I had a lovely time on the Trans-canada from Medicine Hat, Albnerta all the way till Espanola, Ontario. The really bad sections for me was Manitoba (no shoulders at time) and some construction leaving Thunderbay heading to Nipigon. Perhaps the other routes are more interesting, I am not sure since i can not compare them, but the Trans-Canada is not that horrible in my opinion. I wasn't even bored crossing the prairies.

The thing I liked about most of the TransCanada throughout the prairies is that it has shoulders and is two lanes, giving you lots of room between yourself and the traffic, although I am sure there is more traffic.

That section from Thunderbay to Nipigon is the one section I've heard everyone curse about. I didn't have too much of an issue after the 20 km of ground up road. But I think my timing may have more to do with it. I left Thunderbay on a Sunday, perhaps the traffic was not as bad as most weekend traffic was heading back into the city, and transport traffic seemed light.

Manitoba wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, it starts off with a shoulder (if i recall) and the worst sections was from Portage la Prairie into the city limits of winnipeg. A mirror is a must, then you can see if cars are going around you or not. I had two cars that i flipped the bird to on that section.

Now this may all be slanted because I enjoy riding in toronto rush hour traffic for fun. Or because the majority of the TransCanada through the priaries is the section i had some great company with. I guess there are many parameters that will change opinions and enjoyment of each section.

Now the worst section of road for me, was Hwy6 in ontario from Tobermory down thru Owensound until
Chatsworth where most of the Toronto Bound traffic splits off on Hwy 10. Timing played a part on that section as well, I did that section on a sunday, as weekend cottage traffic was traveling the same way. The heat might have affected my opinion as well.

roopurt
damnit i gotta do it again!
https://xcanada.roosmachine.com
https://canada2005.crazyguyonabike.com

Although some seems to prefer the North Shore of the Saint-Lawrence river pass Quebec City, I would opt for the very quiet and beautiful road 132 from there to Rivière du Loup. Not very hilly, that is for sure, but not boring at all! You will also cross some of the nicest landscape in the province.

From Montreal to Quebec city: road 138... easy paved shoulder and very little trafic. By all mean avoid the (stone dust) cycling path between Victoria ville and Quebec city... it is a long flat and straight path... in other words it is extremely boring.

If you arrive in the province of Quebec from Ottawa, the road on the Quebec side of the Ottawa river is beautiful and slightly shorter than the road on the Ontario side of the river.

The route verte website and booklets are quite interesting for some sections (especially for finding bridges and shortcuts in cities) but do not follow it all the time, use your own judgement.

Wow that's really funny because today my package came from the Quebec Tourism office with a pamphlet on St. Lawrence touring. Anywhere you would recommend stopping?

If you do take the north shore, there are many enticing possibilities:

Petite Rivière Saint François: Pretty village on the St. Lawrence River at the end of a wild 5 km descent on a road with 8%, 10%, 11% and 15% grades! Several reasonable B+Bs. Not sure about camping.

Baie St. Paul: A bit touristy, but a nice place to stop for a celebratory meal. I stayed at an inexpensive B+B right in the middle of town, and gorged on ice cream and local cheeses. Lots of art galleries, if you like that sort of thing. (I actually bought paintings and had them shipped home.) In Baie St. Paul, I took a geological bus tour to view the remains of a meteorite that gouged out this area a few hundred million years ago. (It was offered in French only when I was there.)

Isle-aux-Coudres: A picturesque island in the St. Lawrence with very few hills, accessible by free ferry. As you descend toward the dock at Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive, the hills have grades of 18% or even 20%. The views of the river and sky and mountains will take your breath away. (And not just from the sudden change in altitude!) I really struggled to climb these hills after spending a day on the island, but it was worth the effort.

I hope that gets you started. I am so-o-o tempted to return.

From Montreal to Quebec city, you'll find many nice small villages. I stopped at a nice B&B in Berthierville last summer as well as the Youth Hostel in Trois-Rivières (which is about midway between Montreal and Quebec City). Many cyclists also stop in Deschambault too. If you are cycling over 100km per day, my suggestion would be to stop in Montréal, Trois-Rivière and Québec City. Road 138 between Montreal and Quebec city is a nice and easy ride so you might be able to take it easy and visit different places along the way even if cycling over 100km per day. Otherwise, Berthierville is a nice stop and so is the more rural (and slightly touristy) Deschambault. Once you are in the province of Quebec, be sure to take the regional booklets: they list all campings and accomodations (with prices!) as well as the major attractions.

From Quebec City to Rivière du Loup (road 132), you'll also find tons of nice villages, especially between Montmagny and Rivière du Loup. Saint-Jean Port Joli is quite touristy but has its own charms. As for myself, I especially like the Kamouraska area. If you venture further East on road 132, you will reach Parc du Bic, one of the nicest provincial park in Quebec... the camping over there fills very quickly however and the last places available are located near the main road, reserve in advance.

If, from Quebec City, you plan to venture in Charlevoix on the North shore (road 138 and 362) you will sweat a lot but cross some awesome landscape. In Baie Saint Paul, the best place to stop is called 'Les Balcons Verts'... half youth hostel, half camping, half restaurant... and the view from there is very nice. Some of the nicest places require a detour to reach the coast: Saint-Joseph de la Rive (and the very touristy Isle aux Coudres) and Port au Persil.

Although you will have the possibility to cross the St-Lawrence river at Saint-Simeon, you might want to extend your trip up to Les Escoumins where you'll also be able to cross the river. The trip from Saint-Simeon to Tadousac is quite impressive although fairly wild. You should be able to find a palce to camp almost anywhere there... but, the Youth Hostel in Tadousac is well know for its festive athmosphere and if whale watching interest you, this is the place to go. Pass Tadousac, you can follow the river and reach very impressive sand dunes.

If you are pressed with time, the south shore (road 132) is really the fastest. If you want to explore the area a bit more and do not fear climbing for hours, the North Shore has a lot to offer. If you have time, you can even go hiking in one of two of the nicest parks in Quebec: Parc des Grands Jardins and Parc des Hautes Gorges de la rivière Malbaie... but that would truly be a long detour.

Finally, if you are not travelling alone, B&Bs can be fairly cheap in Quebec and many are used to accomodate cyclists (in some case they will even do your laundry for free and provide you with a big healthy breakfast).

Great advice. If you have time and aren't afraid of hills, the ride through Charlevoix is really worthed. Be aware, however, that the ferry from Les Escoumins to Trois-Pistoles is out of commission for the entire 2006 season (dock work, I think), so you will have to use the Saint-Siméon – Rivière-du-Loup ferry. Another crossing would be Godbout – Matane, but that would be a long detour for not so interesting scenery East of Tadoussac.

Riding East, the best route depends on what you want. If you want mostly flat yet interesting terrain in New Brunswick, then ride from Rimouski to Amqui to Matapédia to Campbelton, then the North and East side of New Brunswick. If you prefer the picturesque St. John valley, then either use the "Petit Témis trail" from Rivière-du-Loup to Edmunston, or use highway 287 via Pohénégamook (it starts about 20 km East of Rivière-du-Loup). I find that route very scenic and it has almost no traffic.

In New Brunswick, the #100 route numbers are the most bike-friendly routes.

Wow that is great advice. If I wanted to tour into rural Quebec how important is it to speak French? I am willing to make an effort but if I speak English is anyone going to be offended?

Rocks will be thrown at you but the small ones don't hurt and people can't throw the big ones very far anyway. Watch for people with brooms hiding behind trees. Brooms are for the spokes. To minimize rock-throwing and broom spoking, learn a few basic words like "bonjour" et "merci" et the all useful "je ne parle pas français". That, a smile and some gestures (except one-finger salute) go a long way.

I'm a fan of the north shore after Québec City. Not that the south is boring but after cycling the St-Lawrence flatlands for a while, the north shore east of Quebec City offers diversity. And just about everybody going across Canada ride the south shore.

Between Montréal and Québec, you basically follow the 138, "Chemin du Roy" or Route Verte N°5. They are usually the same road. In a few places, the "Chemin du Roy" Route Verte take a different road. Take it as that's when the shoulder disappears on the 138 (though traffic is not that bad). Many fruit stands on the 138 around the Neuville. Oh, and don't miss the "most beautiful street in Canada" according to some newspaper (Globe and Mail). Well, it's just a pretty street with old houses.

After Québec City, you can cross the river on Québec Bridge or the ferry. I suggest the ferry. Or you can continue onthe north shore. Whatever you do, take a little ride around the port, the old port where there's a public market with lotsa goodies for a hungry cyclist. Adjacent to the market is a bike shop. This is all right on the bike path. Ask the shop to park inside while your stomach guides you to the market. Then, unless you're in a big hurry and decide to ride the south shore, Follow indications and ride the handful of kilometers towards Domaine Les Maizerêts and Chute Montmorency. Have an ice cream at Véloasis.

If you decide to stay on the north shore, continue to Montmorency falls. Keep going and you'll find Dugal street parallel to Ste-Anne boulevard. Keep going or take a left to reach Royale avenue. When Dugal street ends, you have to ride Ste-Anne boulevard with the fast traffic. (in fall 2005, there was a mud path that looked to be a future bike path). Fortunaly, it has humongous shoulders, as big as a lane. Every once in a while, you'll see a perpendicular street connecting with Royale avenue. This is the old, quiet, go-through-village option. You can switch between the two boulevards many times, depending on how you feel. With its straight, large, and new shoulder, you just wanna time-trial on Ste-Anne boulevard.

A few kilometers east of the impressive Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré Cathedral, you might regret choosing the north shore. The road goes vertical and looks like a wall, literally.

But you shouldn't continue on the 138 at that point:

https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=f...01778,0.043259

Ride towards Mont St-Anne and St-Féréol-les-Neiges on the 360. No shoulders but quiet country side road, and you'll pass the worst of the 138. When the road goes back to the 138, you'll have a short distance to do on a 4 lane highway. Traffic is fast and furious but there's enough room. Shoulders are ridiculously small. Soon the shoulder widens. Lots of climbing, 2km descent, more climbing, then downhill all the way to Baie St-Paul.

Another option from Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré is to continue on Royale avenue and route des Carrières (it was posted as Royale ave when I passed). But this implies some crazy-nut climbing, and going back to the 138 sooner than you'd want just to have to climb some more, and then even more climbing on Avenue de la Montagne to avoid the 138 as much as possible. Drag the Google map east to see where it goes.

From Baie-St-Paul, take the 362 to La Malbaie. That road doesn't have many shoulders but a few are well-placed on difficult climbs. It's well worth it though.

Somewhere on the 362 is the ferry to Île-aux-Coudres. Nice place for a rest day, if you don't mind climbing the steep hill . Camping Sylvie is nice and cheap (12$ in 2005). It's on the right after climbing the hill after the ferry. That hill is short but it's the worst because everybody waiting for the ferry is watching you.

I'm writing something on the north shore route. I'll post it when it's translated in a coherent English.

B.C.
https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/exp...ac_search.html
Check cycling and area, you can locate b.c parks that allow cycling.

https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/exp.../kalamalk.html
https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/exp...gs/kettle.html
https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/exp.../white_lk.html


https://www.bikeforums.net/mountain-biking/176825-provincial-parks-allow-offroad-riding.html#post2226335
The list is for offroad cycling. But you may find a place\park in B.C to explore?
Have a great trip!

I can give you a few places on Vancouver Island to see as well.
I'll post later when I have more time.

The ferry from Les Escoumins -- which is a very nice village -- was also out of commission in 2002, the year I toured Charlevoix. I continued east for another day to Forestville, where I caught the ferry to Rimouski. The road from Les Escoumins to Forestville is fairly flat, and not particularly interesting, but there is a paved bike path parallel to the highway as you approach Forestville.

One of the best things about touring in Quebec is the toll-free number for obtaining information on accommodations, routes, ferry crossings, attractions, and more. The number to call is 1-877-BONJOUR. The very helpful operators speak both French and English, and will even make hotel and B+B reservations on your behalf. On my two bike trips to Quebec, I used the service almost every day.