Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
The Slow Lane (Film)
“The Slow Lane” tells the story of Pierre Bouchard and Janick Lemieux, a couple of nomadic cyclists who have cycled more than 250,000km since 1990. The film traces their story, friendship, love, and decision to travel the world by bike as they take on a 300km route not far from their hometown in Quebec, Canada. Watch it here…
Dedicated to slowly exploring the world on two wheels, Pierre Bouchard and Janick Lemieux have covered over 250,000km combined by bike and spent 14 years in the saddle since 1990. Through a bikepacking trip in Quebec’s wild outback, The Slow Lane retraces the story of these two incredible cyclists from the volcanic Pacific Ring of Fire to Africa. Watch the full film below, then scroll down for a brief reflection from Pierre and check out their Quebec bikepacking route.
Words by Pierre Bouchard
Alexa Fay, a young, friendly, and talented filmmaker, approached us in 2022 to discuss ideas for a short documentary project. We devised a plan to hit the woods together the following spring, along with her cameramen, Simon Dufour and Paul Dussault. Janick and I have been sharing our lives and the road since 1997. Our travels mainly consist of roaming the globe on our bikes, searching for its residents and landscapes. Alexa decided to share this form of nomadism on two wheels as a way of life and our riding through…it all! We came up with the title “The Slow Lane” and stuck with it.
Between overseas expeditions and when at home in Charlevoix, Quebec, we strive to seize every opportunity to explore La Belle Province on our bikes. The region is perfect for all types of outdoor adventures and, of course, bikepacking. We had been back from a 21-month and 21,000-kilometer ride stretching from Norway to Tanzania, the first leg of a more ambitious cycling odyssey we came to call “NOMADS² | nomads by nomads from cape to cape.” After sharing our adventures in lecture series across Canada, we were supposed to return to Africa in September 2020. Some microbes ruined our plans like everyone else, so we focused on projects close to home instead. Initiatives aimed to develop access to the region for off-road cycling, including trail building and many bikepacking routes. Our departure to Tanzania and launch of the second edition of NOMADS² is scheduled for early June 2024, but that’s another story.
Back in December 2022, when we met with Alexa, we were already working on one of these bikepacking routes. One was a 300km ride through the Laurentians wilderness between Chambord, near Lake St.-John, and Rivière-à-Pierre, in the Portneuf region, connected by the Montreal-Jonquière passenger VIA train. The idea was to drive to Chambord, ride in the woods to Rivière-à-Pierre for a week, and board the train back to our van: Quebec Bikepacking Xpress! This was a perfect opportunity for Alexa, Paul, and Simon to capture photos and video of us in our element. We’d love them to join us in Africa.
Quebec Bikepacking Xpress
Further Reading
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