Le Route Verte

Originally Posted August 14, 2007 on Velo Quebec 2007

I originally heard about Le Route Verte in an article in Bicycling magazine which is ironic because I rarely read Bicycling magazine. In the article it mentioned that after ten years of planing and constructing Le Route Verte is was soon to be inaugurated. Much of the trail is typical "Rails to Trails" conversions.

After cycling touring around British Columbia two years ago (photos) I was really impressed with the state of cycling in Canada. The bike trails were good to excellent. They were well marked, well maintained, and well used for everyday life near urban centers. Motorists are a lot more tolerant about sharing the road with cyclists and pedestrians. So after such a wonderful experience two years ago I thought I would try the East Coast. I had traveled extensively through French and Atlantic Canada 10 years ago and thought I would try it this time by bike.

Through an association of small tourist and argicultural villages called l’Association des plus beaux villages du Québec, (or the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec) I did some research on some small picturesque villages to visit. The goal is to use parts of le route verte and some country backroads to find some scenic small towns.