Route advice requested - Quebec

Ron Wallenfang said:

I'm doing a trip next month in the NE US and Quebec, and could use any available advice on the
Quebec portion.

I rode some of this in 1995 as part of my cross-Canada trip:
"www3.ns.sympatico.caquebec.htmlOpen ↗"

relevant sections are Mon 24-July and Tues 25-July and also Wed 26-July in
"www3.ns.sympatico.camaritime.htmlOpen ↗"

Quoted message said:

.. My questions:

2. Going up the St. Lawrence from Quebec City to Riviere du Loup, the map suggests 132. Comments
about that? What about taking 138 up the north bank and then taking the ferry at St. Simeon?

I rode 132 most of the way. It was very nice, but I had excellent weather and a good tailwind. I
took an inland diversion on Rt 320 Pocatiere- St Pascal- St Alexandre- then an un-numbered road to
just outside of R du Loup.

Quoted message said:

3. From Riviere du Loup to Edmonston, is there any real alternative to 185? How is that road for
bicycles?

I rode 185 from near R du Loup to Cabano just past St Louis-du-Ha!-Ha! (that's not a joke!) It had
a good wide paved shoulder. Near R du Loupe I checked out the old railbed but it was too rough for
cycling- it has since been smoothed out.

I rode the railbed trail (Petit train de Temis) most of the way from Cabano to Edmunston. It was
mostly hard packed gravel. I had to get off it to visit stores , and the NB tourist bureau at
the border.

There is also Rt 289 from St Alexandre to Lac Baker but I don't know much about that.

A good series of maps for Quebec was the Cartoteque series, scale is 125000 to 300000, depending
on which area. For the area around Quebec City there was a very detailed 1:30000 insert.

--

David Dermott , Wolfville Ridge, Nova Scotia, Canada email: [email hidden] WWW pages:
www3.ns.sympatico.cadermottOpen ↗

Ron,

I just returned from a 2 week tour in Quebec that covered a bit of the area you are going to ride.
Feel free to look at the route sheets that I've posted at: super-tour.home.att.netsuper-tour.home.att.netOpen ↗.

For the Eastern Township area, we rode from Eastman (near Sherbrooke) to Quebec City, mainly on
route 116. Parts of that road were fine, other parts had no shoulder and some heavy traffic. A
number of folks took alternate routes which added a bit of mileage but were nicer roads.

One thing in particular I would caution you about is the bridge you take over the St. Lawrence to
get into Qubec City. There are 2 bridges, and the eastern one is open to bikes (the western one is
the main one for the freeway). However, to cross this bridge you ride (actually you are supposed to
walk per the signs) on a metal walkway on the east side of the brige. The day I did it was stormy
and windy, and it was quite treacherous. A better way (and the one I used when I left Quebec City),
was to take the ferry at Levis which will take you right to the old town area of Quebec. The fare is
only $2.50 and they have bike racks on board.

There is an extensive bike trail network in Quebec (the province) called La Route verte (see the
website at routeverte.comangOpen ↗). Some of this is on road, some of it is trails - mostly
"stone dust", some paved. This may provide a better alternate for you. We were on road bikes and
found that the "stone dust" paths were rideable, but it did slow you down. If you are riding on more
of a cross or moutain bike they won't be any problem for you at all.

It looks like route #8 would take you from Rivere du Loup to the NB border. There is a book you can
purchase that has more detailed maps than the web site.

The NB trail info is at sentiernbtrail.comsentiernbtrail.comOpen ↗ and they have this to say about this route:

"One of the most utilized and well-known trails in the Province is the Petit Témis linear park. This
path runs 130 km from Edmunston, New Brunswick to Rivière-du-Loup, Québec. This is the first
inter-provincial bike path to link two provinces. It is situated on an abandoned rail bed so the
grades are gentle with a crushed gravel surface. From Edmunston to the Québec border and on to
Cabano the trail follows the Madawaska River and the 40 km long Lake Témiscouata. Rest areas and
parking are common through out the length of the trail."

I enjoyed my trip in Quebec (aside from the bad weather we had out on the Gaspe area) and hope
you do too.

Jeff