Velo Quebec
Gathering Speed for 40 Years
Photography: Leanne Ross
In just over 40 years, Vélo Québec has evolved from a cycle touring course for boys to a thriving and influential non-profit membership organization that advocates for cyclists’ rights and, among its numerous accomplishments, oversees the internationally recognized Route Verte.
Vélo Québec’s roots can be traced back to one man: Gabriel Lupien, a Redemptorist priest with a contagious love for cycling that he imparted to his students, family and, ultimately, the people of Québec. (Mr. Lupien’s passion was so infectious he even convinced blind people to try cycling!)
After completing his studies at the seminary in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Mr. Lupien studied physical education at the University of Ottawa. When the young priest returned to the seminary, he discovered that it was easier to reach out to youth through cycling excursions than through religious doctrine. In 1956, Mr. Lupien founded the School of Cycle
Touring, with the aim of providing boys with opportunities to go on cycle tours in a safe, structured environment. With classes offered in towns across Québec, the School gained momentum and popularity until it eventually reached Montréal. In 1967, Mr. Lupien founded the Montréal-based Provincial Federation of Cycle Tourists (which changed its name to Vélo Québec in 1975).
In its early days, Vélo Québec focused on promoting cycling through the organization of cycle tours. The energy crisis of the 1970s challenged the perception of cycling as strictly a leisure activity, and Vélo Québec began its work to have cycling recognized as an alternative form of transportation. In 1985, to demonstrate the need for bike paths, Vélo Québec gathered 3,500 cyclists for Montréal’s first Tour de L’Île. The next year, when 15,000 cyclists turned out for the second Tour de L’Île, Vélo Québec realized that Montrealers were getting excited about cycling.
Today, Vélo Québec boasts a permanent staff of 60 and a membership of 4,500 and counting. The Tour de L’Île has become the largest event of its kind in the world and, in addition to its research projects, Vélo Québec publishes two magazines and continues to organize cycle tours. And, of course, it’s impossible to ignore Vélo Québec’s crowning achievement: the Route Verte. The Route Verte is significant not just because of its enormity or its resounding international success, but because it represents a collaborative effort between government and a cycling organization – a partnership that is unprecedented in Canada.
Despite all this advocacy work, Vélo Québec’s General Director, Suzanne Lareau, rejects the notion that Vélo Québec is a lobby group. Throughout its history, Vélo Québec’s philosophy has been that people will ride their bikes so long as they have enjoyable spaces to ride in. To that end, the organization has focused on making cycling safe and accessible, primarily through the creation of bike paths. In a recent interview, Ms. Lareau emphasized that Vélo Québec’s main goal is to ignite in people a love of cycling. It would seem, then, that Gabriel Lupien’s infectious passion for cycling is still the beating heart of Vélo Québec.
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Published in Momentum No. 34
The "Travel Issue" features cycling destinations and trips from across Canada and the world. In the issue we travel to the Big Apple to interview tough and hardy New York, as well as look at cycle touring the in Quebec, Canada and Tokyo, Japan.
