any Quebec Route Verte suggestions?

Has anyone got any suggestions about visiting parts of Quebec's Route Verte intermunicipal bike
route network? It's supposed to be over 2000 km (3000 miles) of trails, I've been around Montreal,
can anyone fill me in on routes in other parts of the province? Thanks Tiger

 

Voilà! http://www.velo.qc.ca/route_verte/

Élaine Montréal, Québec

"Tiger Cub" <[email protected]> a écrit dans le message de news:
[email protected]
> Has anyone got any suggestions about visiting parts of Quebec's Route Verte intermunicipal bike
> route network? It's supposed to be over 2000 km (3000 miles) of trails, I've been around Montreal,
> can anyone fill me in on routes in other parts of the province? Thanks Tiger

 

Le P'tit Temis is nice. It runs from Riviere du Loup to Edmunston NB. I cycled a section south of
Cabano two years ago, and it was beautiful.

Ken

[email protected] (Tiger Cub) wrote:

>Has anyone got any suggestions about visiting parts of Quebec's Route Verte intermunicipal bike
>route network? It's supposed to be over 2000 km (3000 miles) of trails, I've been around Montreal,
>can anyone fill me in on routes in other parts of the province? Thanks Tiger

Ken Brown, Toronto Canada Ontario Rail Trails: http://webhome.idirect.com/~brown delete "nospam" if
replying via e-mail

 

"Ken Brown" <[email protected]> a écrit dans le message de news:
[email protected]
> Le P'tit Temis is nice. It runs from Riviere du Loup to Edmunston NB. I cycled a section south of
> Cabano two years ago, and it was beautiful.
>
> Ken
>
> [email protected] (Tiger Cub) wrote:
>
> >Has anyone got any suggestions about visiting parts of Quebec's Route Verte intermunicipal bike
> >route network? It's supposed to be over 2000 km (3000 miles) of trails, I've been around
> >Montreal, can anyone fill me in on routes in other parts of the province? Thanks Tiger

You have to be careful about the http://www.routeverte.com website and not-free books, as the Route
verte sometimes use poorly designed "bike trails" or bike ways that ride the wrong side of the
street, have horrible intersection design, etc. It's mostly a problem for sections that go through a
city, and sometimes, neighbouring roads offer a better alternative.

Apart from the "Petit Témis" suggested by Ken Brown, I would add a few other nice sections
to explore:

1. Le Petit train du Nord, a 200 km rails-to-trails project going from Saint-Jérôme to Mont-Laurier.
On your way back, you may use a few side roads, some stretches of highway 117 (lots of traffic,
but many sections have paved shoulders), and, between Saint-Jovite and Saint-Jérôme, you may ride
more or less along the Corridor aérobique. Le Petit train du Nord is well packed gravel dust, so
relatively easy to do even with a road bike (I have done it while towing both kids on a touring
bike). The Corridor aérobique is a bit softer, so 700x32 or 700x37 are a minimum (heresay, I
haven't done it yet).

Highway 117 from Montréal to Saint-Jérôme is dull and boring (4 lane divided, lots of traffic, wide
shoulders), but there is a trail alongside the CP (or St. Lawrence and Hudson) railline, from
Sainte-Thérèse to Saint-Jérôme. There is also a bike trail near that track throughout Laval.

2. The bike trail between Rivière-à-Pierre and Québec City (approx. 60 km). Also a rails-to-trails
project alongside a former CN track. I rode the train 20 years back, and scenery was gorgeous. If
you are enterprising, it's possible to connect Montréal and Québec City via Montréal,
L'Assomption, Joliette, Charette, Saint-Boniface, Shawinigan, Saint-Tite, Rivière-à-Pierre,
Québec, using a network of secondary roads (mostly the
#300 series) that ride along the Southern edge of the Laurentians. Expect
short but brutal hills.

3. The Route verte in the Orford provincial park (near Magog) is one to avoid. Nice scenery, I know,
but it's definitely a slightly enhanced singletrack.

4. The "Véloroute des Bleuets", which is the bike route around Lake Saint-Jean, is an example of a
poorly designed route. I think there might be 25-50 km of real, dedicated bike trail, and
approximately 100 km of trail paved (or gravelled, I'm not sure) in the ditch of Highway 169 and
of a few back roads. It's safe as driveways are very visible and little used, but it means you
have to endure traffic noise, go up and down at each driveway, and not only there are some tight
curves, but there also are a few *steep* hills. For example, near Val Jalbert, the highway goes a
7-8% downhill, but the path goes an 18% grade with a tight turn at the bottom. The rest of the
Véloroute (some 150 km) is using lesser-used sections of highway 169.

Regards,

Michel