Quebec is calling us again. We loved riding on Canadian bikeways last year when we rode Lake Champlain in New Hampshire and New York and detoured into Montreal. We had perfect weather, were amazed at the Route Verte bike system- or Green Route — Quebec having dedicated bikelanes and the sensibility to put lanes on one side of the road with special crosswalks. Cars and cyclists have less confusion with who is turning where. They even had traffic signals with little flashing red and green bikes.
This trip we planned like our others. We have a dream destination. In this case, French-speaking Quebec City, and traveling in the summer to leave the heat of DC, and farther east this time, starting near Granby, which is between Montreal and Quebec City. We also found out they have trains that take bikes.
We actually start planning all our rides by selecting a starting place with a friendly owner to leave our car for 2 weeks. We read the B&B reviews of bike-friendly establishments and found B and B Au Couer de Pomme, Heart of the Apple. The hosts sounded friendly and on email welcomed us! They offered us a nice room in their home near the farming area, near apple orchards, a hearty breakfast, and a packed lunch for the next day’s ride, and a 2 week car spot at their B and B. Pauline and Gilles we are coming!
Next we plan a general route and look for 30 to 50 mile biking distances. With a place to sleep. We do credit card touring or inn to inn touring. It is not as flexible as camping, but at our age, sleep matters. I generally use a travel hotel booking service but also many small establishments are found through local websites like visitor bureaus or biking websites.
We add lots of sightseeing time also. This is a vacation not a race. So we have 3 days in Quebec City, a train ride to Montreal, and 2 days in Montreal, and back to our apple orchard hosts. After much packing angst, packing as little as we can, we are ready to leave. While this is not for everybody we just love it!
Velo Spirits 