With 300 Bixi stations and 480 kilometres of bike paths popping up all over town, it seems Montreal’s love affair with the two-wheeled wonder is steamier than ever. But our love of the bicycle goes further than commuting and mundane errands. Sometimes, we just want to ride – and so we head out to the city’s finest bike trails for some tough but beautiful riding.
Beers ’n’ Bikes
Time magazine recently chose Montreal’s St. Lawrence River and Lachine Canal loop as number three in its list of Top 10 Urban Biking Trips. Between the Bonaventure Expressway at the east end and the Lachine Museum in the west (29 kms), you’ll pass the old industrial sector, the Atwater Market, the St. Ambroise brewery, the Lachine Rapids and much more, all by the banks of the canal, which is itself a national park.
Parks, Naturally
Île Bizard and Cap St. Jacques parks both offer about 10 kilometres of green, glorious trails. Both also feature sandy beaches and an unbeatable view of Deux Montagnes Lake. Cap St. Jacques sits at the edge of Des Prairies River, and features the D-Trois-Pierres organic farm.
The Green Trail
Quebec’s esteemed, award-winning Route Verte currently encompasses roughly 4,000 km of paths, shared roadways and paved shoulders criss-crossing la belle province, from Lévis on the South Shore to the banks of St. Jean Lake in the north, to Berri St. in the heart of Montreal to the Eastern Townships’ Estriade. See the site to plan your ride.
Image courtesy of meddygarnet.
