I had a 22T front and 28T rear. I wasn't a very good cyclist at the time and carried heavy equipment. I did fin, never walked (hate pushing a bike) but at the end of the worst day, I was turning the cranks a few times followed by some cruising until I couldn't go any further and began eating honey by the spoon on the side of the road. I had never been so tired in my life.
The hills aren't the biggest or longest but they just keep coming. Between Manche D'Épée and Anse-aux-Griffon, you basically go up at 10% for a kilometer, sweat like a pig, then go down into a village and freeze because of the sea air. Then up again, down, up... Then you have occasionnal hill that's longer and steeper, like in Ste-Madeleine.
The road should be very good. There are shoulders most of the way, sometimes as wide as a car lane. During my trip, they were repaving parts with shoulders. Most hills have two lanes going up and a shoulder going down so there's plenty of room. The only really bad part is entering Gaspé but it doesn't last long.
It's a classic vacation and bike touring destination in Quebec and the region is beautiful. I worked in Gaspé as a replacement and loved it so much I told my boss I'd take a paycut to work there permanently.
Another nice spot: Just before crossing the Darmouth river, there's a small road following the river leading to a salmon hole. You can see them in the clear water or when they jump the small waterfall. You could probably wild camp in the area. The road turns to dirt but was smooth. Here's it is
on a map. Be careful if you go walk on the rocks with cleated shoes.
Another neat spot is in Barachois/Coin-du-Banc before Percé. It's 3km of gravel to some falls and swimming holes into crystal clear water, or a walking trail along the Portage river (Emerald river for locals) from the highway 132.
On a map. You could wild camp there too. In fact, some guys were camping when I took those photos:
I've heard good things about a campsite a little up the Bonaventure river. It's tents only. The river itself also has crystal clear water. I stayed in town at the pack-like-sardines campground. The beach is beautiful though.
There may be places where the Route Verte wants you to go off highway 132. I would ignore those indications. Sometimes, it just makes you cross a village on quieter streets but you can also miss the heart of a place.
In Forillon...
