Forget the second option on highway 198 through Murdochville. This road is hilly, has nothing but forest, a ghost town and logging trucks. You don't need a Route Verte quide in Gaspésie... just follow highway 132. Honestly, I don't think you need a Route Verte guide anywhere.
The "short loop"
I described on my website is about 650km (click the brit flag for English). I did it in 8 days, including one day rest in Forillon and nearly a full day in Percé. Perfect for a week, I think. You can look at
the map too. You can
double-click to zoom-in and click-hold to drag the map around. Double-click on the right button to zoom out. I didn't trace the whole route because it's easy to follow. I recommend this loop highly.
The "complete loop" is around 1400km and goes through the Matapédia valley.
The Route Verte part has a shoulder on Baie-des-Chaleurs. The villages are bigger and the traffic is higher on that side too. That's where you'll find semis. There's one place around Bonaventure where the Route Verte goes inland on a suspicious road but the highway by the sea still has a shoulder. Go figure.
On the north and east, the shoulders comes and go. Traffic is lower. Few trucks, lots of tourists. My info is starting to be dated but conditions are improving every year.
Eastbound from Ste-Anne-des-Monts, take 1st ave until the end. Then highway 132 has a huge shoulder that disappear only in villages. It's mostly flat until Manche d'Épée. The road is hanging between mountain and sea. It's spectacular and unless you're unlucky, the strong tailwind will make you fly. Some of the best cycling in all Quebec. I believe there's a campground in Mont-St-Pierre.
The roller-coaster begins in Manche d'Épée. From there, it's one hill after another. They're usually 1km at 10%, the longest being in Ste-Madeleine, 3km long, 2 at 13%. The shoulder comes and go on that stretch. The typical hill has three lanes and one shoulder. Two lanes going up and one+shoulder going down. There's room for everyone. There are small stretches with no shoulders at all but nothing scary. The worst part is entering the town of Gaspé.
Highway 299 has no shoulder but is very quiet. It's flat along the Cascapedia river (faux-plat). There's no sign of civilisation. There are salmon fishing spots scattered along the way and you can camp there or anywhere else. There's a small restaurant where the road leaves the river. There used to be a motel as well but it burned down. Maybe it was rebuilt. I camped there and used the tenant's shower.
After, the road goes up, up and up a again. Then down down down to Gaspésie park. A bit of ups and down and then down down to the St-Lawrence. I really love that loop!
The St-Lawrence water is very cold. There are beaches in Forillon and Gaspé town (Penouille, Sandy Beach) and a very nice beach in Bonaventure.