Author Topic: Gaspe Peninsula  (Read 12878 times)

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Offline biker_james

Gaspe Peninsula
« on: December 06, 2006, 07:51:18 am »
I'm looking for any information on cycling the Gaspe region of Quebec. Our planned holiday next year is from Montreal out to the East coast, and my wife was told that the Gaspe region is the way to go. I found a little info on crazyguyonabike, but not a lot. So if anyone has ridden this region, and have any advice, that would be great.


Offline TheDaltonBoys

Gaspe Peninsula
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2006, 12:15:38 pm »
Biker_James - Canada, "Search", then type in Route Verte. Also Canada has been patiently been working on their Trans-Canada Bikeway for some years. Out of Montreal near St. Jerome is "Le Petit Train du Nord" which I believe currently is their longest "rail/trail" 125 KM,  which might bear looking into although it goes north to the Laurentedes Mountains and forgive me if my spelling is in error. I did find a route while meandering through the Canada site that showed a route along the St. Lawrence Seaway that crossed over into Maine. enjoy the Voyage....Mark of the Dalton Boys


Offline AJB

Gaspe Peninsula
« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2006, 11:29:08 pm »
You might want to check the book titled Partners in Grime by Neil Anderson, you can also email him and ask for some info.  I got some got info from him on doing the west coast of Newfoundland.


Offline JiPé

Gaspe Peninsula
« Reply #3 on: December 27, 2007, 11:02:05 am »
I also consider that you should stick to the Route verte info. I live in the Gaspé peninsula and I tell you that you don't want to go exploring around and trying your own route. Shoulders are rare along the north shore and traffic can be heavy in summer time. The 132 road is the only main road around the peninsula thus concentrating all the traffic. In Québec, drivers are going fast (basically 20% above the speed limit)and do not care for cyclist. I felt safer touring downtown Boston compared to cycling at home. Stick to the south side of the Gaspé, like it is stipulate by the Route verte (less hilly and wider shoulders).  ;)

Offline geegee

Gaspe Peninsula
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2007, 04:02:27 pm »
I've biked much of the Route Verte system, including the entire length
along the St Lawrence. It is quite good to Sainte-Flavie/Mont-Joli and
becomes a bit spotty heading into to the Matapédia valley (Amqui-
Causapcal) and improves along the southern Gaspé Peninsula.

Personally I would not recommend the northern part of the peninsula
as the hills are very steep between Matane and Gaspé town -- climbs
of over 10% are common and one after another -- and there are no
shoulders on much of the highway with lots of trucks and RVs. It can
also be quite windy --  Québec's largest wind turbine farm is at Cap-
Chat.

When you say heading "out to the East coast" do you mean you will be
continuing farther into the Maritime provinces? New Brunswick is an
underrated cycling destination in my opinion. The highways can be
quite good there, sometimes with shoulders as wide as an extra car
lane. It is less touristy, as it lacks the draw of Percé Rock (Rocher-
Percé), but it has its quiet gems like the salt marshes of Kouchibouguac
(it's worth the mouthful). Prince Edward Island is also next door, and
there is a bike shuttle across the 17-km Confederation Bridge.

You can catch a train back to Montreal with your bikes from Gaspé
town or  Percé, or if you are in the Maritimes from Bathurst, Moncton
or Halifax.

This message was edited by geeg on 12-31-07 @ 12:07 PM

Offline biker_james

Gaspe Peninsula
« Reply #5 on: January 01, 2008, 08:41:45 am »
Well, we did not continue our journey across Canada in 2007. The trip from Montreal to the east coast will have to wait now, probably until summer 2009, as we have overseas plans for summer 2008.
While we did not make it to the east coast, we did have a lovely tour a little closer to home in August/September. We rode from Vancouver Island (home), through southern BC (Hwy3), and then north through Kootenay, Banff, and Jasper Natioonal parks to finish at Jasper. Trip home was made by train. It was a spectacular trip.


Offline PaulEhlers

Gaspe Peninsula
« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2008, 08:01:59 pm »
I would like to know what the distance of rough terrain and heavy traffic would be in the Gaspe peninsula, and if it would make any difference going clockwise or counterclockwise.

Thanks,  Paul


Offline Steve

Re: Gaspe Peninsula
« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2011, 08:06:48 am »
Has anything changed in the past 3 or 4 years as I am thinking of cycling the Gaspe Peninsula and not sure exactly how far or what route.  Likely consider just a few days 300 to 600 km.   You though the northern part was not bike friendly.  Any different now?

Offline windrath

Re: Gaspe Peninsula
« Reply #8 on: March 27, 2011, 01:09:35 pm »
A couple of us rode from Lake Ontario along the St. Lawrence Seaway around the Gaspe' Peninsula and back to Campbellton, NB in 2009.

Route Verte around Montreal is very tough to decipher and the roads are the pits.  Getting around Quebec City was much easier.  The further east you get, the less the traffic.  There is alot of climbing after Matane which we found challenging, but not impossible.  Perce' is a place to spend a couple of days before continuing on to Campbellton.  Traffic does get worse as you approach Campbellton.  Winds along the St. lawrence are typically from the west/southwest which makes the ride easier.  The high way department is working on the roads to eliminate some of the climbs too.

Because of the prevailing winds which can be 20-30 mph, I would ride from Montreal to Gaspe' and part way around the south side of the Peninsula before the traffic gets bad.  Then, catch a train back to Montreal.  I would not want to ride into the winds for more than a day.

I documented the trip on http://www.windrath.info/seaway2009/index.php.  It might be down for a couple of days this week changing servers, but will be up again after that.  We made the ride (> 1000 miles) in 18 days. Plan more miles from Montreal to Matane because the tail wind and flat roads will make it relatively easy to cover upwards of 90-100 miles a day.  After Matane as you approach Grand Valle', it gets steeper.

Good Luck - it is a nice ride.

« Last Edit: March 27, 2011, 09:27:21 pm by Fred Hiltz »