Day 10 biking in Quebec: A quick 23 miles to close the loop, plus extra tips

What a finale to our bike adventure in Canada! Bike path after bike path all the way back to where we started in Boucherville, outside Montreal.

The last section wasn’t even on a named regional trail in the suburbs. If that doesn’t persuade you that Quebec’s network of bike paths, from the Route Verte on down, are incredible, nothing will.

OK, they aren’t always bump-free 😁.

Our group of five riders has shrunk to two. The campers stopped in North Hatley, opting to spend an extra day with a friend and playing on the lake. Just coincidence that they missed the climbs of Day 9?

A third rider was laid low by a broken spoke at the end of day 9, undetected until the front wheel was rubbing so much against the brake that it could barely move by the time we reached our final hotel. There’s a bike shop just a few blocks away, but it wouldn’t open until 11. We could be back with the car by then.

Heading out shortly after 8 am, we had the Route des Champs to ourselves. Less than 10 miles later we were in Chambly, back on Route Verte 1, and trail traffic was picking up. The two women chatting as they walked A mom biking with two preschoolers in a bike trailer. A tween pedaling furiously to make 9 am tennis camp.

We arrived too late for bike bus pickup for kids going to camp — but how cool is that? Just took me a minute to figure out the sign or I’d have stopped to take a photo.

But look at that bike path between power lines! Why does our utility company insist that a bike path is a security risk?

We leave Route Verte 1 soon after that view of the Montreal skyline from a bridge. Look at the spiral ramp we took to get off the bridge!

So many ways to get to Montreal from there:

All in all, a great trip, even with the heat, the rain and some steep climbs. I do think I’ve eaten more fries (including the poutine versions) and French pastries in just over a week than I normally eat in a year. Time to get back to normal.

Our final route is here.

Some post-ride thoughts

No matter how great the trip, there are always things you’d known beforehand or had done differently. So in no particular order, some tips to share:

1. That first-day ride was just too short given how little there is to do in Sorel-Tracy. If you can handle something closer to 65 miles, consider starting in Marieville instead. There’s a free municipal lot near the hotel we stayed in — a stone manoir built in 1797. You might even be able to leave your car at the hotel for free, especially if you stay at the start and at the end — so call and ask. The smoked meat restaurant around the corner is a great dinner choice!

If 65 miles is too long, call the Chambly municipal office and ask about multiday parking options. I haven’t done this, but maybe they allow it in the park next to the police station? And 55 miles or so is doable?

2. Youth hostels have changed a lot! The campers were glad they switched at the last minute to the one in Trois-Rivières. Check the ones in Old Quebec if you don’t like hotel prices but like us want to stay in the center. (Here’s a link to one.) If you’re happy being further away, the university rents dorm rooms in the summer. No regrets about the day off the bike to play in the city. Should we have had 2?

3. I’m guessing you don’t have a friend with access to a lake house in North Hatley. So you’d peel off from our route at Sherbrooke and head to Magog instead. This is a summer resort town on a lake, with mountains as the backdrop. Spend the night there and enjoy the town, even consider an extra day there if time and budget allow. It also will shorten the day’s ride to Marieville.

4. Given how rural some sections are, take some time before leaving to study the route for food options. That would have been especially helpful for us on day 2. Don’t forget to check that those places are open on the day you’ll be biking through.

5. From the campers: bring bug spray, don’t trust that the campground restaurant or snack bar will always be open when you want it so an always have some food with you for a dinner emergency. The pools are great. People seem to respect quiet hours, but the campsites for tents may be in the back, behind all the RVs and within earshot of a highway. Earplugs! Ask about a site with power and water; that may not be much more than two tent sites (and if you have two tents, they may want you to rent two sites rather than share one).

6. Canadian money. We had some cash (use an ATM there or get it from your bank before you leave), but plastic works just about everywhere, even small places in the middle of nowhere. Rather than pay credit-card companies their fees (or fees hidden with a bad exchange rate), we used Wise, a digital bank with a digital ATM card, to pay for almost everything via our phone. Fees to transfer money from your home bank account are lower than at an ATM, and the exchange rate is close to the interbank rate, so better than what you get with a credit card. And it takes just seconds to replenish your account while on the road. (Here’s a referral link.)

Have you missed some of the adventure? Here are links to day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7, day 8 and day 9.