road cycling near Montreal and/or Quebec City?

[Bob Ross]

Going up to Canada this summer for a family event, will have several days in Montreal and several days in (old) Quebec City. Will bring our bikes. Not looking to make it a "cycling vacation" per se since family takes priority, but it'd be nice to get some 25-50 mile rides (paved) in before anybody else is out of bed.

Any suggestions on routes, or resources for finding routes? Local cycle clubs or shop rides? Beanspill!

Thanks.

[deechee]

I thought there were a few posts about this but can't find them on quick search. My morning rides are usually the F1 track, L'estacade, or the usual Mt Royal World Cup loop(ignore the weird loop they're doing on the dirt path - no idea what that is). Where are you staying?

The Lachine canal is nice, but chunks of it have been closed off since last year and I'm pretty sure they're closed this year.

[tv_vt]

Right outside Montreal is pretty flat - if you're on the south/east side of the river. And lots of development. I'd almost say head down to Vermont or east to around Orford if you want good riding. For a short ride, though, maybe around Mt Royal?

Quebec, head to Ile d'Orleans, maybe.

[pdonk]

If I remember correctly, in QC there is a really nice and long multi use trail along the river.

Also in QC, could try to ride the world tour event course.

[htwoopup]

Originally Posted by deechee

Lachine canal is nice, but chunks of it have been closed off since last year and I'm pretty sure they're closed this year.

Actually it’s a small part closed but the path runs on both sides and it is easy to get to the side without the construction. Also from there you can take a quick jog through about five blocks of shared bike car road to get over to nuns island. And there you can ride on pavement or there are some pretty rides through unpaved road (that you can use 25mm tires on) that run through the woods along the St. Lawrence. You can also ride from there over the ice control structure across the St. Lawrence to a path that is very rideable on skinny tires that goes down past the Recreo park and back to the Formula One track. If you do that out from and then back iinto old Montreal you have about a 35 mile loop with only a few blocks in shared polite car traffic. There are something like 400 miles of bike path in Montreal.


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[zzy]

Originally Posted by tv_vt

Quebec, head to Ile d'Orleans, maybe.

Was there this summer, and while beautiful, I don't recommend this. It will be full of tourists and the main loop of the island is quite fast and narrow. If there are some paths you can take off that road maybe it would be fine. On the north side of the river - Beaupre - there is tons of great riding and paths.

I would also caution anyone about riding in MTL in general. While there are lots of cyclepaths, the driving is somewhat insane on the streets, and the roads often in rough shape. But summiting Mte Royal first thing in the morning is really amazing. I've done a bit of riding Hemmingford/Naiperville area and it's beautiful but the roads can be scary - everyone's doing 80kmh+ and there are a lot of heavy vehicles. And the odd tractor.

Check out Route Vert - Quebec has built thousands of miles of dedicated bike paths across the province.

[DarkStar]

Originally Posted by deechee

I thought there were a few posts about this but can't find them on quick search. My morning rides are usually the F1 track, L'estacade, or the usual Mt Royal World Cup loop(ignore the weird loop they're doing on the dirt path - no idea what that is). Where are you staying?

The Lachine canal is nice, but chunks of it have been closed off since last year and I'm pretty sure they're closed this year.

The canal in mostly open now, this Saturday rode the entire length without any issues.

[deechee]

Thanks htwoopup, I honestly have avoided the canal for a while since I moved to Verdun a few years back. Good to know it's still accessible.

Speaking of which, is the dirt path open between the F1 track and the l'Estacade to RecreoParc? With Samuel Champlain supposedly opening this summer, (fyi tourists, the bridge was supposed to open last December) not sure how accessible the space underneath the bridge will be. Gotta love SNC Lavalin's reliable work... (they're in the headlines for other, dumber reasons)

And the F1 track isn't open to cyclists all the time.
You definitely need to lookup the schedule before you go.
F1 Circuit schedule . And with today's report, I can only imagine the times will be reduced further this summer. And there's no such thing as a heads up with this city and the PJD group. They closed off the park with no notice a few years back which required a few months of negotiating to get them to finally at least provide us with this schedule on when the park is actually open.

I grew up in Montreal, and my ex's dad has a farm out near Covey Hill. Yes, Montreal drivers are well known for not signaling or stopping but honestly, in the city it's not that bad. Our speed limits have also been reduced - unless you're on a major boulevard (ie. 3 lanes wide), I don't find it that bad. In places like the plateau, I'm more afraid of cyclists than drivers. They come out of the street the wrong way, or come out of blind corners into traffic etc. And sorry to say, but most of those drivers who buzz you in the boonies are city folk. (Hmm, who killed our local cyclist two years ago on Mt Royal? A TOURIST?) The people I know and those in tractors always give a wide berth to cyclists. A lot of seasonal workers are on bicycles and a number of businesses rely on tourists. They're not stupid. That said, I will admit I have been thinking about getting a Garmin Varia or something as I often ride alone.

[htwoopup]

Originally Posted by deechee

Speaking of which, is the dirt path open between the F1 track and the l'Estacade to RecreoParc?

It was open even this past summer. There was maybe 50 meters that you had to walk under some scaffolding that goes under the construction site.

I love the run down around the point past the Recreo Park and back up even past the F1 and taking the Jacques Cartier bridge back into town.

There is also a nice path along the St Lawrence that runs in a park that starts in Verdun and runs down past the Rapids part and past Iles-aux-Herons. If you follow that to the end, you go past all kinds of art installations and if you can go through some little traffic and bike pathed roads at the end (the whole thing runs near Blvd LaSalle) and get back around to Lachine Canal. If you follow down LaSalle past that you can get to Rene Levesque Park which has some great sights. And from there do the loop up to the Canal.

Someone posted above that the drivers are crazy. I am from NYC where they ARE crazy. I LOVE riding in Montreal because I find it incredibly bike sensitive, polite, and friendly. I never consider riding in NY City except in the middle of the day...no rush hour, no bad weather, no darkness nor dusk. In Montreal (and up in the Laurentians) I have no issue riding at any time any day. I frequently ride on Rte 117 (think major interstate for American readers) for quite a bit up in the Laurentians. It has wide shoulders where I ride and I have, on several occasions, had tractor trailer trucks slow to a crawl to let traffic pass so they could get in the left lane to give me more room. That said, I wouldn't ride on Rte 15 in Montreal proper, but the local streets are fine. And yeah, they are in bad shape right after the snow melts but they get fixed. In NYC, there always suck and it gets worse the more economically disadvantaged a neighborhood is...but that's a whole other discussion.

[OtayBW]

I was up there for a conference ~3 weeks ago, and I'd say BRING A FREAKIN' COAT. Seriously, forget the bike; bring provisions and survival gear.....

That said, I had a delightful dinner at a place on Rue Saint-Jean called Portofino (http://portofino.ca/en/). Great Italian food, wonderful atmosphere and vibe, fantastic wait staff. I also stayed at a delightful, very reasonable historic hotel (http://www.manoir-victoria.com/index.php/en/) a ~half block away from the restaurant. Anyway, check them out if you feel so inclined. Bring a freaking parka!

[zzy]

Originally Posted by htwoopup

Someone posted above that the drivers are crazy. I am from NYC where they ARE crazy. I LOVE riding in Montreal because I find it incredibly bike sensitive, polite, and friendly. I never consider riding in NY City except in the middle of the day...

Funny because I feel the exact opposite - I ride in NYC every day and find the predicable aggression and wide roads easy to navigate. That said, route selection is very important. OTOH, I was nearly right hooked twice MTL in 3 days my last time there. Once it was a driver making an illegal right on a red. I agree though about the dangers posed by cyclists there - they ride like they drive. But there's no question Quebec in general has a far more cycle friendly attitude, especially for roadies.