La Boucle brassicole des Cantons

Eastern Townships Gravel Growler by Jérémie Bourdages-Duclot

La Boucle is a 600km loop that goes through the rolling, open and diversified landscapes of the Eastern Townships, in the south of Québec, and passes by multiple microbreweries. This area, well known by off-road gravel grinders, is packed with unpaved roads and is perfectly designed for gravel adventures, with its New England cachet, lots of climbing, amazing views and great beer and microbreweries along the way.

The inspiration behind the route

The idea behind la Boucle brassicole comes from the inspiration a few local riders had while riding the Green Mountain Gravel Growler, in Vermont. We loved it and had no trouble imagining a Townships equivalent: after all, les Cantons-de-l’Est is probably the number one playground for gravel enthusiasts, and the microbreweries keep popping up on the horizon. The great thing about this route is the fact that many riders contributed to the making of the Boucle brassicole and still will as it is a project that belongs to the Communauté de bikepacking des Cantons, (Townships bikepacking community) on Facebook. I personally started working on it in March 2020, when COVID shutdown cancelled our original Newfoundland planned adventure. Many cyclists suggested roads, trails, detours and microbreweries not to miss in the route building process. Furthermore, our plan is to work on the route in the long term by finding access to better and more off-road detours at a few key places. A website gathering all info is on the agenda!

By the numbers

Distance: 597kms

Total ascent: 5811 m

Amount of route Unpaved: 65%

Number of microbreweries: 20 opened and accessible microbreweries + 2

(one is planning its opening in fall 2020 in Cowansville, the other one is temporarily closed in Windsor because of COVID, but still actively brewing and distributing).

Logistics and details

Where to start

You can start the route wherever you want on the trail, we don’t have a particular suggestion. Ideally, you would choose a starting point that fits well with your ride speed and the opening hours of the many microbreweries on the route. We started in Sherbrooke and it worked out great.

Camping

Paradise of the gravel grinders, the Townships are nevertheless largely constituted of private lands. Therefore, it’s hard to find a good wild camping spot (except if you want to do some stealth camping). However, there are a lot of good organized camping options. Also, you can ask some microbrewery owners if they’re ok with you pitching your tent in their backyard: la Grange Pardue at Ham-Nord and les 11 Comtés at Cookshire-Eaton have been very nice and open about this during our rides, especially since we had supper and lots of beer at each spot! You could also ask farmers and agricultural businesses (it is a very rural region) if they’re fine with it too.

The best bike

This is clearly a gravel bikepacking route. With tires between 38 and 47c, you’ll be at ease: the most technical place is probably Hereford mountain: the 47c will be nicer if you opt for some singletracks in your descent, but skinnier is not impossible. Anything bigger than 50c will be overkill.

Number of days to complete

It always depends on your speed and physical condition, but I believe that to plan a whole week for the ride is a bare minimum if you want to get access to most of the microbreweries and really enjoy it. For the challenge of it, athletes could try doing it in a few days. Note: try to ride the part between Richmond and Shefford during a Monday and a Tuesday; it’s the longest stretch without microbreweries, which are usually closed at the beginning of the week.

Best season to ride the route

From April to November, but July and August are probably the best time. Microbreweries and camping options might be closed or have reduced opening hours in spring or fall, so check in advance. October is also the hunting season, and some areas on the eastern part of the loop, in Hereford and Bury sectors, could be risky. Bring an orange vest (be visible) and don’t venture out of the roads during that period.

Additional info and modifications

Don’t hesitate to cut the loop in half, if your schedule is too tight. The bike path between Windsor and Sherbrooke, part of the network of the Route verte, is overall quite nice and allows the cyclist to ride “une demi Boucle”. The western part, with the towns of Racine, Shefford, Bromont, Dunham, Sutton and Orford is more populated, less wild but has more microbreweries, especially between Shefford and Magog. The eastern part, between Coaticook and Richmond, has less microbreweries, but you’ll also see less people, less riders and more open landscapes. Our personal favorite beers were at 11 Comtés, La Ferme in Shefford, Robin Bière naturelle in Waterloo and Dunham microbrasserie. The best riding experience was, for us, in the Coaticook valley and in the Hereford forest.

You can slightly modify the route to ride some mountain bike singletracks, on Hereford mountain (look up the trails of Circuits Frontières) and in Bromont. If you want to make some detours for singletrack riding, look up mont Sutton and Orford National Park.  

If travelling during Covid-19, please research all local and/or regional travel restrictions and be aware, respectful and conscientious of the communities you are travelling through.

Level of difficulty

This route should be attributed a 4/10 difficulty grade. The main challenge is climbing: in a similar way to its Vermont neighbor, the Eastern Townships roads can be quite strenuous. But overall, the route is rolling and has a good rhythm. With the exception of the Hereford community forest, la Boucle is very close to services, not wild at all, and the trail is mostly composed of non-technical gravel. The grade could bump to 5/10 if the riders use the singletrack alternatives in the East Hereford and Bromont areas.

The beers

Route GPS

Click here for the Ride With GPS Route.
Note: A website dedicated to the Boucle (and other bikepacking routes / inspirations in the Townships) will eventually be built and shared this year. Stay tuned!

Jérémie Bourdages-Duclot is a physical education teacher living in Sherbrooke who loves being outdoors at large, especially on his bike doing gravel/touring/bikepacking. After riding both in Québec and internationally, he discovered that his own backyard is a perfect destination for those who like open scenery, good quality gravel roads and great local beer.

Note: Please use the route and all of the routes on messkitmag.com at your own risk. Before you head out do your own due-diligence, be responsible for your own trip safety and always check current weather, road conditions, and land/road closures.While riding, obey all land restrictions and rules, carry proper cycling gear, leave no trace and respect the land used. If travelling during Covid-19, please research all local and/or regional travel restrictions and be aware, respectful and conscientious of the communities you are travelling through. The information found in each route is simply a planning resource and the accuracy of the route is not guaranteed, meaning messkitmag.com and its contributors are in no way liable for personal injury, damage to personal property, or any other such situation that might happen to individual riders cycling or following this or any of our routes.