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For many, a ride around the neighbourhood or a few kilometres along one of the Ottawa-Gatineau region’s many paths is enough of a cycling adventure.
For Gab Vaugeois, it’s just the beginning.
WATCH | Ride along with cyclist-creator Gab Vaugeois on his 450-kilometre off-road journey:
He bikes to Montreal from his Gatineau home, and says it’s worth taking the long way
Follow cyclist and content creator Gab Vaugeois as he showcases the 450-km journey over five days through the Gatineau Hills and Laurentians, almost entirely on cycling paths, for CBC Ottawa’s Creator Network.
Since he was a teen, the 34-year-old has been biking long distances in and around his home in Gatineau, Que. He says one of his first training grounds, before travelling and cycling around the world, was a converted train track north of Montreal called the P’tit Train du Nord.
“Doing this trail is definitely a must if you want to bike in Canada,” said the cyclist-creator, who takes viewers along for the ride in a new short doc for CBC Ottawa’s Creator Network.
Over five days, he goes the distance from Gatineau to downtown Montreal, tracing the route through the “wild as hell” wooded area north of his home and through the Laurentians to what he calls the “Disneyland” section of the route along the former railway corridor to L’île de Montréal.
Vaugeois says it’s better to take the long way to complete most of the approximately 450-kilometre journey on his favourite scenic off-road paths.
“You’ll see so many different landscapes, and it’s one of the most beautiful regions to experience by bike,” he said.
The P’tit Train du Nord path from Mont-Laurier, Que., to Montreal is one of Gab Vaugeois’s favourite cycling routes. (Gab Vaugeois)
“I think often when we bike, we tend to go from point A to point B as quickly as possible, but our slogan is, ‘Dare to slow down,'” adds Diane Pilon, spokesperson for the non-profit organization that maintains the P’tit Train du Nord park and bike path, in an interview recorded for the video.
“There are so many things to see.”
In a CBC Ottawa Creator Network piece, Vaugeois cycles a 450-kilometre route from Gatineau, Que., to Montreal mostly along off-road paths, including the Voie Verte Chelsea, the Véloroute des Draveurs and the P’tit Train du Nord before arriving in Montreal and returning by bus. (google maps)
Though it’s not for everyone, Vaugeois encourages cyclists to consider gradually tackling longer routes, from a ride to Dow’s Lake to a jaunt to Petrie Island to an afternoon on a path to the village of Osgoode in south Ottawa and beyond.
He says the Ottawa region is home to a huge number of trails, making it the perfect training ground for that longer adventure you might want to take down the road.
And while he says cyclists have to be prepared for surprising challenges along the way — including thunderstorms and flat tires — there are also many happy accidents.
“Usually the unexpected stuff is the good stuff, like meeting someone you haven’t seen for years and you happen to cross them on the trail,” Vaugeois said.
With files from Christine Maki