We all ride for different reasons.

For some, it’s daily sanity. For others, it’s adrenaline. And for many, it’s freedom — exploring new places and meeting new people, all from the smallest version of a mobile home: our two-wheeled best friend. For Maureen, that’s exactly what this trip was.

A seasoned veteran of Ontario’s BT700, Maureen is no stranger to long days and big adventures. So when she unexpectedly found herself between jobs with the entire month of August wide open, she naturally chose to take an extended bike vacation.

The Route: A Maureen Special

Like many of us, Maureen had been watching new bikepacking routes emerge across Canada. She became inspired by the Great Northern Bikepacking Route (GNBR) — a rugged line stretching from BC to Newfoundland. However, she realized those epic trails sometimes need to be tailored to fit her own wishlist. The GNBR, which hugs remote single and double track across southern Quebec is a beautiful beast of its own, but in places, seemed a bit unfriendly for Maureen's ideal trip. Inspired and undeterred, she pulled bits and pieces from nearby Quebec cycling routes for an ideal trip.

Her Partner in Crime

We met Maureen back in 2023 when we helped her build up a bike that checked all of the boxes, a fully custom Salsa Fargo that could handle all of the rugged terrain her dreams are made of with all the carrying capacity despite the x-small size frame.

With its steel frame and carbon fork, the Fargo blends mountain bike capability with long-distance drop-bar comfort — the perfect bike for big off-road adventures like this one.

As Maureen puts it:

“It’s the most comfortable bike ever. I love everything about it.”

Into the Appalachians

She launched her epic alongside Arlene Bissweiger, her friend since grade 7.Together they 

made their way from Montreal to Sherbrook, a smooth and enjoyable opening stretch that delivered them to the edge of the Appalachian Mountains.

There, Arlene waved goodbye, and Maureen turned west onto rough ATV tracks and backroads threading through Quebec’s Eastern Townships along the Maine border.

This was the GNBR she’d been dreaming about - deep in the woods, resupply hoping on the kind of trails her bike was built to ride.

But the riding was HOT. After 7 days she faced her first major decision point. Ahead lay the GNBR through the remote Gaspesie Pac National - long stretches without resupply and rugged terrain. To her left was the alluring cool breeze of the St. Lawrence. 

Ultimately the cool breeze won.

Coastal Views and Gaspé Climbs

Once along the coast, the landscape shifted dramatically. Seals and seabirds kept her company. Sunsets lit up the bay. The rolling coastline stretched endlessly — and sometimes steeply.

Near the tip of the peninsula, Along the St. Lawrence, Maureen found herself on what seems like a short 600m hike-a-bike trail up and over a ridge.

 “It was on a trail that was so steep it had a rope for hikers to pull themselves up.  I just took one step (or heaving of my bike up ledges) at a time. There was definitely cursing involved. I was thrilled that no hikers were around wondering what the heck I was doing with a loaded bike going up that trail.”