Judy Smith is an intrepid Rambler who loves to hike, bike, and participate in competitive rowing in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, Canada. She is a lifelong educator, school principal, and mother of two grown kids.
Traveling by bike changes the way you experience a place — slower, closer, and with far more opportunities for mishaps and magic. When four friends decided to ride the Véloroute Gourmande, a cycling route through Quebec’s Eastern Townships, we didn’t know we were signing up for five days of wrong turns, perfect meals, unexpected kindness, and some of the best cycling infrastructure we’d ever experienced.
It started, as many adventures do, with my Wednesday hiking group. I floated the idea of a cycling trip. Ten women were enthusiastic. We talked about it, dreamed about it, and had a wonderful time planning a trip that, in the end, none of us actually took. Then I floated the idea past my rowing friends — and this time, four of us ended up with plane tickets. And so, we flew from Victoria to Montréal for a few days of sightseeing, followed by five days of riding from Montréal to Sherbrooke. It turned out to be a pretty great combination.
Montréal: Bikes, Bagels and a Lot of Walking
We stayed beside the Lachine Canal, and from the beginning, Montréal felt like a city made for active people. Bikes were everywhere, bike-share stations seemed to be on every corner, and paths followed the water and threaded through the city. It was a promising start to a cycling trip.
Our first full day was supposed to be a two-hour walking tour of Old Montréal. Our guide was a high school history teacher, however, and apparently two hours was nowhere near enough time to tell us everything she knew. Five hours later, we had learned an impressive amount about Montréal’s history — including the revelation that one of her Grade 7 classmates was Celine Dion. You don’t get that kind of detail from a guidebook.
The next few days became a wonderfully unstructured combination of wandering and eating. We explored Jean-Talon Market and Little Italy, ate cannoli, searched unsuccessfully for a neighbourhood block party, and got caught in a spectacular downpour that sent us hiding in a dive bar. We admired the line outside St. Viateur Bagels, walked toward Schwartz’s Deli for smoked meat, stopped at a patisserie, and eventually found ourselves eating poutine at La Banquise. There was an evening on the water in the Old Port, an afternoon at the Montréal Botanical Garden, and a sunset walk up Mont Royal. And there was a lot of food.
By the time we were ready to leave Montréal, we’d walked and Ubered all over the city, eaten our way through several neighbourhoods, and decided that Quebec might be onto something.
Tomorrow, we ride.
Five Days, 302.4 Kilometres and a Lot of Gravel
The Véloroute Gourmande took us from Montréal through the Eastern Townships to Sherbrooke: 302.4 kilometres of farmland, lakes, small towns, forests, hills, gravel, sunshine and rain. And, as it turned out, a surprising amount of adventure.
One of the biggest surprises was just how much of our route was separated from traffic. On our first day, we rode 58.8 kilometres, and only about 500 metres were on a road. The rest was on dedicated multi-use paths. At one point, there seemed to be more asphalt available for people-powered transportation than for cars. Coming from British Columbia, we were impressed. We were particularly delighted to discover Quebec’s straight-only green light, designed to prevent cars from turning across the path of cyclists and pedestrians. What a concept.
The route carried us along waterways, through farmland and into little towns filled with historic buildings and cafés. There were bike racks, repair stations and purpose-built paths everywhere. Drivers generally gave cyclists the right of way. It was the kind of infrastructure that makes you think, Oh. So this is what it could be like.
The riding was beautiful. It wasn’t always easy.
There were hills. Plenty of them. There was also gravel — sometimes lovely hard-packed gravel, and sometimes the loose, chunky kind that makes you wonder why you ever thought a road bike was a good idea. The stretch near Stukely-Sud gave us several kilometres of loose gravel and substantial hills, and Mont-Orford National Park brought more gravel and more hills. It was our hardest day, although it was only 58 kilometres.
We also had rain. One morning, we woke to torrential rain and headed out anyway, assuming we’d be wet all day. Instead, the weather mostly cooperated. We got rained on, but not nearly as much as expected. On the final day, the GPS showed a downhill section that looked terrifying, prompting some discussion about whether we were about to die. We weren’t. The downhill was easy. The route finding was not.
Turn right. Turn left. Go back — missed a turn!
Apparently, having a GPS track does not necessarily mean you know where you’re going.
We got lost more than once, but somehow the wrong turns often became part of the adventure. One took us past the Olympic Basin rowing course in Montréal. As a rower, I considered that an excellent navigational error.
There were mishaps.
Of course there were mishaps. Our very first morning began with a bike fitting and, within minutes, our first bike spill. Not my story to tell.
Later, one of us left a backpack at a rest stop. A quick mental inventory confirmed that nothing critical was inside, so we bought a replacement phone charger and carried on. Then someone found the backpack. They tracked us down through Facebook and delivered it to our hotel. Sometimes the universe really does look after you.
There was also a bike that wouldn’t charge. Our tour company, RAVITO, delivered a replacement bike the next morning — and somehow also managed to get a bottle of wine to our next hotel.
There was another short stretch of loose sand near the end of the trip. One of us may have fallen off her bike. No harm done. We are tough vieilles femmes, and we had the bruises to prove it.
And there was food. So much food.
Cycling 60 or 70 kilometres a day gives you an excellent excuse to eat. We stopped for craft beer, although we sensibly saved it for later. We had lunches at cafés in small towns, Lebanese food, Korean barbecue delivered by a very cute cat robot, and dinner with sunset views from a rooftop. There were burgers, smoked meat, bagels, cannoli, chocolate, ice cream, and naturally, poutine.
The food was consistently good, but what I remember most is how often we stumbled across something wonderful simply because we were there on bicycles. You notice things differently from a bike. A town that might be a blur through a car window becomes a place to stop for lunch. A chocolatier becomes an essential detour. A lake invites you to linger. And every little town seemed to have somewhere worth eating.
My favourite poutine was in North Hatley, made with locally produced cheese curds.
The Eastern Townships surprised us.
I’d expected beautiful cycling, but I hadn’t expected how much history and character we’d encounter along the way. We rode through communities shaped by farming, textile mills, lakes and industry. Magog, once an industrial town, is now a lively summer destination centred around Lake Memphremagog and the Magog River.
We visited Capelton Mine, where copper was mined deep underground until 1907. We rode through Lennoxville and the Bishop’s University campus, one of Quebec’s English-speaking communities. And then there was Memphre. Apparently, a 40-foot lake serpent lives in Lake Memphremagog. Nobody saw it while we were there, but if you’ve seen Ogopogo, you have the general idea.
Quebec had surprises everywhere.
The Best Part? We Didn’t Have to Be in a Hurry.
Perhaps my favourite thing about the trip was its rhythm. Ride. Stop. Eat. Look around. Ride some more. Get lost. Find the route again. Stop for chocolate. Ride. Laugh.
There was no pressure to see everything or get somewhere quickly. We could pull over when something caught our attention. We could stop for lunch without worrying about parking. We could explore a town on foot and then get back on our bikes.
And we had each other. Four turned out to be the perfect number. Enough people to make everything fun, but small enough that we could make decisions without a committee meeting. We played Bananagrams one afternoon when we were too tired to do much else. We laughed at our navigational failures. We encouraged each other up the hills.
Several groups took shortcuts on the final day. We didn’t. Dedicated? Stubborn? Probably both.
And somehow, we beat the rain.
By the time we reached Sherbrooke, we’d ridden 302.4 kilometres. We were tired. We were a little achy. We were very ready for dinner. But we were also ridiculously pleased with ourselves.
Our final dinner was at OMG, a restaurant inside a huge old church — a suitably memorable ending to a memorable trip.
And then it was over.
Five days. 302.4 kilometres. A lot of hills. A little gravel. Some rain. Several wrong turns. At least two bike spills. A rescued backpack. A bike that wouldn’t charge. A replacement bike delivered. Lots of chocolate. Lots of poutine. And a ridiculous amount of good food.
Would I do it again?
Absolutely.
Practical Tips for Riding the Véloroute Gourmande
Use a good tour company — We used RAVITO, and Karine and Alexi were fantastic. When my bike wouldn’t charge, they delivered a replacement the next morning and somehow also got a bottle of wine to our next hotel.
Go in late August — The kids are back in school, the crowds are gone, everything is open, and you can ride in T-shirts.
Spend a few days in Montréal first — Three days gave us a great taste of the city without feeling rushed.
Use your French — Even terrible French helps. Say Bonjour. Say Merci. Try.
Eat poutine — Order a small one and share. My favourite was in North Hatley with locally made cheese curds.
Do your homework — Blogger recommendations and RAVITO’s tips were spot-on. Know the route, know where you can stop, and don’t assume your GPS will make every decision for you.
Start early — Leave time for wrong turns, unexpected stops, and forgotten backpacks.
Don’t put your bike away too quickly — A short ride around town can be much easier than walking after a long day in the saddle.
Download your GPS tracks for offline use — I used Ride with GPS. Once I figured it out, it worked great.
Find three friends — Four was perfect for us: flexible, fun, and full of laughter.
Final Thoughts
You might be tired and a little achy when you’re finished. You might even fall off your bike. But you won’t be disappointed.
The Véloroute Gourmande gave us beautiful scenery, great food, wonderful cycling infrastructure and just enough mishap to make the stories better.
302.4 kilometres later, I think we earned the right to be tired — and I’m already wondering where the next ramble will take us.
READ MORE > Ramble Log, Rambler Cafe Blog
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