Messages

1

Routes / Re: Any advice on cycle touring Quebec?

« on: April 19, 2011, 06:13:30 pm »

My wife and I did not have any trouble finding accomodations in this section last year, but we were only two and were there the first week of September.  We relied on the Route Verte "Bienvenue cyclistes" to help choose.  My gut feeling is that you will not have to book in advance, but I could be wrong. 

http://www.routeverte.com/rv/index2010_e.php?page=bienvenuecycliste_e

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Routes / Re: Any advice on cycle touring Quebec?

« on: July 02, 2010, 06:24:08 pm »

Great stuff Geeg, I think it promises to be an interesting region.  I really appreciate your help and your recommendations. 

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Routes / Re: Any advice on cycle touring Quebec?

« on: June 22, 2010, 09:36:20 am »

Merci!  I apprecaite the tips, it's nice to hear from people who have been there.  We are getting excited. 

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Routes / Re: Any advice on cycle touring Quebec?

« on: June 20, 2010, 01:40:45 pm »

Thanks so much for the response.  I just found another thread on this site containing your comments about the north side of the Saint-Lawrence.  We will definitely avoid that.  I love a good climb, but those kind of grades and endless up and down are no fun when carrying lots of gear.  I like your suggested route as well.  We probably will keep all our options open until after we have spent a couple days in Quebec, buy more maps, measure some distances, evaluate our time, etc.  I also read on that other thread about the wind blowing west to east, so that might be a factor in which way we start out. 

I looked closer at my route verte guide and at first glance it seemed the road to Saguenay was incomplete and ended at Sainte Rose-du-Norde, but now I see they just mean the Route Verte is undeveloped after that.  So just to be clear, you can confirm that 172 is paved and rideable between Tadoussac and Saqueney, right? 

Do you have any other advice in any regard to the region itself, or what we should be sure to see or do?  We have toured western Canada on three occasions and love the wilderness aspect of it and the breathtaking national parks.  I’m expecting this to be quite different in both scenery and culture.  I took French in high school, but we’re going into this with almost no knowledge about this region at all.  I have just started reading about the early trade routes and settlements and I expect Quebec and the towns we go through to have a European flavor, which sounds great.  Will we encounter much of a language barrier?   

Oh, and we need to pick a motel to start and end our trip in Quebec that will be willing to allow us to ship our bikes there and store the crates while we are riding.   I was going to just use the Internet and start making some phone calls, but if you have any advice, we’d love to hear it. 
Thanks again!

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Routes / Any advice on cycle touring Quebec?

« on: June 12, 2010, 11:03:09 pm »

My wife and I will fly to Quebec in August and plan to cycle from there northeast up the St Lawrence to Tadoussac, then northwest to Saguenay, around Lac-St-Jean, then take the train to Montreal and finally cycle back to Quebec.  We will camp most of the time.  Most of this is part of "Le Route Verte" and I have a guide about it and it looks very bicycle friendly.  But the guide book is a little hard to understand, and I don't know anyone that has actually been there.  I'd love to hear from someone that has any experience in this region and my main question is about the section from Tadoussac to Saguenay, it seems that this is incomplete and perhaps even dangerous.  Anyone ever ridden any of this?  Thanks! 

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International / Re: Cycling Northern Queensland, Australia

« on: June 12, 2010, 10:52:03 pm »

My wife and I have cycle toured in Australia three different times and enjoyed them all.  Been to Queensland, but only the the south from Brisbane to Frasier Island.  What made you choose this particular area?  Sounds rugged. 

As far as resources, I have a book called Bicycle Touring in Australia by Leigh Hemmings.  It is nearly 20 years old and is pretty limited in how helpful it is, but I do notice he has some recommendations for a route right in the location you're talking about. 

We love to take our own bikes, I can't imagine renting because I want everything to perform just so, but taking your own bikes comes with a little hassle and cost.  The last few trips we have used a box to take on the flight with us and it has worked out well.  Go to:

http://www.crateworks.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=crateworks&Product_Code=Pro_XLC&Category_Code=Bike-Boxes
 
They are secure and sturdy, easy to handle and the airlines have not charged us (on the international leg anyway, domestically is a different story). 

We camp nearly the whole time but begin and end our trip in a motel and they have been happy to store our boxes while we have been away on our tour.  So that's an idea you might consider.