Veloroute des Bleuets and Quebec City Tour – 8th to 15th of September 2025
Submitted by Richard Hatherill*
Day 1 – Introduction
The Veloroute des Bleuets tour took place for four days around Lac Saint-Jean in the Saguenay region of Quebec.
Sixteen riders from Ottawa and seven riders from the Vancouver area traveled mainly from Ottawa to meet at 5:30 pm in the Hotel Universel in Alma for a Meet & Greet.
Nel Ahmed, our able and experienced tour organizer, gave us an introduction to the tour and the various ride options. A number of BC/Ottawa friendships were renewed as some of our west coast members had ridden in previous Ottawa tours.
Following the meet & greet, most of the group headed out for a well-earned drink and meal.
The Riders (left to right)
Front Row
Richard Hatherill, Margo Roden, Dale Featherstonehaugh, Margaret Phelan, Monna-Leigh McElveny, Peter Blancher, Janet Clark, Bob Roden, Don Taylor.
Back Row
Sam Ludmer, Glen Evan, Geoff Kennedy, Paul Quinn, Susan Monaghan, Tom Denesyk, Carol Evans, Dave Featherstonehaugh, Ann Lenk, Joan LeDrew, Susan Johnson, Pam Denesyk, Nel Ahmed, Karen Bickford.
* This report reflects the experiences of the group I rode with each day. It will differ in the details of other groups experiences, but should provide an overall picture of the tour.
Day 2 Alma to Dolbeau-Mistassini – 78 km*
* Distances are from my cyclometer; others may have ridden more or less.
Most of the BC riders rented a mixture of road bikes and eBikes in Alma and we met at the Alma visitor centre for the start of cool mixed sunny & cloudy day’s ride around the lake. The route took us on a beautiful ride through the Parc National de la Pointe-Taillon ending at a ferry to Péribonka – the ferry landing turned out to be hard to find because the sign to it had been removed as it was the end of the season!
We were expecting to find a place for lunch in Péribonka but the only option was a convenience store, so it was a quick stop with coffee and sandwiches from the store before carrying on to the Motel Chute des Pères
Péribonka
View from the motel in Mistassini
Day 3 Dolbeau-Mistassini to St. Felicien – 41 km
Day 2 had a rainy start, which is always discouraging, and remained wet for most of the day. We all agreed to take a shorter route than that planned because of the weather, so rode a more direct route along the Ticouapé River and inland to arrive at the Hotel du Jardin fairly early in the afternoon.
Promenade du marais
Day 4 St. Felicien to Roberval – 49 km
Day 4 was a sunny but cool day with a route that took us alongside the river down to and around Lac Saint-Jean and past Roberval to visit a historical village. The village dated to the early 1900’s and consisted of a number of houses and public buildings, the remains of the log processing buildings and machinery, and a cable car that carried you up along side a waterfall to a ridge with spectacular views.
After lunch, and a few hours touring the village, we retraced our ride back to Roberval. That evening we had a convivial pizza supper for all, provided out of tour funds
Day 5 Roberval to Alma – 78 km
Day 5 was a longer ride back to Alma with a bit of a tight deadline to return the rented bikes and drive to Quebec City. For our small group this was the start of an eventful day; Karen got a large nail in her front tyre, but she and Monna successfully removed and reinstalled a particularly difficult tyre – I refrained from offering male help as I could see they had it under control.
We had stopped at a delightful boulangerie and fromagerie for lunch, and, just as we were getting on our bikes, the left side of my pannier rack snapped off. I was stuck, but Monna and Karen came to my rescue with tie wraps and a bungee cord to strap my left pannier to the top of my pack.
The final part of our adventure occurred as we were getting in to Alma. We were getting confusing directions from RWGPS so backtracked and met another group who were equally confused. We spent some time riding back and forth looking for the route until we decided to just keep heading in the direction of Alma – finally picking up the route to the visitor centre where, after an inadvertent diversion down a steep hill to the river, we could pick up our vehicles and head for Quebec City and the Hotel Universel.
Day 6 Quebec City and Levis – 53 km
The hotel was very close to Laval University with a good selection of eating places including an attached Boston Pizza and the L’Oeufrier – a good place for breakfast.
The day started out cool and mixed sunny & cloudy (as usual) and we followed a steep route down to the St. Charles River and along pleasant cycling paths down to the port area, then along the Promenade De Champlain and up a very steep climb to the Pont de Quebec. The track across the bridge was narrow and bumpy, so not a pleasant experience.
We then went east along the south shore to the ferry, stopping for lunch at the Café du Marché. After the ferry we retraced our ride back, but this time on the other side of the St. Charles River, cumulating with a final steep climb to the hotel.
Day 7 Quebec City and Montmorency Falls – 50 km
The original plan was to cross the St Lawrence again to the south shore before heading out to the Montmorency Falls. Quite a few didn’t want to repeat the previous day’s experience on the bridge so the ride started with a Quebec City loop. We headed south and west down to the river then east along the Promenade De Champlain and out to the falls. After lunch and photo opportunities we headed back into Quebec City and the hotel.
Joe Fafard’s Horses – Boulevard Champlain
Day 8 Departure from Quebec City
Some of us were planning on an early start, but the temptation of a free breakfast courtesy of tour funds delayed our start.
Summary
The Veloroute des Bleuets and Quebec City tour was a great success thanks to the planning by the tour leader Nel Ahmed and her co-leaders Dave Featherstonhaugh, Geoff Kennedy, and Margo Roden.
The split between Ottawa and our west coast friends made for a wonderful friendship experience, with a mixture of old and new friends.
I would also like to thank Tom Denesyk for setting up the WhatsApp, and all those who posted photos on the app – without which this report would be mainly text!
The Routes
Day 4
Day 2
Day 3
