Bicycling is the best way to explore the Gaspé's craggy coast, sprinkled with quaint villages you might otherwise miss. A few steep climbs along the way are worth the effort.
BY ANDRÉ DÉSIRONT
"You're touring the Gaspé by bike! So you've climbed la Madeleine?"
Gaspésiens all know about "la Madeleine," a six-kilometre hill outside the little village of Rivière-Madeleine. And when you say, "Yes, I've climbed la Madeleine," they compliment you on your physical fitness and eye you as if you are a deranged masochist.
La Madeleine is the first in a series of dizzying rises and descents between Rivière-Madeleine and Forillon National Park. It's the longest of these hills, but not the most agonizing. Cyclotourists who have previously circled the Gaspé Peninsula in a clockwise direction know from experience that when they leave Rivière-Madeleine, they're in for two days of hell - or pleasure, depending on their outlook - and that the second day will be even harder than the first. Between Saint-Yvon and Cap-des-Rosiers at the eastern end of Highway 132, the succession of hills seems endless.
I have cycled the loop tour of the peninsula several times now, and la Madeleine has become my point of reference. When I get there, I know that it's the end of my favourite part of the entire 900-kilometre journey - the segment that stretches along the coast from Sainte-Anne-des-Monts to Rivière-Madeleine. After Rivière-Madeleine and its horrendous hill, the road twists away from the shoreline and snakes through the Monts Chic-Chocs foothills for the next 20 kilometres. Cycling this segment, you often have to leave Highway 132 for detours into villages along the way to continue seeing dramatic views of capes and rugged coastline.
Along the entire 100-kilometre portion between Sainte-Anne-des-Monts and Rivière-Madeleine, the road hugs the shore at the base of the cliffs, so you merely have to lift your head to see astounding vistas. Every 10 kilometres or so, there's another village with a lyrical name - like Tourelle, Marsoui, Ruisseau-à-Rebours, L’Anse-Pleureuse, Gros Morne or Manche d’Épée - nestled around a bay where there's just enough space between cliff and ocean for a couple of dozen houses. Standing like sentinels over most of the hamlets are red and white striped lighthouses, now automated and converted into museums.
Fishermen from Montmagny, l'Islet and Île d'Orléans first settled these villages a little over a century ago. They would take refuge along the coast during major late-autumn storms, only to later find themselves hemmed in by ice. Some fishermen put down roots here for closer access to the schools of cod.
Depleted fish stocks and over-forestation have left their descendants in relative poverty.
The resulting starkness of the villages suits the rocky setting. Most travellers pass through without stopping, in a rush to visit the more tourist-oriented Forillon National Park or Percé Rock.
During my periodic visits over the last 25 years, nothing much has changed. You might expect to find a handful of charming restaurants and upscale inns in Mont-Saint-Pierre, which - as eastern Canada's "hang-gliding capital" - is the most visited of these remote villages. But, no. Mont-Saint-Pierre has the same three or four motels, with outmoded names like Les Délices and Les Flots Bleus, it had 20 years ago. On the upside, the lack of development has allowed this portion of the coast, known as the Upper Gaspé, to preserve its unspoiled appeal.
So, I know the big hill outside Rivière-Madeleine will wrench me away from all this coastal charm and take me into the backcountry. But I also know I'll be rewarded for my efforts 20 kilometres further on, at the viewpoint just before the road drops into Grande-Vallée. The panorama spans the entire village, whose church and presbytery rise from an enormous rocky outcrop, as if placed there by a divinely inspired decorator.
As a regular traveller on the loop formed by Highway 132 around the peninsula - this is my fourth time cycling it - I've learned when to turn my head for breathtaking scenery and which side roads lead to the not-to-be-missed lookouts, museums, attractions and lighthouses. I've recorded addresses and favourite stops along the route.
In Petite-Vallée, which calls itself the "Village en chanson," an exhibition hall retraces the history of French song back to La Bolduc. [La Bolduc is the nickname for author-composer-performer Mary Travers-Bolduc, who hailed from the Gaspé and is celebrated as the first French-Canadian chansonnière.] You could spend two hours there, headphones on, enjoying the hits that inspired so many generations of Quebecers to dance. In Forillon National Park, I always try to overnight in Cap-des-Rosiers, just to tuck into a bowl of bouillabaisse at Chez Mona, the area's best eatery. With luck, the fog rises as I leave the restaurant, casting an eerie spell underlined by the moan of a foghorn.
In the town of Gaspé, where a local committee endeavours to repair the errors of the past (chiefly the four-lane road, built in the 1970s, that cuts off the town from its superb bay), I like to linger in one of the sidewalk terraces on Rue de la Reine and then dine at Brise-Bise, the town's liveliest bistro-bar.
I discover something new on every visit to the peninsula. This year it was l’Anse-à-Beaufils near Percé, where a clutch of culture vultures has converted a former fish-processing plant into an arts centre. The ground floor houses an entertainment venue, a boutique selling locally grown products and one of the peninsula's most popular bistro-restaurants. Upstairs is a large art gallery where summertime visitors can watch some 15 painters, sculptors and other artists at work. The place is luring more and more visitors as word spreads about Vieille Usine.
Also in l’Anse-à-Beaufils, Rémi Cloutier, a remarkable storyteller, has brought an old general store back to life, with shelves, wares, counters and goods stashed exactly as they were more than 100 years ago. The original store was owned by Charles Robin and Company, a firm of merchant traders from Jersey in the Channel Islands, who once operated all over the Gaspé.
After l’Anse-à-Beaufils comes Chaleur Bay, where the scenery isn't quite so spectacular. Although the terrain is relatively flat, cyclists often have to battle the prevailing winds out of the west. But one more heaven-sent treat awaits before you complete the Gaspé loop tour: a day of pedalling alongside the Matapédia, one of the prettiest salmon rivers in eastern Canada.
source: Canadian Tourism Commision
This reproduction is not represented as an official version of the materials reproduced, nor has it been made in affiliation with or with the endorsement of the Canadian Tourism Commission.
Click here for more information on Quebec
Click here for more outdoor adventures in Canada
BY ANDRÉ DÉSIRONT
"You're touring the Gaspé by bike! So you've climbed la Madeleine?"
Gaspésiens all know about "la Madeleine," a six-kilometre hill outside the little village of Rivière-Madeleine. And when you say, "Yes, I've climbed la Madeleine," they compliment you on your physical fitness and eye you as if you are a deranged masochist.
La Madeleine is the first in a series of dizzying rises and descents between Rivière-Madeleine and Forillon National Park. It's the longest of these hills, but not the most agonizing. Cyclotourists who have previously circled the Gaspé Peninsula in a clockwise direction know from experience that when they leave Rivière-Madeleine, they're in for two days of hell - or pleasure, depending on their outlook - and that the second day will be even harder than the first. Between Saint-Yvon and Cap-des-Rosiers at the eastern end of Highway 132, the succession of hills seems endless.
I have cycled the loop tour of the peninsula several times now, and la Madeleine has become my point of reference. When I get there, I know that it's the end of my favourite part of the entire 900-kilometre journey - the segment that stretches along the coast from Sainte-Anne-des-Monts to Rivière-Madeleine. After Rivière-Madeleine and its horrendous hill, the road twists away from the shoreline and snakes through the Monts Chic-Chocs foothills for the next 20 kilometres. Cycling this segment, you often have to leave Highway 132 for detours into villages along the way to continue seeing dramatic views of capes and rugged coastline.
Along the entire 100-kilometre portion between Sainte-Anne-des-Monts and Rivière-Madeleine, the road hugs the shore at the base of the cliffs, so you merely have to lift your head to see astounding vistas. Every 10 kilometres or so, there's another village with a lyrical name - like Tourelle, Marsoui, Ruisseau-à-Rebours, L’Anse-Pleureuse, Gros Morne or Manche d’Épée - nestled around a bay where there's just enough space between cliff and ocean for a couple of dozen houses. Standing like sentinels over most of the hamlets are red and white striped lighthouses, now automated and converted into museums.
Fishermen from Montmagny, l'Islet and Île d'Orléans first settled these villages a little over a century ago. They would take refuge along the coast during major late-autumn storms, only to later find themselves hemmed in by ice. Some fishermen put down roots here for closer access to the schools of cod.
Depleted fish stocks and over-forestation have left their descendants in relative poverty.
The resulting starkness of the villages suits the rocky setting. Most travellers pass through without stopping, in a rush to visit the more tourist-oriented Forillon National Park or Percé Rock.
During my periodic visits over the last 25 years, nothing much has changed. You might expect to find a handful of charming restaurants and upscale inns in Mont-Saint-Pierre, which - as eastern Canada's "hang-gliding capital" - is the most visited of these remote villages. But, no. Mont-Saint-Pierre has the same three or four motels, with outmoded names like Les Délices and Les Flots Bleus, it had 20 years ago. On the upside, the lack of development has allowed this portion of the coast, known as the Upper Gaspé, to preserve its unspoiled appeal.
So, I know the big hill outside Rivière-Madeleine will wrench me away from all this coastal charm and take me into the backcountry. But I also know I'll be rewarded for my efforts 20 kilometres further on, at the viewpoint just before the road drops into Grande-Vallée. The panorama spans the entire village, whose church and presbytery rise from an enormous rocky outcrop, as if placed there by a divinely inspired decorator.
As a regular traveller on the loop formed by Highway 132 around the peninsula - this is my fourth time cycling it - I've learned when to turn my head for breathtaking scenery and which side roads lead to the not-to-be-missed lookouts, museums, attractions and lighthouses. I've recorded addresses and favourite stops along the route.
In Petite-Vallée, which calls itself the "Village en chanson," an exhibition hall retraces the history of French song back to La Bolduc. [La Bolduc is the nickname for author-composer-performer Mary Travers-Bolduc, who hailed from the Gaspé and is celebrated as the first French-Canadian chansonnière.] You could spend two hours there, headphones on, enjoying the hits that inspired so many generations of Quebecers to dance. In Forillon National Park, I always try to overnight in Cap-des-Rosiers, just to tuck into a bowl of bouillabaisse at Chez Mona, the area's best eatery. With luck, the fog rises as I leave the restaurant, casting an eerie spell underlined by the moan of a foghorn.
In the town of Gaspé, where a local committee endeavours to repair the errors of the past (chiefly the four-lane road, built in the 1970s, that cuts off the town from its superb bay), I like to linger in one of the sidewalk terraces on Rue de la Reine and then dine at Brise-Bise, the town's liveliest bistro-bar.
I discover something new on every visit to the peninsula. This year it was l’Anse-à-Beaufils near Percé, where a clutch of culture vultures has converted a former fish-processing plant into an arts centre. The ground floor houses an entertainment venue, a boutique selling locally grown products and one of the peninsula's most popular bistro-restaurants. Upstairs is a large art gallery where summertime visitors can watch some 15 painters, sculptors and other artists at work. The place is luring more and more visitors as word spreads about Vieille Usine.
Also in l’Anse-à-Beaufils, Rémi Cloutier, a remarkable storyteller, has brought an old general store back to life, with shelves, wares, counters and goods stashed exactly as they were more than 100 years ago. The original store was owned by Charles Robin and Company, a firm of merchant traders from Jersey in the Channel Islands, who once operated all over the Gaspé.
After l’Anse-à-Beaufils comes Chaleur Bay, where the scenery isn't quite so spectacular. Although the terrain is relatively flat, cyclists often have to battle the prevailing winds out of the west. But one more heaven-sent treat awaits before you complete the Gaspé loop tour: a day of pedalling alongside the Matapédia, one of the prettiest salmon rivers in eastern Canada.
source: Canadian Tourism Commision
This reproduction is not represented as an official version of the materials reproduced, nor has it been made in affiliation with or with the endorsement of the Canadian Tourism Commission.
Click here for more information on Quebec
Click here for more outdoor adventures in Canada
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