| |
|
Quebec: Villages, Canals, and Montreal |
 |
|
|
|
| Gordon with his trusty Bob Trailer, cycling Quebec, summer 2004 |
This
week-long bike camping trip took us from
northern Vermont, through the Eastern Townships of Quebec, on to
Montreal, along the Soulang and Beauharnois canals on either
side of the St. Lawrence, and back through the Circuit
de Paysans area of southwestern Quebec. It was a nice mix of on-road,
paved bike path, and packed stone dust bike paths, with gentle terrain
and surprises at every turn! We would be glad to arrange this tour for
your group by request.
|
|
|
|
Lake
Carmi State Park in Vermont was our
start-out location. It's just a few
miles from the Quebec border and the
beautiful Eastern Township villages that
are popular with Montreal tourists.
|
| |
Sunday: From
the lake, we go south 3 miles to catch the nearby stone-dust Missisoquoi Rail Trail,
which extends 26 miles from St. Albans to the Canadian border at
Richford. We head east from there, staying in
Vermont until we reach Newport. Turning north, we
coss the border into the Eastern Townships of Quebec near Stanstead and Bebee Plain, and camp for the night at Camping Lac Frontiere in Stanstead.
|
| Stone dust Chambly Canal path, part of Route Verte |
|
| Riding along the St. Lawrence Seaway in our 2004 Quebec City trip |
Wednesday: From
Mont-Saint-Brono we turn back toward Chambly so that we can join a a
paved section of the Route Verte, eventually crossing the Fleuve
Saint-Laurent (Saint Lawrence Seaway) on the Notre Dame or Champlain
Bridges into Old Montreal, where a short bike route takes us right into
the old city for lunch. You may wish to explore some other cycling routes in the city. Then we take the paved Lacine Canal Path
from the Old Port of Montreal (or the southern coastal route alternative)
to Lacine. We continue then along south of Montreal on Lake Shore Drive, crossing
over to Pointe Des Cascades just to the west of the city on the
Galipeau and
Tsachereau bridges. We stay at Camping Pointe Des Cascades .
Today's ride is about
50 miles.
|
| The paved Beauharnois Canal bike path |
|
| Stopping to check the route maps |
Friday
We continue today through the Monteregie section of Quebec
near the US border along the Circuit du Paysan (literally, circuit of peasants) , a scenic loop through the farmlands of southwest Quebec.
we
ride a few miles east and take the Paysans Piste Multifunctionelle, a stone dust bike trail, which runs from Ste Clothide to
Lacolle. An parallel on-road route is the Circuit d'Hemmingford from St. Clotilde to
Lacolle. The Monteregie area is
criss-crossed with wonderful quiet cycling loops, which we will only be able to just touch on.
We turn south on the Route Verte , and cross back into the US
in Alburg on North Hero Island, surrounded by Lake Champlain.
Heading east
in Vermont, we pass through the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge. From
Swanton we follow the Missisquoi River on Rt. 78, and join
the Missisquoi Rail Trail for a few miles in Sheldon. In a few
miles, we turn north on Rt. 136, and are soon back to Lake Carmi, the
end of our trip. Today's ride is 68 miles.
|
| Michael with panniers on side route near Mt. Orford |
Planning for the trip:
The total for the tour is 7 days, a bit over 400 miles,
with an average of 55-60 miles per day on a mix of stone dust
cycling trails and on-road routes. We stay in a
group site, or two small tents on each individual site. We
are usually on our own for food, eating along the way rather than carry
food and cooking utensils. Being on our own, we don't have
access to van support or other services, so make sure your bike
and panniers are ready. For
carrying my camping gear and clothes, I prefer pulling my one wheel Bob Yak trailer,
while others prefer to use panniers. The Yak has more room for
tents and has a lower center of balance, but is a bit cumbersome when
parking. Panniers can easily be removed, but usually
require larger objects such as sleeping bags and tents to be
strapped on top. In any case, travel light; we always bring back
items we didn't even use on the trip.
Our routes are now available
on Disk!
All Bike New England routes are now
available on one disk with over 400 files. The disk includes cue
sheets and maps for all our current tours, as well as 7 years of touring in the
Berkshires, the Massachusetts North Shore, Cape Cod, Vermont, New Hampshire,
Maine, Quebec, Nova Scotia, the Adirondacks, and Lake Champlain. To order
the disk, please send a check or money order for $35 to Bike
New England
, 17 Mill Rd., Ipswich MA 01938
|
| |
