concentriq

Hello all:

Posted about a year back asking about Quebec biking: got some good advice. Now finishing up route planning and would like a bit more advice if anyone would.

The route is Montreal to Quebec City and back on both sides of the St Lawrence river. Have part of the trip pretty well figured out: Montreal - Trois Rivieres - Quebec City - Victoriaville is done and booked. The remained of the way is where I have some questions:

1. First option is Victoriaville -> Drummondville -> Saint-Hyacinthe -> Beloeil -> Chambly -> Montreal (overnight in St Hyacinthe)

2. Second option is Victoriaville -> Drummondville -> Granby -> Chambly -> Montreal (overnight in Granby)

They are both about the same distance: the second option seems to have a bit more gravel, which is OK: we all have fairly sturdy touring bikes. I heard from others (non-biking Québécois) that 2nd option maybe better because it has a feel of french coutryside, but having never been there I figured I'd post a question here.

Appreciate any input anyone may have: we are all super excited to do this trip, and were doing this 1st week of september: im hoping weather is good ;-)

Erick L

If you can add a day, I suggest Victoriaville > Richmond > Sherbrooke > Magog > Granby > Chambly > Montreal.

Otherwise, option 2.

concentriq

Thank you: We don't have another day unfortunately: we could potentially do the route you described in 2 days. Do you think we'd be missing out a lot of this trip if we didn't go through Sherbrooke/Magog area?

MassiveD

These routes have the advantage of being between two great citys though you may not see much of them. Seems like a long haul for the time, and neither route is that nice. Quebec is gorgeous but that part is only so so. I have done it several times in linear fashion, but not as a loop, so as to the details I defer to Erick.

concentriq

Thank you.. I guess I failed to mention that we are spending additional time in Quebec City and in Montreal..

I guess another idea was to travel from Montreal to Quebec and then follow the coastal line up to Rimouski, and then take a train back to Montreal.
or in a similar fashion travel from Montreal to Quebec and then follow 138 up to Saguenay/Jonquiere and take train back to Montreal but this route seems more difficult for the time allowed and rather desolate for a big portion of it.

Woudl any of these be bit better?

acantor

I have ridden east along the south coast of the St. Lawrence, from Lévis (across the river from Quebec City) to Rivière-du-Loup, and found the route very pleasant: not too hilly, not too far between towns, nice scenery. As a touring destination, I preferred it to the Drummondville - Sherbrooke route, which I have also done.

Going in one direction and
taking the train back is a good idea.

hybridbkrdr

I live in Sherbrooke and found it a little boring and very hilly. There are however lots of bicycle paths. I visited Saguenay as well and there were also lots of bike paths.

MassiveD

I really like the ride east of 3Rivers to Quebec, that can be a superb ride. I think the earlier part from downtown Montreal to 3Rivers, depends on your sense of humor. I enjoy it a lot, but I like endless refineries, mini plazas, and nail salons; and driving past houses for 100 km. If you are doing say the Trans Can by this point you have seen enough grass and trees and would probably get a kick out of it. But I am just guessing what a person with "CANADA" in mind, might be looking for, and it might not be that. The ride from 3rivers to Riviere du Loup (RDL) is outstanding. Not sure about the time involved, but the ride from Quebec to RDL cross on the ferry, and back to Quebec (if you have the legs for the north shore) would be amazing.

The other thing is that Quebec has a highly corrupt construction industry. One result is that the infrastructure is crumbling, or falling down. This (or normal wear) meant that a few years back all the bridges on the north shore towards Quebec City were down, and that would not have been a good deal for cyclists. Last October, when I went through Montreal, the city was worse than ever, and there were major detours all over the place. I may be looking in the wrong place, but I have not been able to find real time traffic and closure updates, but some local knowledge would be very valuable in order to avoid huge detours that could cause the loss of a day. The closures on the North Shore were 5 or more years back, so it would have been back up years ago, but there seems a constant series of closures and problems, and I never know what is going to be closed next.

I highly recommend a cycling trip to Quebec, which has a very welcoming attitude to cyclist, spectacular roads, and beautiful towns. I would enjoy the trip you have planed, if you can get some up to date info you might have and easier time, so your questions here are a good idea.

Erick L

Oh, that's way better. You might have to change reservations to match the train schedule though. Ride as far as Mont-Joli. Enjoy the sunset and ride up to the train station. There's a bistro across the street where you can wait.

I have a little clip of a ride from Quebec City to Mont Joli: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4F8qyO6OeY

concentriq

QC-RDL-Ferry sounds awesome, but its too much time commitment. Basically by the time we leave Quebec City, we have 3, maximum 3.5 days to get back to Montreal (including the train ride and a nights sleep) before we drive back to Wisconsin.


Looks amazing! @2:45 and through 4:10 - Where is that? and what was your route in general, if you dont mind sharing. I am assuming you basically followed Rt 132 and stayed as close to the water/bike paths as possible?
Also: VIA rail: my understanding is that The Ocean train will take your bike as long as you turn your handlebars sideways and take pedals off?

Erick L

Between B and C on this map. I think it begins before B on bike paths that connect the bits of roads. Follow the Route Verte signs. There are a few short gravel roads but it's worth it. The prize is a steep winding bike path with some amazing views. The other part is in Bic National park. From the C marker, you can take highway 132 until the bike path to Rimouski. Google Maps doesn't let me ride there for some reason.

It's mostly highway 132 with the occasionnal side road and bike path. Follow the Route Verte 1. Between MTL and QC, follow Route Verte 5 or the blue "Chemin du Roy" signs. They usually follow highway 138.

You can take Sherbrooke street all the way out of Montreal. You'd be against traffic in the morning. It does take long to get off the island. Another option is on the south shore down to Sorel, then ferry to the north shore. It's not as straigh forward as the north shore and just a tiny bit nicer IMO.

Yes, turn the bars and remove the pedals (or just the non-drive side pedal) and roll it in a box. Their boxes are huge. When you reserve, choose a train with a little luggage icon (next to wifi and "i" icon). If you change train in Quebec City, the second train might not take bikes so make sure of that (just choose a direct line).

MassiveD

Nice video Erick!

hybridbkrdr

What I wonder is how you manage to avoid the highways in Quebec because they say it's illegal to ride a bicycle on the highway in Quebec.

acantor

It probably is illegal to ride a bike on the Autoroutes. But I am not aware of rules that forbid riding on secondary highways and the less-travelled roads between towns and cities.

When I rode across Charlevoix, I biked only on secondary roads. But it was unnerving at times because of the unending stream of logging trucks.

Erick L

You can ride on all 100, 200 and 300 highways. Two-digits and 400+ are high speed freeways and you can't ride on them.

MTL - QC on the north shore and east of QC on the south are fairly quiet because there are parallel freeways taking most of the traffic. You don't have that luxury on the north shore east of Quebec City.

Erick L

The Route Verte site has a pretty good map. You can zoom in for details: Vélo Québec

And a map of road construction and all that jazz: Québec 511

The "bicycle friendliness" is on the cautious side.