In NCAA basketball it’s called March Madness. Unfortunately I’m not talking about basketball but the on goings for March in the eventful city of Montreal.
March in Ville de Montreal has brought us some lovely weather. A few record breaking days, unusually warm, as in 20+ Celsius warm (68+ in Fahrenheit). Normally the temperature for this time of year would be in the single digits but not the case this year. It wasn’t every single day but most days were in the double digits and whatever snow we received went bye bye in a few days.
Along with the great weather came the not so great protesting by the students. They are protesting tuition increases in the province of Quebec, 325$ a year for the next five years. They’re allowed to protest but the way they have been protesting really pisses off the public. A few things they have done was block off a section of a busy highway and a few days later blocked one of the busiest bridges in Canada, which in turn made many people late for work, around two hours for some. Not a good way to get the public on your side. I understand that they have the democratic right to protest and say what is on their mind but once they start disrupting other people from doing their work then it’s gloves off man, you just opened up a can of whoop ass. Fortunately, not all students agree with the actions, some are indifferent and will pay what is needed b/c in the end, tuition will still be the lowest in Canada, huh, go figure.
Enough of that.
As previously mentioned, the weather has been quite warm for this time of year and so with this comes happiness and joy and sun bathing and gallivanting and the ever popular game of chicken with the potholes. If the province of Quebec and city of Montreal were popular for anything it would be potholes. They come in all shapes and all sizes and they even have an app for that. I try my best to avoid them but sometimes it gets so bad that it’s unavoidable, and some are worse than others, as hard as it is to believe. If you understand the process of freeze and thaw then you can see where the potholes are going to be before it actually occurs but sometimes they just pop out of nowhere. One day the street is okay and the next day there’s a hole big enough to hold a basketball.
Crazy ass potholes.
Some potholes on St Antoine Street in Montreal
Well with spring in the air and summer on the way many people start to think about fixing up their home and the Montreal National Home Show is a great starting point for some. It doesn’t have all the vendors but it has quite a few and I think it’s good starting point. It certainly inspires one to see how their home can be and then depresses you b/c you find out how much it will cost. My big inspiration this year was seeing the Big Green Egg BBQ guys. Always wanted a Big Green Egg and I figure maybe next year will be the year I get one. I still have a few things to take care of but next year will be the year of the egg….I hope.
Big Green Egg @ National Home Show Montreal
With all this great weather early on, motorcyclists took out their bikes earlier than expected. The winter tire law ends March 15th and because the weather was co-operating, people were riding on the 16th. I didn’t take my Triumph Speed Triple till a few days later but I did acquire a Royal Enfield C5 at Moto Montreal. A fellow traded it in to buy a Triumph and since it was there I decided to take it for a spin. It was a blast, the ride really surprised me but it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I teetered and tottered on purchasing it and I figured, why not. Can I really afford it? Well the bank thought so and the rate was decent so there it is, it was meant to be.
Hello Royal Enfield.
2010 Royal Enfield C5 - looks the same as it did in 1951
Well that’s a summary of some of the goings on in March, there were a few things I didn’t mention like the Habs not making into the playoff’s but that was already old news.
