Himanshi singh Nov 10, 2022
I can’t pinpoint exactly when the idea for this week-long bicycle journey first hooked onto my consciousness, but it had to be sometime in the long and strange summer of 2020,
I quickly learned that the Route Verte is not a single A-to-B route. Rather, it is a collection of paved bike paths, wide-shouldered country roads, and gravel trails that spread across the province of Québec like cobwebs.
Eventually, we came across the first signs pointing the way to Canada, as if it was just another one of the small farming communities we had ridden through that morning.
Day Two — Bromont to Montréal — was equally long, but far less enjoyable. Rain poured down on us in angry daggers. My tires became magnets for razor-sharp gravel and shards of glass.
La Route Verte started as an idea, spearheaded by Vélo Québec, a cycling advocacy and tourism organization. Developing the route — a mix of paving cycling paths, introducing protected bike lanes and wide shoulders, and providing clear signage
Well, allow me. Besides the sections of the Route Verte that were drawn to avoid major highways — it often zigzags through country backroads and suburban neighborhoods — the route also incorporates about 310 miles of bike trails that predated the route’s incorporation
When the first drops of rain hit on that third day in the saddle, we didn’t mind. We rode on, eventually finding our way to Les Jardins de L’Achillée Millefeuille, a bed and breakfast near the tiny town of La Conception.
After a day of rest in Montréal, we made our way toward the border. Opting for a more direct route to Saint Albans, the transition back was jarring. The quiet farm roads, the funk of cut grass and livestock,
Sitting in the dining car of the Amtrak train, glimpses of the New England autumn flashing by my window as I demolished a microwaved pizza and an overpriced beer, a burgeoning thought came into focus.
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