U-Pik I Can Bike 2

[riboflavinjoe]

So, like, does N-E-1 know of a U-Pik berry (or N-E other fruit) place I can bike 2 from downtown Montreal?

[riboflavinjoe]

Does anyone know where I can pick 1) cherries (sour or otherwise), 2) pears, 3) plums? I'm looking for a place not too far from Montreal. Or at least in driving distance, if not biking distance.

[kpzoo]

Do we grow any of those things here? :-)

Never heard of it, but I haven't researched it. Maybe someone else knows! I think of BC or Ontario when I think of those three particular fruits.

[Campofiorin]

I don't know about cherries but pears and plums grow easily in the Eastern Townships and the southern part of Montérégie near Hemmingford and along the NY state line.

[kpzoo]

Nice. Not sure I've ever seen local pears & plums around town. Wonder why?

[SnackHappy]

You can buy local plums and pears at JTM in the autumn. The pears are even available until mid winter. Plums certainly grow very well here. We have two Italian plum trees in our backyard and last year got hundreds of delicious plums. What the squirrels didn't get, I turned into a few gallons of compote that I ate in my morning yogourt for what seemed like way too short a time.

[kpzoo]

Nice!! Lucky you to have a tree doing so well!

I'll have to look more closely at the market in the fall - thanks!

So... do you know of any farms that offer you-pick plums/pears? I think that's what riboflavinjoe was after. :-) Or maybe you want to invite him to help you literally pick your own? ;-)

[SnackHappy]

Our trees seem to give plums only every other year, so this year will unfortunately be a dry one. As for pick your own places, I have no personal knowledge of any and a bit of internet sleuthing only turned up places in Île D'Orleans for pears and plums and the Mauricie for cherries.

[riboflavinjoe]

It's auto cueillette time of the year again! Back to Van Velzen it is! Their strawberries are ready to pick this weekend. Long distance biking is back! Summer is here! We're jamming!

[kpzoo]

Nice! Have fun!

[silvercity09]

I'm planning on going strawberry picking with my 13 yr old nephew tomorrow July 05 and saw that you mentioned Van Velzen....do they have other activities at this farm? Do they sell other fruits and vegetables there too? Also, do you need an appointment? I tried calling them but there was no answer so I'm hoping you'll help since you've been there before.

Thanks.

[kpzoo]

http://www.fermevanvelzen.com/site/autoc.asp

According to their site, they have "Tour de carriole, aire de jeux, aire de pique-nique, mini-ferme. Will let riboflavin chime in on the appointment question since I don't see anything on the site. My best guess is that on weekdays you're probably better off calling first to confirm before you head out - also, with the wet weather we've been having lately, you'll want to be sure they've got lots of strawbs ready to be picked.

Good luck!

Edit: just checked their listing on the provincial strawberry-producers' site, and their hours are listed as

* Samedi et Dimanche : De 9h00 à 18h00
* Lundi au Vendredi : De 8h00 à 19h00

They also list other produce:

http://fraisesetframboisesduquebec.co...

[Campofiorin]

The place is always open, no problem on that front. As for entertainment, it'S nothing a 13 year old will be interested in.

We went yesterday and the rainy weather causes the strawberry to turn moldy really fast. I touched more rancid berries in less than an hour than in my whole life. When we started trimming them, some were already going bad. We froze most of the 4 baskets we picked. They go for $7.50 for a 4-litre basket.

The berries are a little smaller than last year and little less sweet. If the summer could only start and the rain go away.

[riboflavinjoe]

So, we have 6 liters of strawberry jam, we're getting a whack of raspberries next, but I was wondering where I might be able to pick blueberries? Bikability is still key. Thanks!

[kpzoo]

If you're willing to drive and then do your biking, there's actually a "vélo-route des bleuets" up in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean - who knew!

http://www.veloroute-bleuets.qc.ca/

If you search the Bonjour Québec's agro-tourism section for the keyword "bleuet" (or bleuet auto-cueillette) you'll find a bunch of other blueberry places to look at, hopefully some closer:

http://www.bonjourquebec.com/qc-fr/ag...

Good luck!

[riboflavinjoe]

I don't pwn a car, and don't want to rent, either. I'll try to find handier locations. But thanks for the recommendation.

[kpzoo]

Well, Quinn Farm on Ile-Perrot says their blueberry-picking season should start July 25:

http://www.quinnfarm.qc.ca/index-e.html

And you could work in a pit-stop at Smoked Meat Pete's ;-)

[riboflavinjoe]

You are a friend. Thank you.

[riboflavinjoe]

Wow, 107 kilometers return trip. Not bad! The berries are great!

[kpzoo]

You must be in great shape, glad the blueberries were worth the trek!

[Campofiorin]

Actually, my GF being from that pretty part of the province I can attest that vélo-route des bleuets has little to do with blueberry picking while biking. It's just the name they gave to the bike path that surrounds the lake. Bleuets is the nickname of people of Lac-St-Jean because of the abundance of the little (or large in this case) berries there.

As for picking blueberries in the vicinity of Montreal, I'm not too sure about that. They tend to grow in colder climate but you might have some luck on the north shore, I'd consider the Lower Laurentians and maybe St-Eustache.

[kpzoo]

> vélo-route des bleuets has little to do with blueberry picking while biking.

That's hilarious, I hadn't looked at the site closely enough - thanks for pointing that out!

[riboflavinjoe]

We biked to Boucherville today, to Van Velzen farm and picked 5 times 4L boxes of really tasty, bright, red, sweet strawberries. It's $7 a 4L, or 3 boxes for $20. When I went to ask for a 4th and 5th basket, they gave them to us for $5 each. Our bikes were heavier on the way in to town, and we took the ferry from LongEye to Old Montreal instead of tackling the Jack Cartier bridge again. A fun day! Maybe I'll post pictures when they are uploaded to the computer. Oh yeah, and they said their raspberries will be ready in 7-10 days, but are not sure of price yet.

[finefoodie55]

Probably the closest to town is in Chateauguay at Ferme Pitre on the138 just passed the 30 on the south side of the street.Normally easy to see but they have construction just by the stand (they sell picked as well as offering u-pick) so keep a good eye out.

[Venusia]

Got this email:

STRAWBERRIES!
Local, organic!

La Ferme du Fort Senneville invites you to come with your family and pick your own, on the Farm, 165 Senneville Road

Saturdays 10 – 4 (except June 21)
Sundays 10 – 4
Weekdays, by appointment
514 457 3606
514 246 4503
Please leave your pets at home

Again, in this case you can take the train to Roxboro and bike the rest of the way to Senneville.

[bigfellow]

Or to be closer, take the train to St Anne de Bellevue station. (I used to live in Senneville)

[Venusia]

If you go to Ile Perrot, you can take your bike on the Montreal-Dorion train and get off at the Ile Perrot station. Bikes are accepted on all trains on weekends.

[kpzoo]

Really depends how far you want to/are able to go. :-)

There are only three u-pick places listed in the Montreal region on the strawberry- & raspberry-growers' site, though one's actually in Ile Perot, one's in Boucherville and one's in Rougemont:

http://www.fraisesetframboisesduquebe...

There are also a few in Laval. You can check out the other regions by using the links at the top of the page.

[riboflavinjoe]

60-70 km round trip, I'd say...

[kpzoo]

What I'd do if I were you is look up some of those addresses in GoogleMaps and see what the kilometrage is like. For example, I just mapped it, and Ferme Van Velzen in Boucherville is just over 70 km round trip from my place in NDG,

YMMV (literally!). Good luck!

[riboflavinjoe]

Right, I went to Google Earth right away, and saw the one in Boucherville is 21.8 km (as the crow flies, I mean, as the car drives i.e. highways).

Question: to get to Boucherville from downtown Montreal, is it best to go on the Jack Cartier bridge, or go to the Louis-Hippopotamus tunnel? I would assume take Jack Cartier, right? I've never been through the Hippo tunnel, so I don't know if it's fit for bikes. But if I take Jack Cartier bridge, where should I go once I am in LongEye? Is there a decent bikeable path to get to Boucherville?

[kpzoo]

Oy. Unfortunately I can't help you much with that aspect - but just off the top of my head, I would guess that long tunnels are probably not very bike-friendly!

[carswell]

AFAIK, the tunnel's not bike friendly. However, there is a ferry service between Montreal and the Ïles de Boucherville and the Îles de Boucherville and the South Shore. See www.navark.ca/2_navette.htm

Vélo Québec can tell you about the South Shore bike paths. My impression is that there's not much east of Longueuil. Remember that you can also take your bike on the metro outside of rush hour and special events like the fireworks.

[Campofiorin]

The tunnel is definitely to be avoided. The bridge and metro would be the fastest way while the ferry could be the funnest. We go pick at Van Velzen every summer and the berries are really good and they're nice. Prices are fair and by bike, it's really not that far especially on a beautiful summer day.

[RhondaB]

I've taken the ferry from Parc Promendades Belle-Rive to the Boucherville Islands. The park, is situated quite a ways East, past the access to the Hippo tunnel, on Notre Dame est (maybe in Pte aux Trembles). Ferry is a very pleasant way to kill 15-20 minutes on a nice day in order to reach the South Shore. And once you're landed, it's a quick ride over to Boucherville (but you may encouter highway)..