In Montreal each spring, an epic bicycle festival demonstrates how 25,000 people can let the good times roll without bumping into each other too much. 

In Quebec City and its hinterlands, cyclists plunge into a history shaped by French explorers, the Roman Catholic Church, aboriginal culture and British conquest. In Charlevoix, an island provides a perfect loop for lovers of quiet roads and eye-candy vistas of mountains you don't have to climb.

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A cyclist takes in the St. Lawrence vista at Notre-Dame-du-Portage, Quebec, on Aug. 12, 2015. Along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in this area of around Kamouraska, the panorama of river, sky, flowers and gardens defines the magic of bicycling the Route Verte network in Quebec. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

In Montreal each spring, an epic bicycle festival demonstrates how 25,000 people can let the good times roll without bumping into each other too much.
Cyclists get underway in Tour la Nuit, the annual Montreal bicycle festival's night ride, June 3, 2016. This year, on May 31, the crowd of some 10,000 will bicycle into and around Montreal's Olympic Stadium as part of the night tour. Montreal is a hotbed of cycling, with plentiful urban paths and access to long-distance touring routes and one of Canada's longest rail trails outside the city. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Those treats are mostly thanks to Route Verte, Quebec's gift to the cycling world. It's a vast network of trails and bike-friendly byways that is about to get another growth spurt. Quebec's "green way stitches together wild places, pristine villages and a few buzzy cities in a rich, French-flavored tableau.
Cyclists on Velo Quebec's Grand Tour sweep along a trail in the Eastern Townships, Aug. 1, 2015. More than 1,200 cyclists took part in the ride, which dipped into Vermont. This year's Grand Tour is in the Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean region. Velo Quebec is steward of Route Verte, a vast network of bicycle routes that has made Quebec a leading destination for cyclists. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Within my geographic range of experience — Montreal east to the Gaspesie region and the Eastern Townships north to a lake trail lined with wild blueberries — there are plenty of great tours. Here are some:
Visitors to Val-Jalbert, a re-created paper mill town from the 1920s along Lac-Saint-Jean, are dwarfed by the roaring Ouiatchouan waterfall, which once powered the mill. The spectacle dominates the town, both by day when visitors can stroll the streets, and by night when the waterfall is dramatically bathed in lights of changing colors and the town is reserved for guests who stay there. It's a popular stop for cyclists on the Blueberry Trail around Quebec's Lac-Saint-Jean. (AP PhotoR.M. Green)

Before the Sunday ride comes Tour la Nuit , which launches some 10,000 cyclists at sunset May 31. This year, the cyclists will circle inside Montreal's Olympic Stadium for the first time since "Chariots of Fire" greeted their arrival in the 1980s. "It's the wow moment for Tour La Nuit," says Joelle Sevigny of Velo Quebec.
Tents await the cyclists on Velo Quebec's Grand Tour in Granby, Quebec, Aug. 1, 2015. The tour is a logistical marvel, as transport trucks outfitted with showers move to each night's destination, support staff set up and break down the tents and Velo Quebec feeds the crowd, with massage available. (AP Photo, Cal Woodward)

Veloroute des Bleuets circles Lac Saint-Jean, a lake so big it resembles the sea. In late summer it makes good on its promise of wild blueberries for trailside scavenging. The lake circuit runs for 256 kilometers (160 miles) on trails, quiet roads, village pathways and occasional paved shoulders. Signed as Route Verte #8, it meets the standards that are the hallmark of all designated routes in the network: Inns with Route Verte accreditation must offer healthy food choices, safe storage for bikes and tools while campgrounds must make room for cyclists even if full.
A view of the grounds at Manoir Hovey, outside North Hatley, Quebec, in the Eastern Townships, Aug. 30, 2017. Bill and Hillary Clinton vacationed with the Canadian mystery novelist Louise Penny at the inn along Lac Massawippi that summer. The Eastern Townships are laced with bicycle routes that make it a prime destination for cyclists sampling the Route Verte network of trails and byways. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Quebec's historic capital, like Montreal, has extensive bicycle paths for commuters and several of prime interest to visitors. Starting at the ferry terminal, the Promenade Samuel de Champlain path going west borders the riverfront for 12 kilometers, looping onto a narrow walkway on the bridge crossing the St. Lawrence and joining with another trail in Levis. The Levis trail offers a spectacular view of Quebec City and a chance to return on the ferry, closing a 30-kilometer loop. Nature is nearby. The Jacques-Cartier trail runs more than 80 kilometers on stone dust through forest and meadow.
Quebec in summer is a place of wildflowers, garden flowers and sometimes flowers in a boat, as seen in this Aug. 7, 2015, photo from Isle-aux-Coudres. A quiet road circling the island looks out on the mountains of Quebec's Charlevoix region and the broad St. Lawrence River, and can be accessed by a free car ferry. (AP Photo, R.M. Green)

On Route Verte #1, spread over more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) cyclists can go along the south shore of the St. Lawrence for a week or more, seeing the river widen going eastward into the wild beauty of the Gaspe Peninsula until the far shore disappears and the sea, somewhere, begins.
A cyclist pedals on P'tit Train du Nord, a rail trail running through Quebec's Laurentian region outside Montreal, Aug. 11, 2013. The "little train of the north" trail offers well-spaced amenities, intriguing inns and a shuttle service to drop cyclists and their bikes at the northern end or places along the way. It's part of Quebec's vast Route Verte cycling network. (AP PhotoR.M. Green)

In the mountainous Charlevoix region, cycling tours are for huffing-puffing people but there's an exception: a jewel of an island 15 minutes by car from Baie-Saint-Paul, an art and tourist hub. Isle-aux-Coudres is reached by a free car ferry. The road hugging the shore is 27 kilometers and the scenery is stunning.
A bear takes a dip with a toy at Zoo Sauvage in Saint-Felicien, Quebec, Aug. 14, 2014. The zoo, notable for the wide open spaces turned over to its animals, is a favorite stop for cyclists circling Lac-Saint-Jean on Veloroute des Bleuets, the Blueberry Trail. The trail is part of Quebec’s Route Verte, a network of off-road paths and bike-friendly byways that stitches together wild places, pristine villages and a few buzzy cities in a French-flavored tableaux. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

The townships are a region of lakes, Victorian homes, orchards, covered bridges and resorts, maintaining a patina of England over a decidedly French-Canadian culture.
In this Aug. 7, 2015, photo, Quebec and Canadian flags greet visitors at a shop on Isle-aux-Coudres, where a road circling the island shore provides a perfect loop for lovers of quiet roads, gentle hills, flats along the water and eye-candy vistas of mountains you don't have to climb. A free, 15-minute car ferry gets you to the island from Quebec's Charlevoix mainland. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

In this Aug. 7, 2015, photo, Quebec and Canadian flags greet visitors at a shop on Isle-aux-Coudres, where a road circling the island shore provides a perfect loop for lovers of quiet roads, gentle hills, flats along the water and eye-candy vistas of mountains you don't have to climb. A free, 15-minute car ferry gets you to the island from Quebec's Charlevoix mainland. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)
Towering equine topiaries dominate a carpet of flowers at the Montreal Botanical Garden, Aug. 10, 2013. Montreal is a hotbed of bicycling, offering a bike festival that draws some 25,000 cyclists on a June 2 ride along with access to long-distance touring routes and the nearby rail trail, P'tit Train du Nord. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Towering equine topiaries dominate a carpet of flowers at the Montreal Botanical Garden, Aug. 10, 2013. Montreal is a hotbed of bicycling, offering a bike festival that draws some 25,000 cyclists on a June 2 ride along with access to long-distance touring routes and the nearby rail trail, P'tit Train du Nord. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)
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A cyclist takes in the St. Lawrence vista at Notre-Dame-du-Portage, Quebec, on Aug. 12, 2015. Along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in this area of around Kamouraska, the panorama of river, sky, flowers and gardens defines the magic of bicycling the Route Verte network in Quebec. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

In Montreal each spring, an epic bicycle festival demonstrates how 25,000 people can let the good times roll without bumping into each other too much.

Cyclists get underway in Tour la Nuit, the annual Montreal bicycle festival's night ride, June 3, 2016. This year, on May 31, the crowd of some 10,000 will bicycle into and around Montreal's Olympic Stadium as part of the night tour. Montreal is a hotbed of cycling, with plentiful urban paths and access to long-distance touring routes and one of Canada's longest rail trails outside the city. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Those treats are mostly thanks to Route Verte, Quebec's gift to the cycling world. It's a vast network of trails and bike-friendly byways that is about to get another growth spurt. Quebec's "green way stitches together wild places, pristine villages and a few buzzy cities in a rich, French-flavored tableau.

Cyclists on Velo Quebec's Grand Tour sweep along a trail in the Eastern Townships, Aug. 1, 2015. More than 1,200 cyclists took part in the ride, which dipped into Vermont. This year's Grand Tour is in the Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean region. Velo Quebec is steward of Route Verte, a vast network of bicycle routes that has made Quebec a leading destination for cyclists. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Within my geographic range of experience — Montreal east to the Gaspesie region and the Eastern Townships north to a lake trail lined with wild blueberries — there are plenty of great tours. Here are some:

Visitors to Val-Jalbert, a re-created paper mill town from the 1920s along Lac-Saint-Jean, are dwarfed by the roaring Ouiatchouan waterfall, which once powered the mill. The spectacle dominates the town, both by day when visitors can stroll the streets, and by night when the waterfall is dramatically bathed in lights of changing colors and the town is reserved for guests who stay there. It's a popular stop for cyclists on the Blueberry Trail around Quebec's Lac-Saint-Jean. (AP PhotoR.M. Green)

Before the Sunday ride comes Tour la Nuit , which launches some 10,000 cyclists at sunset May 31. This year, the cyclists will circle inside Montreal's Olympic Stadium for the first time since "Chariots of Fire" greeted their arrival in the 1980s. "It's the wow moment for Tour La Nuit," says Joelle Sevigny of Velo Quebec.

Tents await the cyclists on Velo Quebec's Grand Tour in Granby, Quebec, Aug. 1, 2015. The tour is a logistical marvel, as transport trucks outfitted with showers move to each night's destination, support staff set up and break down the tents and Velo Quebec feeds the crowd, with massage available. (AP Photo, Cal Woodward)

Veloroute des Bleuets circles Lac Saint-Jean, a lake so big it resembles the sea. In late summer it makes good on its promise of wild blueberries for trailside scavenging. The lake circuit runs for 256 kilometers (160 miles) on trails, quiet roads, village pathways and occasional paved shoulders. Signed as Route Verte #8, it meets the standards that are the hallmark of all designated routes in the network: Inns with Route Verte accreditation must offer healthy food choices, safe storage for bikes and tools while campgrounds must make room for cyclists even if full.

A view of the grounds at Manoir Hovey, outside North Hatley, Quebec, in the Eastern Townships, Aug. 30, 2017. Bill and Hillary Clinton vacationed with the Canadian mystery novelist Louise Penny at the inn along Lac Massawippi that summer. The Eastern Townships are laced with bicycle routes that make it a prime destination for cyclists sampling the Route Verte network of trails and byways. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Quebec's historic capital, like Montreal, has extensive bicycle paths for commuters and several of prime interest to visitors. Starting at the ferry terminal, the Promenade Samuel de Champlain path going west borders the riverfront for 12 kilometers, looping onto a narrow walkway on the bridge crossing the St. Lawrence and joining with another trail in Levis. The Levis trail offers a spectacular view of Quebec City and a chance to return on the ferry, closing a 30-kilometer loop. Nature is nearby. The Jacques-Cartier trail runs more than 80 kilometers on stone dust through forest and meadow.

Quebec in summer is a place of wildflowers, garden flowers and sometimes flowers in a boat, as seen in this Aug. 7, 2015, photo from Isle-aux-Coudres. A quiet road circling the island looks out on the mountains of Quebec's Charlevoix region and the broad St. Lawrence River, and can be accessed by a free car ferry. (AP Photo, R.M. Green)

On Route Verte #1, spread over more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) cyclists can go along the south shore of the St. Lawrence for a week or more, seeing the river widen going eastward into the wild beauty of the Gaspe Peninsula until the far shore disappears and the sea, somewhere, begins.

A cyclist pedals on P'tit Train du Nord, a rail trail running through Quebec's Laurentian region outside Montreal, Aug. 11, 2013. The "little train of the north" trail offers well-spaced amenities, intriguing inns and a shuttle service to drop cyclists and their bikes at the northern end or places along the way. It's part of Quebec's vast Route Verte cycling network. (AP PhotoR.M. Green)

In the mountainous Charlevoix region, cycling tours are for huffing-puffing people but there's an exception: a jewel of an island 15 minutes by car from Baie-Saint-Paul, an art and tourist hub. Isle-aux-Coudres is reached by a free car ferry. The road hugging the shore is 27 kilometers and the scenery is stunning.

A bear takes a dip with a toy at Zoo Sauvage in Saint-Felicien, Quebec, Aug. 14, 2014. The zoo, notable for the wide open spaces turned over to its animals, is a favorite stop for cyclists circling Lac-Saint-Jean on Veloroute des Bleuets, the Blueberry Trail. The trail is part of Quebec’s Route Verte, a network of off-road paths and bike-friendly byways that stitches together wild places, pristine villages and a few buzzy cities in a French-flavored tableaux. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

The townships are a region of lakes, Victorian homes, orchards, covered bridges and resorts, maintaining a patina of England over a decidedly French-Canadian culture.

In this Aug. 7, 2015, photo, Quebec and Canadian flags greet visitors at a shop on Isle-aux-Coudres, where a road circling the island shore provides a perfect loop for lovers of quiet roads, gentle hills, flats along the water and eye-candy vistas of mountains you don't have to climb. A free, 15-minute car ferry gets you to the island from Quebec's Charlevoix mainland. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

In this Aug. 7, 2015, photo, Quebec and Canadian flags greet visitors at a shop on Isle-aux-Coudres, where a road circling the island shore provides a perfect loop for lovers of quiet roads, gentle hills, flats along the water and eye-candy vistas of mountains you don't have to climb. A free, 15-minute car ferry gets you to the island from Quebec's Charlevoix mainland. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Towering equine topiaries dominate a carpet of flowers at the Montreal Botanical Garden, Aug. 10, 2013. Montreal is a hotbed of bicycling, offering a bike festival that draws some 25,000 cyclists on a June 2 ride along with access to long-distance touring routes and the nearby rail trail, P'tit Train du Nord. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Towering equine topiaries dominate a carpet of flowers at the Montreal Botanical Garden, Aug. 10, 2013. Montreal is a hotbed of bicycling, offering a bike festival that draws some 25,000 cyclists on a June 2 ride along with access to long-distance touring routes and the nearby rail trail, P'tit Train du Nord. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Then there is the south shore of the St. Lawrence, where the panorama of river, sea, sky and flowers defines the magic of bicycling in Québec in ways that words cannot.

A cyclist takes in the St. Lawrence vista at Notre-Dame-du-Portage, Quebec, on Aug. 12, 2015. Along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in this area of around Kamouraska, the panorama of river, sky, flowers and gardens defines the magic of bicycling the Route Verte network in Quebec. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

A cyclist takes in the St. Lawrence vista at Notre-Dame-du-Portage, Quebec, on Aug. 12, 2015. Along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in this area of around Kamouraska, the panorama of river, sky, flowers and gardens defines the magic of bicycling the Route Verte network in Quebec. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Those treats are mostly thanks to Route Verte, Quebec's gift to the cycling world. It's a vast network of trails and bike-friendly byways that is about to get another growth spurt. Quebec's "green way stitches together wild places, pristine villages and a few buzzy cities in a rich, French-flavored tableau. 

It's the masterwork of Velo Quebec, the bicycling association and Route Verte's steward.

Since 2013, I've gone to Quebec each year, often several times a year, to sample more segments of the network and return to the best. Sprawling over 5,300 kilometers or 3,300 miles, Route Verte is a handful to get to know, requiring more time than most people have and more legs than are under me. And the network will be undergoing its largest expansion in a decade with 900 more kilometers.

Cyclists get underway in Tour la Nuit, the annual Montreal bicycle festival's night ride, June 3, 2016. This year, on May 31, the crowd of some 10,000 will bicycle into and around Montreal's Olympic Stadium as part of the night tour. Montreal is a hotbed of cycling, with plentiful urban paths and access to long-distance touring routes and one of Canada's longest rail trails outside the city. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Cyclists get underway in Tour la Nuit, the annual Montreal bicycle festival's night ride, June 3, 2016. This year, on May 31, the crowd of some 10,000 will bicycle into and around Montreal's Olympic Stadium as part of the night tour. Montreal is a hotbed of cycling, with plentiful urban paths and access to long-distance touring routes and one of Canada's longest rail trails outside the city. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Within my geographic range of experience — Montreal east to the Gaspesie region and the Eastern Townships north to a lake trail lined with wild blueberries — there are plenty of great tours. Here are some:

MONTREAL BIKE FESTIVAL & RAIL TRAIL

Montreal's cycling culture turns into a rolling party at the Go Bike Montreal Festival, anchored by two family-friendly rides that close downtown streets to traffic and take over the city-island. The premier event, Tour de l'lle on June 2, typically draws 25,000 people on bicycles and countless more cheering them on from neighborhoods along the 50-kilometer (30-mile) route. Music, dance and acrobatics (Quebec, home to Cirque du Soleil, specializes in the circus arts) are part of the mix.

Cyclists on Velo Quebec's Grand Tour sweep along a trail in the Eastern Townships, Aug. 1, 2015. More than 1,200 cyclists took part in the ride, which dipped into Vermont. This year's Grand Tour is in the Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean region. Velo Quebec is steward of Route Verte, a vast network of bicycle routes that has made Quebec a leading destination for cyclists. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Cyclists on Velo Quebec's Grand Tour sweep along a trail in the Eastern Townships, Aug. 1, 2015. More than 1,200 cyclists took part in the ride, which dipped into Vermont. This year's Grand Tour is in the Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean region. Velo Quebec is steward of Route Verte, a vast network of bicycle routes that has made Quebec a leading destination for cyclists. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Before the Sunday ride comes Tour la Nuit , which launches some 10,000 cyclists at sunset May 31. This year, the cyclists will circle inside Montreal's Olympic Stadium for the first time since "Chariots of Fire" greeted their arrival in the 1980s. "It's the wow moment for Tour La Nuit," says Joelle Sevigny of Velo Quebec.

Nearby, the offroad P'tit Train du Nord rail trail runs 230 kilometers (140 miles) between the Montreal outskirts and Mont-Laurier on Route Verte #2. About half paved, half smooth crushed stone, the "little train of the north" trail offers well-spaced amenities, intriguing inns and a shuttle service.

THE BLUEBERRY TRAIL

Visitors to Val-Jalbert, a re-created paper mill town from the 1920s along Lac-Saint-Jean, are dwarfed by the roaring Ouiatchouan waterfall, which once powered the mill. The spectacle dominates the town, both by day when visitors can stroll the streets, and by night when the waterfall is dramatically bathed in lights of changing colors and the town is reserved for guests who stay there. It's a popular stop for cyclists on the Blueberry Trail around Quebec's Lac-Saint-Jean. (AP PhotoR.M. Green)

Visitors to Val-Jalbert, a re-created paper mill town from the 1920s along Lac-Saint-Jean, are dwarfed by the roaring Ouiatchouan waterfall, which once powered the mill. The spectacle dominates the town, both by day when visitors can stroll the streets, and by night when the waterfall is dramatically bathed in lights of changing colors and the town is reserved for guests who stay there. It's a popular stop for cyclists on the Blueberry Trail around Quebec's Lac-Saint-Jean. (AP PhotoR.M. Green)

Veloroute des Bleuets circles Lac Saint-Jean, a lake so big it resembles the sea. In late summer it makes good on its promise of wild blueberries for trailside scavenging. The lake circuit runs for 256 kilometers (160 miles) on trails, quiet roads, village pathways and occasional paved shoulders. Signed as Route Verte #8, it meets the standards that are the hallmark of all designated routes in the network: Inns with Route Verte accreditation must offer healthy food choices, safe storage for bikes and tools while campgrounds must make room for cyclists even if full. 

The route perfectly suits self-supported touring. But it's also part of Velo Quebec's summer extravaganza this year, the Grand Tour , a week of fully supported cycling.

QUEBEC CITY & RAIL TRAIL

Tents await the cyclists on Velo Quebec's Grand Tour in Granby, Quebec, Aug. 1, 2015. The tour is a logistical marvel, as transport trucks outfitted with showers move to each night's destination, support staff set up and break down the tents and Velo Quebec feeds the crowd, with massage available. (AP Photo, Cal Woodward)

Tents await the cyclists on Velo Quebec's Grand Tour in Granby, Quebec, Aug. 1, 2015. The tour is a logistical marvel, as transport trucks outfitted with showers move to each night's destination, support staff set up and break down the tents and Velo Quebec feeds the crowd, with massage available. (AP Photo, Cal Woodward)

Quebec's historic capital, like Montreal, has extensive bicycle paths for commuters and several of prime interest to visitors. Starting at the ferry terminal, the Promenade Samuel de Champlain path going west borders the riverfront for 12 kilometers, looping onto a narrow walkway on the bridge crossing the St. Lawrence and joining with another trail in Levis. The Levis trail offers a spectacular view of Quebec City and a chance to return on the ferry, closing a 30-kilometer loop. Nature is nearby. The Jacques-Cartier trail runs more than 80 kilometers on stone dust through forest and meadow.

THE RIVER/SEA

This is where I always go back to, no matter where else I go.

A view of the grounds at Manoir Hovey, outside North Hatley, Quebec, in the Eastern Townships, Aug. 30, 2017. Bill and Hillary Clinton vacationed with the Canadian mystery novelist Louise Penny at the inn along Lac Massawippi that summer. The Eastern Townships are laced with bicycle routes that make it a prime destination for cyclists sampling the Route Verte network of trails and byways. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

A view of the grounds at Manoir Hovey, outside North Hatley, Quebec, in the Eastern Townships, Aug. 30, 2017. Bill and Hillary Clinton vacationed with the Canadian mystery novelist Louise Penny at the inn along Lac Massawippi that summer. The Eastern Townships are laced with bicycle routes that make it a prime destination for cyclists sampling the Route Verte network of trails and byways. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

On Route Verte #1, spread over more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) cyclists can go along the south shore of the St. Lawrence for a week or more, seeing the river widen going eastward into the wild beauty of the Gaspe Peninsula until the far shore disappears and the sea, somewhere, begins.

My hotspot is a day ride from the river road at Notre-Dame-du-Portage to Kamouraska and back, about 70 kilometers in all. In this wide panorama, the sky seems always etched with drama, as stormy sheets of rain and shafts of sun sweep over the mountains on the other side, the river churns in hues of brown and blue, and mist half swallows islands. The Kamouraska canola fields make for a brilliant yellow carpet and village homes — a kind of folk art in themselves— are lined with gardens. Sunsets are routinely extraordinary.

ISLE-AUX-COUDRES

Quebec in summer is a place of wildflowers, garden flowers and sometimes flowers in a boat, as seen in this Aug. 7, 2015, photo from Isle-aux-Coudres. A quiet road circling the island looks out on the mountains of Quebec's Charlevoix region and the broad St. Lawrence River, and can be accessed by a free car ferry. (AP Photo, R.M. Green)

Quebec in summer is a place of wildflowers, garden flowers and sometimes flowers in a boat, as seen in this Aug. 7, 2015, photo from Isle-aux-Coudres. A quiet road circling the island looks out on the mountains of Quebec's Charlevoix region and the broad St. Lawrence River, and can be accessed by a free car ferry. (AP Photo, R.M. Green)

In the mountainous Charlevoix region, cycling tours are for huffing-puffing people but there's an exception: a jewel of an island 15 minutes by car from Baie-Saint-Paul, an art and tourist hub. Isle-aux-Coudres is reached by a free car ferry. The road hugging the shore is 27 kilometers and the scenery is stunning.

ESTRIADE

A web of bike trails and designated cycling routes connects cities, farmlands, vineyards and towns in the verdant Eastern Townships. Among the trails, Estriade goes for 100 kilometers (60 miles) offroad, mostly paved and bordered by dozens of sculptures by international artists along a section.

A cyclist pedals on P'tit Train du Nord, a rail trail running through Quebec's Laurentian region outside Montreal, Aug. 11, 2013. The "little train of the north" trail offers well-spaced amenities, intriguing inns and a shuttle service to drop cyclists and their bikes at the northern end or places along the way. It's part of Quebec's vast Route Verte cycling network. (AP PhotoR.M. Green)

A cyclist pedals on P'tit Train du Nord, a rail trail running through Quebec's Laurentian region outside Montreal, Aug. 11, 2013. The "little train of the north" trail offers well-spaced amenities, intriguing inns and a shuttle service to drop cyclists and their bikes at the northern end or places along the way. It's part of Quebec's vast Route Verte cycling network. (AP PhotoR.M. Green)

The townships are a region of lakes, Victorian homes, orchards, covered bridges and resorts, maintaining a patina of England over a decidedly French-Canadian culture.

IF YOU GO: Full planning resources for cyclists at routeverte.com and check tourism sites for the regions you're visiting via quebecoriginal.com

A bear takes a dip with a toy at Zoo Sauvage in Saint-Felicien, Quebec, Aug. 14, 2014. The zoo, notable for the wide open spaces turned over to its animals, is a favorite stop for cyclists circling Lac-Saint-Jean on Veloroute des Bleuets, the Blueberry Trail. The trail is part of Quebec’s Route Verte, a network of off-road paths and bike-friendly byways that stitches together wild places, pristine villages and a few buzzy cities in a French-flavored tableaux. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

A bear takes a dip with a toy at Zoo Sauvage in Saint-Felicien, Quebec, Aug. 14, 2014. The zoo, notable for the wide open spaces turned over to its animals, is a favorite stop for cyclists circling Lac-Saint-Jean on Veloroute des Bleuets, the Blueberry Trail. The trail is part of Quebec’s Route Verte, a network of off-road paths and bike-friendly byways that stitches together wild places, pristine villages and a few buzzy cities in a French-flavored tableaux. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

 In this Aug. 7, 2015, photo, Quebec and Canadian flags greet visitors at a shop on Isle-aux-Coudres, where a road circling the island shore provides a perfect loop for lovers of quiet roads, gentle hills, flats along the water and eye-candy vistas of mountains you don't have to climb. A free, 15-minute car ferry gets you to the island from Quebec's Charlevoix mainland. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

In this Aug. 7, 2015, photo, Quebec and Canadian flags greet visitors at a shop on Isle-aux-Coudres, where a road circling the island shore provides a perfect loop for lovers of quiet roads, gentle hills, flats along the water and eye-candy vistas of mountains you don't have to climb. A free, 15-minute car ferry gets you to the island from Quebec's Charlevoix mainland. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

 Towering equine topiaries dominate a carpet of flowers at the Montreal Botanical Garden, Aug. 10, 2013. Montreal is a hotbed of bicycling, offering a bike festival that draws some 25,000 cyclists on a June 2 ride along with access to long-distance touring routes and the nearby rail trail, P'tit Train du Nord. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)

Towering equine topiaries dominate a carpet of flowers at the Montreal Botanical Garden, Aug. 10, 2013. Montreal is a hotbed of bicycling, offering a bike festival that draws some 25,000 cyclists on a June 2 ride along with access to long-distance touring routes and the nearby rail trail, P'tit Train du Nord. (AP PhotoCal Woodward)