Amy McPherson
Montréal and Montérégie in Canada’s Quebec province provide a stunning backdrop for cyclists, as contributor Amy McPherson recently found out.
On first impression, Montréal is a vibrant, cosmopolitan city. The façade of the cityscape has a Gothic Regency x Great Gatsby vibe, accented by skyscrapers and modern residential flats on the outskirts. There are your standard clusters of abandoned warehouses which are, in fact, home to much of the city’s urban farms, and the population and its visitors enjoy a dining and wining scene that would satisfy even the pickiest of gourmets.
On second impression, the cycling is amazing considering Montréal, the largest city of Quebec province, is just as busy (and hilly) a city as Sydney.
“We are really surprised ourselves,” said Steve. A visitor from Toronto, he and his wife Karen had rented a bike and accompanied me on a short ride along Montreal’s historic Lachine Canal. “The traffic is so nice here, and cycling is just so easy!”
“You won’t get this kind of friendliness in Toronto,” Karen added, “definitely not!”
A Great Cycling City
Montréal is among North America’s top five cycling cities, with more than 1,049 km of bike lanes in the city centre and more than 3,200 km in the greater Montréal area. Half of the population lives within 200m of a cycling path, and almost every major road that cuts through the city and the number of bridges that cross the rivers that surround the city, has a segregated cycle lane from the traffic.
But I didn’t get on a bike to just get about the city centre. I wanted to check out where cyclists of Montréal go. At the time of my visit, the city was about to host its annual Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, the one-day race Michael Matthews (aka Bling) particularly loved, having won a Canadian double in Montreal and Quebec in 2018 among his other successes.
“I love to go to Canada every year because I love circuit racing in general,” said Matthews in a recent comment to Bicycling Australia. “The thing that I love most of all about Canada, and particularly in Montréal, is that it is such a beautiful place. The people are always super nice, and it’s not that often these days that we get to race a lot outside of Europe, so that makes it extra special.”
The one-day circuit of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal runs on a city loop surrounding Mount Royal Park and the University of Montréal. The sharp, punchy ascends of Mount Royal make this an excellent training area for the city’s many cyclists, and to no surprise, it is one of the highlights of Matthews’ race.
“The circuits in Quebec and Montréal are really hard. They have tough, steep climbs that we have to tackle every lap, which makes the racing very exciting,” he said, “I have great memories of so many fans coming out to support us, lining the roads and getting involved, enjoying the atmosphere and it’s a really nice vibe.”
The nice vibe is definitely what I was getting, as I attempted one of the climbs leading up towards the view point of Mount Royal Park. From there, you can see much of the downtown in all its glory, all the way towards the river and the canals where a crisscross of cycling paths await my discovery.
Of the many great cycling routes from the city, I chose the loop that followed the historic Lachine Canal to Parc René-Lévesque at the end of the peninsula, where I found myself semi-racing those training on the sculpture park’s loop. At Atwater Market along the canal, I stopped for a coffee and a quick browse of possible mid-ride snacks (I settled on an almond croissant) and watched a family sliding along the canal on rented canoes. After four loops of Parc René-Lévesque, I turned back towards Montréal along the St Lawrence River, where I discovered you could surf and kayak the Vague à Guy rapid.
Beyond Montréal
Being able to take my bike on the train and Metro network during off-peak hours means I can save myself a bit of a leg for the longer rides to come.
Montréal is a good base to access many of Quebec province’s ‘Route Verte’, dedicated cycle paths that link heritage towns through nature, wineries, and farmland around the adjoining Montérégie – great for one long ride day or as a bike-packing adventure away from the city.
From Montreal’s Bonaventure-Central Station, I took the bike on the Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) train to the town of Brossard. Unfortunately, this is as far as the train will go, so kicking off towards the east, I navigate my way to Chambly.
Chambly has many delicious distractions to get my teeth into (literally). Following Route Verte 1 signs, I spot lovely cafes and restaurants along the basin and canal waterfronts. A quick photo stop at the historic Fort of Chambly, I got a little peckish. Just as well, Chambly is part of the Veloroute Gourmande, a cycle route for gourmets, so it was only fitting that I stop here for a grilled cheese sandwich with ham and apples. At the microbrewery, Délires et Délices, I washed it all down with the house-brewed beer and bought a box of chocolates from the FG Chocolatier factory for the road.
From Chambly, I could have followed a selection of cycle routes if I had more time or been better prepared for a multi-day bike-packing trip. I could have cycled 20 km on the Canal de Chambly bike path to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, then connected to the La Montérégiade cycle route built on a former railway line. Or I could cross the Richelieu River to connect with the cycleway La Route des Champs, both of which would eventually take me to Granby, with more microbreweries, wineries and sceneries along the way.
In hindsight, that would have been a great big loop if I had planned better and stayed a couple of nights in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. I guess I always need a reason to return.
More about Montréal
Montréal will host the 2026 UCI Road World Championships, at the same time celebrating its 50th anniversary as a host city of the 1976 Olympic Games.
Hôtel Alt Montréal is a cyclist friendly hotel on the Lachine Canal.
Trek Bikes has a good selection of local rides in Montréal on their website.
For more information on Route Verte and cycling beyond Montréal.
