Riding the Gaspe Peninsula

[j1of1]

I'm planning to bicycle around Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula next year and I'm looking for tips and lessons learned.  What say ye?

[geegee]

What kind of experience are you looking for, what are your preferences? From a scenic point of view, I think the Gaspésie is best seen counterclockwise since you'll have the sea on your side. However, the north side is quite hilly and windy, which generally means pretty strong prevailing headwinds on nice days if you're heading west and tail winds in inclement weather. The south, with the exception of the climb through the Matapédia  valley, is flatter into the town of Gaspé. Technically, it would be "easier" done clockwise with the wind pushing you through the hilliest parts. There remain missing gaps in the Route verte in the northeast, so there will be stretches without shoulders.

The train to the town of Gaspé is currently not operational if you re thinking of it as an option to return. There is rail service in Campbellton NB and Matapédia QC, on the Halifax-Montreal route though. The intercity buses (Orléans Express) will happily take your bike and they sell boxes at the stations.

If you're up for a wilder, less populated coastal experience, I just got back from riding the north shore of the Gulf of St Lawrence from Baie-Comeau to Natashquan then up the coast by ship to Labrador and northern Newfoundland. Spectacular up there!