We've never bypassed Montreal because it's always been our destination but looking at the map, Rte 30/132 would be the way I would go. Rte 401/20 to Coteau-Landing then Rte 201 east to Rte 132 east. At the cloverleaf in Chateauguay, pick up Rte 30 (straight through) and then at the Rte 30/Rte 132 intersection take a right onto Rte 132. At the next big cloverleaf, pick up Rte 30, Autoroute de L'Acier, by going straight through. Take Rte 30 to Sorel and pick up Rte 132 there. It sounds confusing but it looks easy on the map and you stay off the Montreal island.

If you're going to be near Montreal during the first week in July, there's a great jazz festival there as part of Canada's Independence Day celebration. Part of the city is closed to traffic and open air stages are set up along the blocks of the city. It's not just jazz\\; there's a lot of great music and celebration that goes from afternoon into the night for a week and a half or so.

Keep an eye out for two dressers, a pewter pearl and a blue/silver one. We'll be touring around the Gaspe but we may end up in Nova Scotia also. We don't stick to a regimented schedule if you get my "drift".

 

(Message was originally written on 7/21/08 but was not posted until today, 8/20, because of posting problems with the forum in July)

We just completed a great tour of La Gaspesie! Stunning vistas and scenes that included three separate sightings of bald eagles (one plunging its talons into the water to fish the river we were riding next to!), a black bear rumbling across the road far enough ahead of us that it didn't require an evasive maneuver, and a fox. Who knows how many other pair of eyes were peering at us undetected.

JC-We stopped in Edmunston for a bit but stayed the night a little further south in Grand Falls, NB. Nine-tenths of the volume of Niagra Falls flows down the canyon (which is less than a quarter of the width of Niagra Falls) during spring run off. It was impressive in July. It must be spectacular in the spring.

nj08SEUltra-Thanks to your tip, we made reservations and stayed in Perce rather than Gaspe. Kind of a tourist trap but very nice indeed. It was fortunate that the town was nice because we stayed there three days because the throttle cable on my buddy's '06 Ultra snapped as we rode into town. He coasted down the hill to the hotel we were staying at. It broke on Saturday late afternoon so he had to wait until Monday for a hauler to bring it back to New Richmond and another day and a half to get the cable. He had just had the 15K mile service done before we left. Kind of makes you wonder how thorough the service was, eh? (The cable was dry and parted about a half inch from the end ball at the grip.) He went with the hauler and the wife and I stayed in Perce. We hiked the bird sanctuary island that's close to the majestic cliff with a hole in it. Unbelievable variety and number of birds that make this island home in the summer.

I'll try to write a trip report later when the Harley's not calling me to ride. La Gaspesie was one of the best tours I've made and, God willing, we'll be doing it again soon. Next time I may take the adventure tourer and head across the peninsula through the Chic Chocs rather than hug the coast the whole way like we did this time.