Canada's insider blog

It’s well known that the 4,000-km La Route Verte is the ultimate cycling route in Quebec, with top billing as the biggest in North America no less. So, it’s no surprise that the Grande Traversée de la Gaspésie on wheels bicycle touring event, Sept. 3-10, 2011, is being held in La Belle Province, focused on a smaller – yet no less scenic – 650-km route around the Gaspé Peninsula. The Eden-like region of Gaspésie, as it is known, is astonishingly beautiful, ranked way up there by National Geographic magazine as one of the 50 worldwide destinations to visit in a lifetime.

The Traversée del a Gaspésie (TDLG) cross-country ski event has been held annually since 2003 with 2011 marking the first year for the new “TDLG on wheels.” TDLG president and founder Claudine Roy calls the new bicycle touring event a “merry road trip of personal challenge, encounters, discovery and culture.” Highlights along the TDLG route include St. Lawrence River estuaries, red cliffs, sandy beaches, and quaint country villages.