The writing is on the wall. I need to be in Montreal tomorrow to meet my cousin David who is flying in from England to cycle to Halifax with me. It’s time to put the bike on the back of the RV and drive to Montreal.
Today is like a day in late October or early November and I’m happy to be driving rather than cycling.
I’ve only had two previous cycling experiences in Quebec. The most recent was taking a group of riders to Montreal for bike week. Montreal is considered the best cycling city in North America and for bike week, it attracts cyclists from around the world. One of their bike week events is a one-day 50 km ride, “Tour de I’lle de Montreal”, attracts 45,000 cyclists, making it the largest event of this nature in North America. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the ride. We could have planned our trip to participate but decide that we would get in lots of cycling over the next 3 weeks.
The other cycling experience I had in Quebec was the one I previously mentioned when a group of us cycled the Le Petit Train du Nord. That was a multi-day cycling trip we did from just north of Montreal to Mount Laurier and back. It was a great experience for many reasons. The trail was excellent, passing through small towns and villages along the way. We stopped in a number of these villages where we found quaint restaurants with wonderful food, bike services including repair facilities and even places where you could have a shower. The towns had a wide variety of accommodation to meet everyone’s needs. We opted to camp along the way. What made the trip even more enjoyable was the fact that we were able to contract with a company that moved our gear from one location to the next, which meant we only needed to carry what we needed for the day.
Le Petit Train du Nord was part of a decision by the Quebec government many years ago to invest $75 million establishing a trail system through the province. A decision way ahead of the rest of the country and one that has resulted in Quebec becoming a destination for cyclist from all over.
Since completing that ride I have wanted to get back to cycling in Quebec. Today marks my return to the province and an opportunity to check out some of the other trails they have developed. If you want more information on cycling in Quebec I recommend https://www.velo.qc.ca/
The Rotary Ride for Kids 
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