Maybe one of you guys in the Montreal area can tell me how to get from the bike path on the south shore to the island. I had the chance last week to ride the south shore for a bit but I could not figure an easy way to the island. Can you bike over the Jacque Cartier bridge? This is more of a curiousity thing but I might be back again this season and have the chance again and would want to go to the old city by bike.Besides the paths that I saw while driving looked outstanding.

There are two or three ways...

One is from Ste-Catherine-d'Alexandrie, where you cross the drawbridge at the lock and then go east along the bikes-only road on Ile de Couvees for 11 km untill you get to the Ice Bridge that parallels the Chaimplain bridge. That gets you onto Ile des Soeurs, where you can follow the signs that take you to the bike path along the north part of the Champlain that takes you onto Montreal proper.

Another way is from St-Lambert. Head to the St-Lambert Locks. There's a drawbridge that goes over the locks and is open to bike and pedestrian traffic. That leads to a dirt road that heads West toward the Ile de Couvees road [see above] or a bike path that heads east toward Ile Notre Dame. Take the path, yoou'll go around the north side of the F1 circuit till you come to a series of small bridges. Follow the signs to Montreal until you cross Le Pont de la Concorde. When you cross the bridge, you'll go a long a bike path that passes Cite du Havre and Habitat 67. You're in Montreal

Unfortunately, this latter route is closed until the GPF1 motor lovefest is over.

There is a third way. The pont Jacques Cartier has a bike path on both sides. At least one of them should be open. It takes you from the south shore near Longeuil metro to corner papineau/Ontario I think. There is also a possible exit near La Ronde.

I tried riding across that bridge couple of years ago. Got some bum scoop
on how to get into Montreal. After a couple of near misses and more fingers
than you can count, I found the bike path. Great city!

The cycling is pretty good. A fair amount of bike paths, motorists are genuenly curtious to bicycles. I think that is why we almost always rank near the top of Bicycling's top cycle cities.

Thanks for the info guys I new there had to be a way over. I found Montreal to be a great city to ride in and around. The drivers are definitely more aware and courteous to cyclists than say Toronto but then again Toronto motorists are totally anal retententive. In fact I find Quebec to have a superior cycling culture and defintely more comuters than other areas in which I have been. Bicycles just seem more accepted there.