Cycling Quebec City

Janet and I have been spending a week in Quebec City for the last few years as our vacation getaway. Quebec was where I spent each summer of my childhood and I only have fond memories. It's a beautiful town in a gorgeous spot (the French knew where to plant cities!). While French proficiency is not required, even a tiny bit (Yes, no, please, thank you, and hello) helps.

One of our favorite activities is bicycling. We have a Cannondale road tandem and I ride a Cannondale CAAD 3. We usually ride the tandem a couple of mornings and I ride solo the other days.

Quebec is a great place to ride due to the extensive paved bike paths all around the city.

Here are a few of our favorite places to ride:

Boulevard Champlain Bike Path (Route Verte) Loop (13 Miles)

Route map

This pathway is very popular with locals -- it's flat, scenic, and provides many places to stop and enjoy the view of the St Lawrence river, bridges, and the escarpment on either shore. The path is usually crowded with walkers, roller bladers, joggers, and cyclists of all different levels so if you want to hammer, go early. You may spot some large ships making their way up or downstream. There are a series of outdoor public sculptures as you approach the bridges. The mostly-green cantilever bridge is the Quebec Bridge, completed in 1917, after the first attempt at building a span collapsed, killing 75 workers (more on the Quebec bridge here)

The taller suspension bridge is Pont Pierre Laporte, completed in 1970. The Quebec bridge has a train deck and auto deck. Pont Pierre Laporte is a highway bridge (the longest non-toll suspension bridge in the world).

Quebec City to Beauport to Petit Pre Out and Back (28 Miles)

Route map

This ride follows paved bike path east of Quebec. The route is flat and scenic once you move away from the roads and bridge just east of town. You will pass the Montmorency Falls and then ride along the route of the earliest settlements in New France. If you are feeling strong take one of the roads to the left and climb the escarpment at Boischatel, Ange Gardien, or Petit Pre.

Island of Orleans (Ile d'Orleans) Loop (41 Miles)

Route map

This is a long, tough ride around the beautiful Island of Orleans. The island sits in the center of the St Lawrence river and has a microclimate that has created an ideal environment for farming. You will pass villages settled in the 1600s, and churches standing since the 1730s. There are many tourists stops along the way and several beaches, where hardy folk bathe in the south channel of the St Lawrence (tides are in effect here, so a "beach" now might be underwater later in the day).

The roadway is narrow. While most locals know to slow and pass safely, there is the occasional person in a hurry. Be careful and establish a position in the lane that forces drivers to negotiate around you.
The landscape becomes more rural the further west on the island you are, so be prepared with all essentials as you may not have access to a depanneur or tabagie ("convenience store").
This is a ride any serious cyclists should do at least once.

GP Quebec Partial Course Loop (6 Miles)

Route Map

I recommend you do this early on a Saturday or Sunday morning or you will be mixing it up with traffic on some of the listed streets. The best time to ride this route is an hour before the GP Quebec race starts, but that's only one day a year. While it's short, it can be combined with other routes to extend the mileage. But it's a tough loop with two hard ascents up significant grades (over 10%).