In 2007 the Canadian Province of Quebec completed a ten year project to build 6,000 kilometers of bike lanes through the province of Quebec.
This trip included many small towns and agriculture communities that were included among the most beautiful villages of Quebec. These towns welcome cyclists with excellent food, beautiful scenery, and friendly people.
As soon as you do any research on le Route Verte you instantly become acquainted with Velo Quebec. And if you are like I was; well its a bit confusing. At first it seems like a large bike club based in Montreal, but the more you read about it you begin to think its more like LAB, the League of America Bicyclists. But it is different because Velo Quebec is more localized, more provincial and their main goal over the last ten years was the completion of 
le Route Verte.
If you read the LAB website it is clear that it is an advocacy organization first. The current page has a clear picture of the Capitol in the background. One thing that Velo Quebec does very well is to research and analyze the state of cycling in Quebec with regards to the penetration of active cyclists in the community. Every five years the association publishes a report which highlights the level of cycling activity in the province and its impact on the economy. (Bicycling in Quebec 2005 and Bicycling in Quebec 2000). Included with my membership was the choice of either a subscription to Velo Mag or Plein Aire. I choose Velo Mag and although it is written in French only it is in my opinion a better magazine than the national magazine in the states; "Bicycling" which sometimes sees to be written for the recreational high school students.
In addition to the magazine I received cycling specific maps for every area of Quebec along with cycle touring brochures for each region. Additional books and publications can be ordered. All in all these resources provide a good base to start from in your research on bicycle touring in the area.
I originally heard about Le Route Verte in an article in Bicycling magazine which is ironic because I rarely read Bicycling magazine. In the article it mentioned that after ten years of planing and constructing Le Route Verte is was soon to be inaugurated. Much of the trail is typical "Rails to Trails" conversions.
After cycling touring around British Columbia two years ago (photos) I was really impressed with the state of cycling in Canada. The bike trails were good to excellent. They were well 
marked, well maintained, and well used for everyday life near urban centers. Motorists are a lot more tolerant about sharing the road with cyclists and pedestrians. So after such a wonderful experience two years ago I thought I would try the East Coast. I had traveled extensively through French and Atlantic Canada 10 years ago and thought I would try it this time by bike.
Through an association of small tourist and argicultural villages called l’Association des plus beaux villages du Québec, (or the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec) I did some research on some small picturesque villages to visit. The goal is to use parts of le route verte and some country backroads to find some scenic small towns.
| Day | Miles | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45 | Burlington Vt. | Isle La Motte, Vt. |
| 2 | 50 | Isle La Motte, Vt. | Chambly, QC |
| 3 | 65 | Chambly, QC | Sherbrook, QC |
| 4 | 70 | Sherebrook, QC | Acton Vale, QC |