Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Thursday 23 May 2019
Why Quebec endlessly beckons those on a bicycle

By CALVIN WOODWARD ers and several of prime
Associated Press interest to visitors. Start-
MONTREAL (AP) — In Mon- ing at the ferry terminal,
treal each spring, an epic the Promenade Samuel
bicycle festival demon- de Champlain path going
strates how 25,000 people west borders the riverfront
can let the good times roll for 12 kilometers, looping
without bumping into each onto a narrow walkway on
other too much. the bridge crossing the St.
In Quebec City and its hin- Lawrence and joining with
terlands, cyclists plunge another trail in Levis. The Le-
into a history shaped by vis trail offers a spectacular
French explorers, the Ro- view of Quebec City and
man Catholic Church, ab- a chance to return on the
original culture and British ferry, closing a 30-kilometer
conquest. In Charlevoix, loop. Nature is nearby. The
an island provides a per- Jacques-Cartier trail runs
fect loop for lovers of quiet more than 80 kilometers on
roads and eye-candy vis- stone dust through forest
tas of mountains you don't and meadow.
have to climb. Cyclists get underway in Tour la Nuit, the annual Montreal bicycle festival's night ride, June 3, ___
Then there is the south shore 2016. This year, on May 31, the crowd of some 10,000 will bicycle into and around Montreal's THE RIVER/SEA
of the St. Lawrence, where Olympic Stadium as part of the night tour. This is where I always go
the panorama of river, sea, Associated Press back to, no matter where
sky and flowers defines the else I go.
magic of bicycling in Qué- 3,300 miles, Route Verte is fic and take over the city- miles) on trails, quiet roads, On Route Verte #1, spread
bec in ways that words a handful to get to know, island. The premier event, village pathways and oc- over more than 2,000 kilo-
cannot. requiring more time than Tour de l'lle on June 2, typi- casional paved shoulders. meters (1,200 miles) cyclists
Those treats are mostly most people have and cally draws 25,000 people Signed as Route Verte #8, can go along the south
thanks to Route Verte, more legs than are under on bicycles and countless it meets the standards that shore of the St. Lawrence
Quebec's gift to the cycling me. And the network will more cheering them on are the hallmark of all des- for a week or more, seeing
world. It's a vast network be undergoing its largest from neighborhoods along ignated routes in the net- the river widen going east-
of trails and bike-friendly expansion in a decade the 50-kilometer (30-mile) work: Inns with Route Verte ward into the wild beauty
byways that is about to with 900 more kilometers. route. Music, dance and accreditation must offer of the Gaspe Peninsula un-
get another growth spurt. Within my geographic acrobatics (Quebec, home healthy food choices, safe til the far shore disappears
Quebec's "green way range of experience — to Cirque du Soleil, special- storage for bikes and tools and the sea, somewhere,
stitches together wild plac- Montreal east to the Gas- izes in the circus arts) are while campgrounds must begins.
es, pristine villages and a pesie region and the East- part of the mix. make room for cyclists My hotspot is a day ride
few buzzy cities in a rich, ern Townships north to a Before the Sunday ride even if full. from the river road at
French-flavored tableau. lake trail lined with wild comes Tour la Nuit , which The route perfectly suits Notre-Dame-du-Portage
It's the masterwork of Velo blueberries — there are launches some 10,000 cy- self-supported touring. But to Kamouraska and back,
Quebec, the bicycling as- plenty of great tours. Here clists at sunset May 31. This it's also part of Velo Que- about 70 kilometers in all.
sociation and Route Verte's are some: year, the cyclists will circle bec's summer extravagan- In this wide panorama, the
steward. MONTREAL BIKE FESTIVAL & inside Montreal's Olympic za this year, the Grand Tour sky seems always etched
Since 2013, I've gone to RAIL TRAIL Stadium for the first time , a week of fully supported with drama, as stormy
Quebec each year, of- Montreal's cycling culture since "Chariots of Fire" cycling. sheets of rain and shafts of
ten several times a year, turns into a rolling party at greeted their arrival in the ___ sun sweep over the moun-
to sample more segments the Go Bike Montreal Festi- 1980s. "It's the wow moment QUEBEC CITY & RAIL TRAIL tains on the other side,
of the network and re- val, anchored by two fam- for Tour La Nuit," says Joelle Quebec's historic capital, the river churns in hues of
turn to the best. Sprawling ily-friendly rides that close Sevigny of Velo Quebec. like Montreal, has extensive brown and blue, and mist
over 5,300 kilometers or downtown streets to traf- Nearby, the offroad P'tit bicycle paths for commut- half swallows islands. q
Train du Nord rail trail runs
230 kilometers (140 miles)
between the Montreal
outskirts and Mont-Laurier
on Route Verte #2. About
half paved, half smooth
crushed stone, the "little
train of the north" trail of-
fers well-spaced amenities,
intriguing inns and a shuttle
service.
___
THE BLUEBERRY TRAIL
Veloroute des Bleuets cir-
cles Lac Saint-Jean, a lake
so big it resembles the sea.
In late summer it makes
Cyclists on Velo Quebec's Grand Tour sweep along a trail in the good on its promise of
Eastern Townships, Aug. 1, 2015. More than 1,200 cyclists took wild blueberries for trailside A cyclist takes in the St. Lawrence vista at Notre-Dame-du-Por-
part in the ride, which dipped into Vermont. scavenging. The lake circuit tage, Quebec, on Aug. 12, 2015.
Associated Press Associated Press
runs for 256 kilometers (160