Funkdeal

What is the best route to take to do this? It seems like the 138 would be a good place to start. Is this a popular ride? I imagine that it would take me two days. Stay one night in Trois Rivieres? I just want to hear what people have to say about this ride. Thanks.

RHoude

Hi,

You must keep in mind on this ride that probability is that you will ride against the wind. For that reason, the Montreal-Quebec ride is generally more popular than the other way around.

Trois-Rivières is definitely an interesting stop. The Hotel International in Trois-Rivières is probably a good overnight stay:
https://www.hihostels.ca/quebec/en/in...x?sortcode=2.3

The Route Verte is the way to go on this ride. It often follows Route 138.

An interesting variation would be to cross-over to the South Shore at St-Ignace de Loyola. You can take the ferry to Sorel/Tracy. You then follow Route 132 west. In Varennes, about 2/3 of the way between Sorel and Montreal, you have access to a Bike Path that will take you all the way to Montreal. To cross-over from the South Shore to the Montreal Island, you can either take the river shuttle that crosses from Longueuil to the Old Port of Montreal, the Jacques-Cartier bridge bike path, or the bike link to Jean Drapeau Park at the St-Lambert Lock on the St-Lawrence Seaway.

If you have a bit of time on your hands, you will want to take the river shuttle in Boucherville to the Boucherville Islands National Park. a 24km path circles the park. You may get a chance to see a lot of wildlife, including foxes and deers. Another river shuttle allows you to get back to the South Shore. You also have the option to stay aboard that shuttle to get back to the Old Port.

Cheers,
Ron

Funkdeal

Ah, thanks for your help again Rhoude. I've been looking into Route Verte, and it sounds pretty sweet. Is that path going south towards Montreal NOTORIOUSLY windy? I know it may sound like a dumb question, but how windy does it get in this part of Canada? How hilly is this route? What is the temperature range in this area around late June and early July? Chance of rain? (I don't have clearance for fenders) Thanks.

RHoude

I wouldn't categorize the St-Lawrence as 'notoriously' windy. We have biked up and down the St-Lawrence quite a few times without being bothered significantly by the wind.

The weather statistics for Montreal for June/July are available at:
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ind...content=C02019

Average winds are from the South-West at 14 km/h. Those months are not typically very rainy.

The route has some hills in the first 50 or so kilometers upon leaving Quebec City. If you follow the shore, you'll have to climb one hill to leave the Champlain Promenade up to Ste-Foy and chemin St-Louis. Then, there will be a second significant hill going down into Cap-Rouge, then back up as you leave the city. After that, the hills get less and less significant and the route flattens out as you make your way into the St-Lawrence valley.

Cheers,
Ron

Funkdeal

Rhoude comes to the rescue again! So, I've decided to ride from Montreal to Quebec instead. Is there anything I should watch out for in particular while riding on Route Verte? Is it relatively easy to follow? Tips or things to keep any eye out for? Thanks.

RHoude

The Route Verte is pretty easy to follow and is well marked. There are a few spots to watch out for:
1) on the island of Montreal, heading east along Notre-Dame, you will thread through some pretty heavy traffic, including a lot of trucking;
2) east of Lanoraie, there is approximately 10km of road cycling on Route 138 without a paved shoulder;
3) as you arrive in Trois-Rivières, in Pointe-du-Lac, there is another small stretch of road without a paved shoulder;
4) after you cross the river from Trois-Rivières into Cap-de-la-Madeleine, some Route Verte signs seemed to have disappeared last year and we missed a right turn. Hopefully, the situation was fixed for this year. To be safe, you may want to stick to Route 138. At some point on your way out of Cap-de-la-Madeleine, the Route Verte joins up with Route 138 again.

The rest is pretty straightforward from there on. We drove along the new Champlain Promenade bike path in quebec City Saturday. It's a really nice ride into Old Quebec.

Cheers,
Ron

higgit

Hi Ron

I just want to thank you for all the useful info re: cycling in Quebec. My brother lives in Brossard and I want to cycle from his place to the Beauce.

Keep up the good work. You are a great ambassador for "La Belle Province".

Ted Higgins
St. Catharines ON

RHoude

How do you plan to get from Brossard to Beauce? Going there through Chambly, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Farnham, Granby and Sherbrooke seems an interesting way to get there.

Only too happy to share my tidbits of knowledge to make fellow cyclists enjoy the ride more and get to destination safely.

Cheers,
Ron

jpmartineau

+1 on that route. It's really nice, especially after Granby (edited for typo - was Sherbrooke).

From Chambly to Granby, you have two options:
- follow the Route Verte (route 1), you'll see the Chambly Canal (~15 to 20km), which is nice. After that, you'll have a ~40 km ride through the fields - a very straight line! One exception, through Farnham, where there's a few curves If you like riding to the horizon, this is definitely the way to go!
- get off the Route Verte at Chambly and take the Route des Champs. Although there may well be a better way to get there, you can ride the 212 for a few km to Marieville and take the Route des Champs from there. It's quite similar to the 40 km of fields on the Route Verte, except shorter. Taking that route will save you about 30km if I remember correctly. Depends if you're in a hurry. The Route des Champs will connect to the Route Verte as you enter Granby.

Enjoy the ride!

If you're planning to spend more than 2 or 3 days riding the Route Verte, I strongly recommend you get the official guide. You can find it easily in Montreal, although it might be harder to get your hands on an english copy. It costs 20$ but is a real gem when you're on the road - especially the 5th edition, which has much more information - and is up to date with the latest developments.

jpmartineau

The temperature will very likely be warm, 20s to 30s ºC, but it can get cold at night, especially near the St-Laurent River. Also, there's the occasional cold day. I remember freezing my ass off on a ride last year, it rained all day and the temperature was around 14ºC, around mid-july if I remember correctly.

As for rain, if you're lucky, you won't get any. If you aren't, you'll get some. Realistically, you're likely to see a few showers if you spend a week, but you can expect mainly sunny skies. Also, be careful with historic temperature averages, because the temperature in Quebec can vary a lot from year to year - and day to day for that matter.

Basically, bring a raincoat and a warm swater, and some pants that can unzip to shorts and you'll be fine!

And bring some mosquito repellent. You might encounter some, especially north of the St-Lawrence.