

Total trip distance: 9.62 km
Moving time: 0h32m
Bike: urban soul

Ride 13 on 2026-05-15

2026 Bike Rides 2-6

Sat, 02 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ride 2

First Bixi ride in 2026 from the Mile End to downtown.

Total trip distance: 4.28 km

Moving time: 0h17m

Ride 2 on 2026-04-24

Ride 3

Just a Costco trip, but I had taked off my studded tires.

Total trip distance: 3.41 km

Moving time: 0h14m

Ride 3 on 2026-04-25

Ride 4

A trip up to my new place and to get 18.5L of paint.

Total trip distance: 14.11 km

Moving time: 1h10m

Ride 4 on 2026-04-26

Ride 5

An after work ride to paint at the new place.

Total trip distance: 12.5 km

Moving time: 0h54m

Ride 5 on 2026-04-28

Ride 6

A Costco trip on my bike followed by a ride on Doris’s e-bike to go paint.

Total trip distance: 19.26 km

Moving time: 1h12m

Ride 6 on 2026-05-02

Off with the studded tires

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I spent a while today finding all the bits and bobs that I needed to change my studded bike tires back to the regular tires. Once I finally had all the things I needed in one place (wrenches, tire levers, pump, tires, bike, etc.), the process was pretty smooth. I only needed to repair the wires for my dynamo as a side effect of the process. I am ready for a summer of biking to work and doing the tour de l’ile.

2026 Bike Ride 1

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Ride

First Costco trip on my bike for 2026 but still done on my studded tires.

Total trip distance: 3.42 km

Moving time: 0h16m

Today's ride

Last year

A graphic that I forgot to include in my last post from 2025. This one shows all the rides I took during 2025 (in black) over a background of all the rides I have taken in Montreal (in yellow).

My 2025 rides overlaid on all my Montreal rides

Portugal Trip (March/April 2026)

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000

My latest family vacation was to Portugal where we visited Lisbon and Porto.

Recommendations

Restaurante Snack Bar mourense, Calçada de Palma de Baixo, 1600-275 Lisboa - cash only
Cascais Remo, Praça da Alegria 13, 1250-117 Lisboa, Portugal - cash only
A Valenciana, Rua Marquês de Fronteira 157 163A, 1070-294 Lisboa, Portugal
Milorde, Rua da Graça 62, 1170-270 Lisboa - cash only

We stayed at the Marriott Lisbon and the Renaissance Lapa in Porto. The Marriott was a good place to stay if you are willing to walk a bit to the metro. The Renaissance was in a good location beside the tram and the rooftop pool was nice.

We managed to walk 56 km in Lisbon and 38 km in Porto. The tracks we took each day are in different colours, which are mentioned in the titles for each day.

Lisbon walking map

Porto walking map

Day 0 (March 24)

Our plane was only slightly delayed coming into Montreal, so we ended up leaving about an hour late. It was a smooth flight.

Day 1 (March 25, black on Lisbon map)

Our flight parked at a remote stand and we were bussed into the terminal. Once in the terminal we waited for more than an hour in the immigration line since the kiosks were not working and with a child we couldn’t use the e-gates. However, after we got through immigration, the trip to the hotel was quick, and we had a nap.

We walked from our hotel to the centre and stopped for sandwiches, beers and natas along the way. We met up with Doris’s sister and walked further. Eventually, we stopped for dinner at Cascais Remo (Praça da Alegria 13, 1250-117 Lisboa, Portugal - cash only) which was delicious.

Day 2 (March 26, green on Lisbon map)

After a good night’s rest, we took a Uber to meet Doris’s sister for breakfast at a random cafe. We took the metro down to the centre and explored until it was time for lunch at Cervejaria Ramiro (Av. Alm. Reis 1 H, 1150-007 Lisboa, Portugal). It was a tasty lunch of seafood.

We then took a bus down to the river and walked up through Alfama before stopping for happy hour to get out of the sun for a bit. Afterward, we took the historic tram 28 to the end of the line at Campo de Ourique where we found a playground for Fernanda. We walked the neighbourhood, visited a market and continued our walk. For dinner, we ended up at A Valenciana (Rua Marquês de Fronteira 157 163A, 1070-294 Lisboa, Portugal) and it was an excellent meal with fast friendly service and wonderful chicken.

Day 3 (March 27, orange on Lisbon map)

This morning started with us walking the other way from our hotel to a small neighbourhood above the zoo. We ate eggs for breakfast at Cantinho da Avó (Calçada de Palma de Baixo 37, 1600-275 Lisboa, Portugal - cash only) then headed off to Belém on the Metro and bus. We got a day transit pass so we could make our way back from Belém slowly. Over there, we ate natas and visited Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Praça do Império 1400-206 Lisboa, Portugal). Tram 15 took us away from this busy area and we got off the tram at a random stop outside a tram yard.

We ate lunch at A Padaria Portuguesa (R. Luís de Camões 3 B, 1300-355 Lisboa, Portugal) before visiting Museu da Carris (R. 1º de Maio 101 103, 1300-472 Lisboa, Portugal - 4.50€/person). This was a neat museum of the Lisbon transit system that includes a ride of a tram in this active yard and examples of all their tram models and several buses.

Inside an artsy/craftsy area called LX Factory, we enjoyed happy hours at Patio (LX Factory, R. Rodrigues de Faria 103, E.0 01, 1300-501 Lisboa, Portugal) and explored the shops. After we got on tram 18 to head to Time Out Market for dinner. The transit day was full as we even got our fares inspected on this tram.

At Time Out Market, we each ate from different restaurants and randomly spoke with the people sitting beside us since two of us had on t-shirts that said “Newfoundland”. The day was complete with more wandering through this part of the city and the metro back to our hotel.

Day 4 (March 28, purple on Lisbon map)

Saturday was a busy day that started with breakfast at a small shop near the hotel for bifana sandwiches at Tosca do Fonseca (R. Direita de Palma 11, 1600-081 Lisboa - cash only). We then took a bus to Rato, using the last few hours of yesterday’s transit passes, for a wander and to eat pastries and gelato.

We found two different playgrounds before lunch at Sol e Pesca (R. Nova do Carvalho 44, 1200-019 Lisboa). The tinned fish options at this place are extensive and the staff are friendly and helpful. We wandered around most of the afternoon through various neighbourhoods.

Finally, the time came for our tuk tuk tour that Fernanda really wanted to do. Our driver was friendly and took us up to Castello de São Jorge. On the way down, we passed the place we’d have dinner. It was BREW Chiado (R. Nova do Almada 14, 1200-289 Lisboa) where they had a good selection of craft beers from all over (including one from Quebec City) and pizza. I did have one very strange tomato sour beer that was only really ok with a side of pizza.

Day 5 (March 29, black on Porto map)

On Sunday, we lost another hour to daylight savings time before getting up early to catch the train to Porto. We had delicious Brazilian snacks for breakfast in the station. We watched the pickpockets congregate on the platform while waiting for the train and then we were off.

It was easy to get to our hotel from the train station by hopping on any tram. After putting our laundry on near the hotel, we had lunch at Bake Coffee (R. da Constituição 1365, 4200-196 Porto). Then picked up our dry laundry before a Sunday afternoon walk in Porto’s centre. We braved the outdoor rooftop pool at the hotel, which was colder than we expected for a “heated pool”. Finally, for dinner we went to Tábua Rasa (Rua da Picaria 68, 4050-477 Porto), which had a good tasting menu and was quite a lot of food.

Day 6 (March 30, green on Porto map)

Before breakfast, we got on the tram to João de deus to start our day on the south side of the river. We ate breakfast in the food court of El Corte Inglés along with fruit from its supermarket. We then wandered around the neighbourhood and found ourselves at World of Wine and walked along the river for a bit. After trekking up hills and stairs, we sat in Jardim do Morro for a rest then crossed the iron bridge (Ponte Luís I).

Our lunch was excellent at Barrette Encarnado (Tv. da Bainharia, 4050-085 Porto) and the service was so friendly even though we snuck in as the last lunch customers. At Peninsular (Concelho PT, R. de Mouzinho da Silveira 67 71, 4050-420 Porto), we picked up some neat postcards, filled them in and got to the post office for stamps just before closing time.

We found a bench along the river and hung out there until sunset, which was beautiful. To end the day, we walked along the boardwalk and back up and up and up to the hotel.

Day 7 (March 31, orange on Porto map)

We had breakfast in our hotel room then got an Uber to Capela do Senhor da Pedra (Alameda do Sr. da Pedra, 4410 Vila Nova de Gaia). It was a beautiful sunny day, so we walked along the beach and boardwalk. At a certain point, it suddenly got cool and we stopped at Restaurante Estalaçido (Av. Infante Sagres 781, 4405-565 Valadares).

After lunch, we took an Uber to Jardins do Palacio del Cristal (R. de D Manuel II, 4050-346 Porto) where we again walked around park to see roosters, ducks and peacocks. In the park, there are also the Galeria municipal de Porto and Biblioteca municipal Almeida Garrett. These were both very nice places to visit, and we read a few kids books in Portuguese.

Another wander to the centre of Porto, and a much warmer swim at our hotel before a choose your own adventure dinner at Mercado Bom Successo (Praça do Bom Sucesso 74-90, 4150-145 Porto) where I opted for Okonomiyaki fried rice.

Day 8 (April 1, pink on both maps)

Wednesday morning, we finished getting organized and headed to the train station on the tram. We were early, so we stopped for breakfast at Cafeteria Golden Ice (R. do Freixo 1754, 4300-215 Porto). The woman behind the counter seemed to really be enjoying her job and chatting with random people coming in, which was nice compared to the other cafe that we considered stopping at. After taking a long detour loop to get back to the station, we got on the train back to Lisbon.

In Lisbon, we had a filling lunch at Páteo Restaurante (Edifício Adamastor, Av. Dom João II 11B, 1990-077 Lisboa) and went to check in again at the Marriott. We walked and shopped our way to the centre where we ended up picking a random small cafe for dinner because it was not tourist priced. It was Crossroad10 (R. do Crucifixo 10, 1100-183 Lisboa) and the cooks, who also served, were friendly and the food was good.

Day 9 (April 2, red on Lisbon map)

Our last full day in Portugal. We found Restaurante Snack Bar mourense (Calçada de Palma de Baixo, 1600-275 Lisboa - cash only) close to the hotel and it is too bad that we didn’t find it earlier because it was exactly the breakfast we were looking for.

We took the metro to the river front to see Praça do commercio, followed by a walk up to Graça. We had a bakery lunch at Milorde (Rua da Graça 62, 1170-270 Lisboa - cash only) with table service in the park across the street. Our afternoon continued, with more walks in parks, resting and drawing in a park and dinner at Restaurante Sangiovese (R. Dr. António Cândido 14, 1050-076 Lisboa). The restaurant was quite good with friendly service and good dessert.

Day 10 (April 3, no map)

Straight to the airport in the morning. Everything was smooth (bag drop, security and emigration). The flight seemed long, but the trop home on the 747 bus was fast.

CDMX Trip (December 2025)

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000

After our great March 2025 trip to Mexico City, we went again for Christmas 2025 because the flights on Aeromexico were such a good price, and in the tradition of trip diaries like Los Angeles/California, London and Paris before it here it is. (Note: I didn’t write one for our trip to El Salvador in September 2025)

Recommendations

Museo Vivo del Muralismo, República de Argentina 28, Centro Histórico de la Cdad. de México
MODO Museo del Objeto del Objeto, Colima 145, Cuauhtémoc, Roma Nte.
Masala y Maiz, C. Artículo 123 116, Colonia Centro - Excellent food and service

We stayed at the same Four Points Sheraton in Roma Norte and would still recommend it as a home base.

We managed to walk 90 km this time. The tracks we took each day are in different colours, which are mentioned in the titles for each day.

Day 1 (December 24, black on map)

As soon as we put our bags down at our hotel, we went straight to Mi Compra Chava (Zacatecas 172, Roma Nte.) on the off chance they had a table right before closing. We managed to get a table and enjoy an amazing meal before they closed.

Day 2 (December 25, green on map)

The morning started slowly, but Doris’s sister joined us and we found Orbita (Calle de Orizaba 115, Roma Norte) to feed us breakfast. After a day of wandering, we went to see the ballet folkórico at Castillo de Chapultepec. The show was different than the one we had seen in the Palacio de Bellas Artes back in March, and it was chilly up in the castle after sunset. If you go, remember to bring a jacket and a blanket.

Day 3 (December 26, orange on map)

We tried to go to a couple Michelin places for breakfast but the first was closed for the holidays and the second had a long wait. We ended up at Maiabik Condesa (Alfonso Reyes 229, Hipódromo) which is a small place where we ate well and couldn’t quite figure out how it was so inexpensive. Later, after much walking, we ate an early dinner at Cuina (Tabasco 46, Roma Nte.).

Day 4 (December 27, purple on map)

For breakfast, we went to Pan BellezArtesanal (Colima 81, Roma Nte.), which was good except that they wanted to over charge me tip. Afterward, we walked around until we got to Museo de Arte Moderno and had a nice visit there.

Dinner was at Masala y Maiz (C. Artículo 123 116, Colonia Centro) for a birthday celebration. We had a “late” reservation at 5:30pm (they seat their last table at 6:00pm), but enjoyed a long meal with many courses of delicious flavours, so much dessert and even martinis to end the evening. I would absolutely recommend this restaurant and it is worth trying to get a reservation.

Day 5 (December 28, pink on map)

After breakfast at Tamales Doña Emi (Jalapa sin número, esquina, Tlaxcala, Roma Sur), we took the metro to Coyoacán, visited Leon Trotsky’s house, and a mall. For dinner, we went to Lagerbar Hércules (Campeche 322, Hipódromo) and it was as good as the time before.

Day 6 (December 29, red on map)

We visited some markets and Museo Vivo del Muralismo (República de Argentina 28, Centro Histórico de la Cdad. de México). For dinner, we went to Falling Piano Brewing Co. (Coahuila 99, Roma Nte.) and enjoyed several good beers. I also got an amazing sandwich from Sando (Guanajuato 100, Roma Nte.).

Day 7 (December 30, teal on map)

On our last day, we had breakfast at Breakfast El Inicio (Av. Álvaro Obregón 61, Roma Nte.) before visiting MODO Museo del Objeto del Objeto (Colima 145, Cuauhtémoc, Roma Nte.). This was a really neat museum of random collections.

We also walked to Bosque de Chapultepec where Fernanda got us to ride the train around the park. Eventually, we stopped for dinner at Cafe Toscano (Temístocles 26, Polanco) and had a nice meal, if a bit pricey. Then for our last bit of time in CDMX, walked all the way back to our hotel in Roma Norte and caught an Uber to the airport.

Transit Use 2025

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The transit tracking tradition continues. Again this year, we biked a lot so took transit much less, and I biked the most I ever have with 65 rides in 2025. I counted “unofficial” transfers on the STM as two rides. My rides were paid for using: OPUS (74), Mexico City card (3) and one each for Presto and the Transit App.

Agency	Fare Media	Total Rides	Total Cost ($)
CDMX	LTMI	3	1.19
Calgary Transit	Transit App	1	3.80
OC Transpo	Presto	1	4.00
REM	OPUS	3	3.42
STM	OPUS	71	245.88
Total	-	79	258.29

I took transit two days for work in 2025, and I biked to a client office twice. We took two trips to Mexico City and rode the metro a couple times. On my next trip, I will use it more to get further afield for walks. We went to Calgary and rode the bus once to try out buying a ticket using Transit App. In Montreal, there were several transit strikes this year that just meant we rode our bikes farther than we otherwise would have instead of taking transit.

Year over year

Weekday riding stayed low, since I walk to work. Friday rides are for Friday Adventure after daycare pick up.

My transit use in Montreal got up to 90% of my pre-pandemic riding when I was going to the airport for work often and walking the rest of the time. Biking on my cargo bike picked up most of the summer transit trips and all of September. The only ride I took in September was in Calgary.

Agency	Year	Cost ($)	Rides	Work Rides
Big Blue Bus	2024	3.08	2	0
CDMX	2025	1.19	3	0
Calgary Transit	2025	3.80	1	0
GO	2018	20.62	2	0
MBTA	2020	3.20	2	0
MiWay	2018	15.00	5	5
OC Transpo	2019	3.55	1	0
OC Transpo	2023	3.70	1	0
OC Transpo	2025	4.00	1	0
REM	2023	0.00	2	0
REM	2024	14.58	4	0
REM	2025	3.42	3	0
STL	2022	4.50	1	0
STM	2019	221.60	79	10
STM	2020	21.60	8	5
STM	2021	32.80	13	0
STM	2022	173.45	40	6
STM	2023	144.80	39	0
STM	2024	188.89	58	0
STM	2025	245.88	71	4
TTC	2014	379.70	206	11
TTC	2015	369.30	175	3
TTC	2016	349.68	161	2
TTC	2017	695.92	261	200
TTC	2018	628.50	234	31
TTC	2019	297.20	112	5
TTC	2020	3.10	2	0
TTC	2021	6.40	2	0
TTC	2022	12.80	4	0
TTC	2023	6.60	2	0
TfL	2023	91.32	18	0
UPX	2018	56.29	7	7
UPX	2019	18.50	2	1

2025 Bike Ride 65

Sat, 13 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A Costco trip in the cold with plenty of snow and impassable bike paths. I spent some time exploring where the snow was cleared, but ended up on the city streets rather than the Parks Canada path because Parks doesn’t clear their bike path.

Total trip distance: 4.18 km

Moving time: 0h24m

Today's ride

2025 Bike Ride 64

Sat, 29 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Just a Costco trip in the cold, but the roads/paths were pretty dry.

Total trip distance: 3.82 km

Moving time: 0h18m

Today's ride