We just got back from another long weekend in the Eastern Townships area of southern Quebec, a paradise for road bikers and wine lovers (we are both). The Granby, Cowansville,Bedford area is almost perfectly flat, with miles and miles of quiet country roads cutting thru vast stretches of farmland and vinyards interspersed with patches of forest and tiny villages. A beautiful mix of midwestern open expanses, New England foliage and charm, and French wine culture. The weather was a 10, the wines were pretty good, and the bicycling was unforgettable. We did a 13 mile loop yesterday starting at Le Bauge vinyard (we did a wine tasting when we got back!), thru some maginificent countryside, with almost no traffic - there was one stretch of 4 miles where we saw only one car on the road. Even though this was the height of foliage season, I don't recall seeing more than one or two USA licences on cars at the vinyards or restaurants. This area is an undiscoverd gem for most Americans.

<<This area is an undiscoverd gem for most Americans. >>
I agree most Americans don't seem to head for the Eastern Townships. We live about an hour and fifteen minutes from the border but we are the only people we know who go up to that part of Quebec regularly.

in addition to the wine and scenery, there is good food.

zootsi,

Great trip report. Even many Montrealers, as close as we are and although we know of the towns of which you write, make it rather infrequently to that neck of the province. You probably know the area better than even a lot of Quebeckers. I've only been to Sherbrooke and Magog myself in the Townships. Anyway, it sounds like a terrific trip and you're right that the weather could not have been better of late. Did you bike on Route Verte paths or on secondary roads?

Best wishes, Daniel

zootsi,

Oh, yes, and I'm curious to hear some names of wines (ice wines?) that you liked if you can remember any.

Daniel

Just this past weekend I wetted my whistle for the first time with a Quebec red, and that's not because of overall lack of consumption. The idea of making wine in the province is brand new so no-one should expect vineyards lolling over hill and dale. Ontario, with three distinct winemaking areas, and British Columbia with at least two regions are far ahead of the game at least as tourist attractions.
Much better established is the cidre du glace, or apple cider produced in the same fashion as ice wine. The tartness of apple balanced against the sugar makes it a much more appealing dessert wine to me, and cheaper too. Pinnacle is the leading brand but plenty of other small makers can be discovered.
First and foremost, the treasure hunter should search out the lip-smacking array of artisanal cheeses at which the small dairies of Quebec excel. In the Eastern Townships, as well, Lac Brome is the centre of fresh duck farming and also foie gras although the thought of a duck farm being a tourist attraction might be a little, well, daffy.
The government tourism office is big on promoting agritourism, as they call it.
http://www.terroircuisineandproducts.com/farms.html

Hi Daniel,

We have been biking in this area for several years, and initially did the bike trails. There is a wonderful paved stretch of bike path from Waterloo to Granby - all flat, and quite scenic in spots. As much as we love these well tended bike trails, lately we have found the nearly flat, often empty back roads to be even more enjoyable. The scenery can be breathtaking, at least to a New Englander who isn't used to vast open spaces. Most of these secondary roads are paved, but some are hardpack (they are still bikeable with a road bike).
As for the wines, I have noticed that they have come a long way in the past 8 years or so. Our favorite wineries would include L'Opailleur, which has some excellent whites, a very good rose, and an acceptable red. La Bauge has more of a rural feel, but all the wines we tasted there were very good, even the reds. They also have a exotic animal farm on site.
Val Claudalies had some very nice whites, and a very delicious apple raspberry cider. Perhaps our favorite stop was Grenouille, a rural backroad winery with excellent whites and rose. The folks who gave the tastings there were very friendly and unpretentious.
As for the towns, Cowansville and Granby are the commercial centers, but not as interesting as Magog. Some of the smaller villages are charming, but places to eat and sleep are few and far between.

Zootsi,

Thanks for the replies. You've given me ideas for future bike escapades outside of Montreal.

Best wishes, Daniel

hey! its seems that its awesum place to go bcoz i love these things.

zSounds great! where did you stay?

Last time we stayed at the Mirador, just outside Granby. It was a fairly basic, simple clean motel with an indoor pool. We've also stayed at the Auberge Harris in St. Jean Sur Richelieu which is quite nice, but a bit further from most wineries.

We are two 60 year old Australians looking to do a self-guided biking trip in Eastern Canada in mid 2016. We have looked at those on Prince Edward Island (which look good) but also wondered if there are any others available ? We would require bikes, hotel/guest house accomodation and transport of luggage each day. We would plan on a 5 day trip. Does anyone have any suggestions? We normally would only cycle say up to 50 miles a day - thank you!

Quebec is considered one of the best parts of the world for road biking. There are many hundreds of miles of both dedicated trails and safe back roads. I don't know of any organized trips that transport luggage and such, but there may be. We usually do overnights in the Eastern Townships and will do 15-25 mile loops and then hit some wineries. The provence of Quebec publishes many excellent maps and free guidebooks, including biking maps. You might want to contact them at the boujourquebec website. Also, the Eastern Townships (a southern portion of Quebec) puts out a very helpful biking map with about a dozen itineraries on it, along with bike friendly hotels.
You might also want to get a copy of the book 'Cycling In Quebec' by Velo Quebec. This is a 250 page map guide to the world famous Route Verte that crosses Quebec. The Velo Quebec website may also be helpful.
You might also want to consider a night in Montreal, which may have the best urban bicycling in North America.