View Full Version : Montreal/Biking Question
dohearne
05-28-2004, 10:08 AM
Although Montreal is an easy drive from my home in VT, my wife and I have yet to visit - which is probably a shame. To correct this we are considering a 3-4 day short trip this summer. Does anyone have advice as to where to stay given that I will want to bike while I am there. This implies easy access to biking routes and a bike friendly hotel. I understand Montreal is very cycling friendly so I am assuming that many places will be accomodating. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the annual Bike Fest is coming up next week - maybe next year.
Gat64
05-28-2004, 11:44 AM
I used to live in Montreal and commuted 30km a day to downtown - my experience is that Montreal is far from cycle friendly! Montreal is on an island and therefore it is hard to find any quiet routes unless you get off the island.
I am not sure how Montreal gets this good reputation - I have heard it before - They have many bike paths (in total lengths) but my experience with them is that they are full of casual riders - not something you would want to be riding on! I have been hit by a car twice while living there - too many cars - all allowed to park on both sides of the street.
Sorry to be negative about Montreal - I love to visit there now - but not cycle! I now live in Ottawa (Canada's capital - 2 hours west of Montreal). It is a city not as large as Montreal but the cycling is spectacular! May rural roads within in easy access from the centre, closed off roads in the summer on Sundays for cycling and the diamond in the bunch - the Gatineau Hills. A fantastic hilly route (42km loop from the gate) through a large park - very little traffic. I live fairly central and can hit the Gatineus from my house and do the 60km route in 2 hours! There is a Grand Prix race there in July as well - 5 inner loops! It's a killer!
Sorry - not much help with the travel arrangements... good luck!
I lived there as well. Thats where I started riding decent miles. Learned how to drive there as well :D
I agree that cycling on the "Island" isn't that great. Go off the island.
The last place I lived in Canada was in Hudson, PQ. About 45 min. drive west from downtown Montreal on your way to Ottawa. Great country side and great restaurants. Nice cost effective place to stay in Hudson would be the Willow Inn. Last time I was there they charged US$85 including breakfast. Price might be higher now since the C$ has improved since I was there last.
Ferry to Oka is right there as well which will offer you another great place to ride.
I agree Gatineau is a fantastic place to ride near Ottawa. Rode there many years ago in the fall shortly after I won a 40K TT near Toronto. Fall colors where fantastic.
theoldman
05-28-2004, 02:07 PM
I live in Montreal (Hudson actually) and it is a good place to ride a bike.
The western end of the island of Montreal has many good roads to cycle on. Gouin west, lakeshore road, Ille bizard are all bike friendly places. On any given day you will see many, many people riding around.
The city is considered great for biking, but not, in my opinion, because of the road riding. It has more to do with the trail riding (lachine canal for example) and the bike friendly culture.
There a number of biking events throughout the summer that draw many people. The tour de L'Ille (tour of the island) draws over 30,000 cyclists every year, making it one of the biggest cycling events on the planet. They basically close the city to cars and let the cyclist take over. This is only one of a many events that takes place. Cyclist come from all over the North east to take part in these rides. For more information on this, take a look at velo quebec www.velo.qc.ca
From the city there are many, many cycling trails that take you out to country side. Some are paved, some are crushed stone. The unpaved ones are best explored with a mountain bike/hybrid or cross bike. For road cyclists, there are lots of country roads that can be accessed from the bike paths. These country roads are generally bike friendly. There is also a network of bike routes that have been established over the past 10 years for road cycling. The velo quebec site also list these (i think) . (route verte)
If you want to come and visit montreal, you might want to find a hotel near "old montreal". There are a collection of very nice bike paths that go through this part of town. From there you can go east, west, south and even north. My only suggestion is that you leave early in the morning. The paths can get crowded after 9:00am. The advantage of being in this part of the city, is that you are very close to great restaurants, downtown events and things to see. In the summer 'old montreal' is a very happening place.
I would not recommend road riding in the city proper unless you are with someone that knows the city. You could do it, but like any large city, there are dangers.
Zap mentioned Hudson, which is a great place to stay and ride from. Lots of good roads, great scenery and minimal traffic. But if you give me a choice of Vermont or Hudson, I will take Vermont. Best state in the Union in my opinion. Enjoy your trip.
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