Login | September 08, 2024
Cycling in Montreal
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: July 15, 2024
If you’ve been searching for a quickie vacation destination that totally lends itself to both your love of cycling and your yearning to experience exciting, cosmopolitan destinations, well, I just might have the place for you.
Yup, matter of fact, we just returned from such a place, a place that felt far more European than it is North American, and a place that contains so many hundreds if not thousands of miles of cycling and pedestrian trails that our heads are still spinning.
And best of all, what’s so amazing about this place is the fact that it’s literally a nine-hour drive from Akron-Cleveland.
I’m talking about beautiful Montreal, Quebec.
So this Montreal gig has been a trip we’ve wanted to do for several years but what with COVID and then an unfortunate series of orthopedic issues, we hadn’t been able to pull it off until last month.
Now I have to admit that this kind of cycling trip is the complete antithesis to the groveling, sufferfest kind of cycling adventures that I’m typically drawn to, yet just kicking back, throttling down and smelling the coffee in a spectacular city like Montreal can absolutely make for just as fulfilling a cycling adventure as those groveling varieties.
Now my first bit of advice is to allot at least four days (one of those days for travel) for your quickie Montreal sabbatical.
This way you can better take in the plethora of trails that go in, out and through the city.
What’s more, I’d advise that you consult the website, https://www.velo.qc.ca/en/toolkits/greater-montreal-bikeway-map/ to get an idea of the immensity of the Greater Montreal trail system.
Examining this online trail map and then matching your sight-seeing/cycling choices with the vast selection of trails is a great way to plan out each day in what can feel like an expansive and intimidating metropolis.
So we planned this trip around a primary objective: Finding lodging outside, yet close to Montreal that’s near Quebec’s Vert 1 trail, the primary cycling trail that leads east and west of downtown Montreal.
What’s more, having access to Vert 1 gives you access to a host of branching trail systems.
Ultimately we found a cozy Airbnb apartment in the city of Longueuil, where Vert 1 is situated just a block away and where Montreal is some five miles west.
Once that objective was achieved we developed our itinerary.
Ride one entailed a trek on Vert 1 west into Old Montreal, which mimics sections of Paris, France.
It feels like you’re being transported back in time as you pedal down worn cobblestone streets and are surrounded by block after block of stunning neo-classical architecture.
Outdoor restaurants, bistros and cafes abound here, so it’s definitely a place to park the bike and satisfy the palate.
One caveat about this ride though: Getting to Old Montreal involves pedaling across the crazy two-mile long, hundred of feet high Jacques Cartier Bridge, which spans the St. Lawrence River.
If you love an adrenaline buzz, it’s absolutely amazing. If you fear heights like my girlfriend Judy, well, just don’t look down.
Ride two was outside of the Montreal environs with a trek down Vert 1 east.
This stretch of trail offers low-key, relaxed cycling across rural countryside, past charming and picturesque towns like Chambly, along the beautiful Richelieu River and its adjoining Chambly Canal and eventually into the bustling city of Saint-John-sur-Richelieu.
Vert 1 east is a great way to explore Quebec’s vast agrarian countrysides and its lovely little towns.
Ride three was an out-and-back circuit to Montreal’s famous Lachine Canal.
For this ride we drove half way across the Jacques Cartier Bridge and parked on gorgeous St. Helen’s Island.
The island offers a good bit of cycling itself, in addition to a trail that crosses the St. Lawrence River and hooks up with the Lachine Canal.
Rated as one of the most beautiful urban cycling circuits in the world, the Lachine Canal trail is surrounded by vast tracts of green spaces.
This trail gives you a really nice overview of contemporary Montreal and it’s numerous districts.
As we’ve found out, Montreal is one of the world’s top bicycle-friendly cities…and a place that’s well worth holding a spot on a cyclist’s vacation hit list.