By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
A Shefford farmer and a local cycling booster are hoping a new planned mountain bike trail between Shefford and Bromont will help get young people interested in farming and the outdoors and build bridges between the two communities.
Paul Sauvé of GNR Shefford plans to develop and maintain the trail or trails – described in an information document as seven to 15 kilometres of paths for beginner and intermediate mountain bikers – on his land, potentially using trails already accessed by snowmobilers in the winter.
“We came to the realization that rather than fighting the sprawl that’s going on, we wanted to cohabit in harmony … much like Europe where you have farms in the middle of the village,” Sauvé said, noting that in parts of the United States, it’s common for biking trails to cross private land. “We have 42 acres of land and we’ve given access to the snowmobile club for the last 23 years. We could fence it off, or [open it to traffic] and let kids and older people and people who want to go biking have fun with it. There has been a bit of a rivalry [between Bromont and Shefford] over the past few years, but with cycling, you break barriers.”
A quarter century ago, the Sauvé family took over a farm that has been in operation since 1797. Paul Sauvé hopes the children and families cycling across his property will enjoy the landscape and start conversations about sustainable agriculture and “what it is to farm.”
“We’re giving access to our land and hoping others will follow suit,” he added. “Just make sure you pick up your trash and everyone behaves themselves.”
Sauvé’s neighbour, Louis Barbeau, is the director general of the Fédération québécoise des sports cyclistes and a major backer of the project. He says the proposed trails would draw visitors from around the region and allow beginning bikers to have access to easier terrain than the trails in Bromont or on nearby Mount Gale. “If you go to Bromont or Mount Gale you need experience, and not everyone has that,” he said. “Everyone should have a place to practice cycling safely.”
Barbeau said discussions had taken place with stakeholders including the Bromont National Cycling Centre (BNCC). According to the information document, the current project hinges on getting authorization from Hydro-Québec and the Quebec Ministry of Transportation (MTQ) to cross land owned by the utility and use an existing tunnel under Highway 10. He also hopes to get the municipalities of Bromont and Shefford involved. “The main challenge is to get all of the stakeholders together – I don’t know if there will be other private landowners involved, but the municipalities and Hydro, definitely. Before thinking about the money, we need to make sure everyone is on board.”
Barbeau said he hopes the first cyclists will be able to hit the trail by 2026. “There’s some work to be done, but it’s not extensive – a bit of land clearing and maybe some lean-tos and signs. Once everyone is on board and all the administrative things are sorted out, I think it’s something
that can be realized in six months.”
Hydro-Québec regional affairs advisor Ève-Marie Jodoin could not immediately comment on the bike trail project. Isabelle Dorais, a spokesperson for the MTQ, said the ministry “had not received any requests” in conjunction with the project. Audrey Leboeuf, a public affairs advisor for the town of Bromont, said no one from the municipality could comment in detail for the time being because the project was “too embryonic.”
Shefford Mayor Éric Chagnon told the BCN no one involved with the project had approached the town yet. He noted that a new bike trail linking Waterloo, Shefford and Brome Lake had opened last May as part of the Estriade bike trail network. “Before I say anything [about the Shefford-Bromont trail], I would need to know more – what would the trail be, how long it would be, where the funding would come from – but clearly, we’re at a point where biking is important for tourism and for our economy,” he said.