Hi Ian,
Good on ya! I don't know if you've landed yet or where, but you should add Montreal to your list of cities to visit and bike. Over the past 20 years they've built up the infrastructure so that there is now 500km+ of bike lanes in the city. There are several segregated bike paths (pistes cyclables) that get you into most parts of the city, and are crisscrossed by bike lanes and 'sharrow' routes to get you quite close to where you are going. In some neighborhoods it seems there are more bikes than people, so the drivers are GENERALLY respectful of cyclists (still, there's always a few, eh?) The current mayor is an avid cyclist -- she biked down to city hall when elected -- so the future looks good. That said they use the same bad tarmac for the bike lanes as they do for the roads. Our roads are horribly: nice when freshly paved, but they deteriorate quickly.
Winters here are much more severe than Toronto, where they are mild (comparable to Boston in the US). You can get snow tires for your bike, or just get a fat bike. The bike lanes are plowed, often before the roads (to the ire of drivers). If you are outside in winter more than 10 minutes a cyclist WILL pass you. In warm months you will wait at a light with a dozen or two other cyclists during rush hour, or when on a popular route on a weekend. As well there are legions of parks here, most with at least one path through. There is a path along the Lachine Canal from the Old Port out to Lake Saint Louis, plus a connected path which goes along the Saint Lawrence River almost entirely through parks. Need I say more? And there are several bridges that connect the island to the south shore and Laval (the island city to the north) and the north shore.
Last bit: the pistes cyclables are mostly part of Route Verte, a network of bike routes which cross southern Quebec from east to west. If you bike across the province campgrounds will always have a place for you. Last year during the pandemic I took a special one of these, the P'tit Train du Nord (chekc out their website). It's an old rail line the province took over and repaved (some asphalt, some gravel) and runs 201 km from a suburb north of Montreal through Mont Tremblant to Mont Laurier, in the heart of the Laurentian mountains. They restored and repurposed all of the stations along the route -- galleries, cafes, a bike shop, a restaurant, tourist centers, etc. -- and this early 20th century route hugs lakes, rivers, and passes through the heart of villages that sprang up when the line was built. It is spectacular. There are many other famous bike routes in Quebec (Route des Bleuets comes to mind) as well as outside (you can circle the Niagara River basin behind the falls in Ontario in a few days). And I know several people who have biked from here to Ottawa, a few less who have crossed Quebec, and a handful who have crossed Canada. So I think you will be happy biking in Canada. Safe travels!
(06-02-2021, 07:08 AM)ian13 Wrote: I'm considering moving from the UK to Canada for work, and I wanted to find out about how it's like cycling in Canada, specifically the greater Toronto area but also open to other cities like Vancouver.
I currently live in London and love the access to parks and hills close by, cycling lanes, as well as the ability to take a train to nearby villages and cycling there. While the weather is pretty **** right now in the UK, we still do get a good summer and fall season for riding outside. Moreover, from my experience cycling in the USA vs UK, drivers are more considerate here and used to cyclists. There's also tons of group rides and clubs to meet people.
So my question is - what is the overall cycling culture like in Canada? In terms of weather, safety, access to parks, road conditions, group rides etc.? As a cyclist, how do you deal with the rough Canadian winters? Will I be disappointed if I'm used to cycling in the UK? I've never cycled in Canada so looking for any information I can get on how it's like biking there.
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