Stretching from the heart of the Plateau district up to the downtown core, the bike lane on Saint-Urbain Street is one of Montréal’s cycling thoroughfares. More importantly, Saint-Urbain is also a foodie paradise, offering a vast array of culinary mainstays. You can, in fact, have an entire day of meals right along (and just off) that path.

The place to start would undoubtedly be Beauty’s (93 Mont-Royal Avenue West). This small retro breakfast diner is something of an institution in Montréal, and it’s one of the few places on that street that can still conjure the world of Mordecai Richler novels. Fittingly, the menu hasn’t changed in 30 years and you can still get a variety of omelettes, eggs and breakfast favourites. If you’re looking for something a bit lighter to start your day, there’s always the classic Beauty’s Special: a bagel with smoked salmon, cream cheese, tomato and onion. It’s doubtful anyone will ever be as fidgety and energetic as Duddy Kravitz* (and who would want to be?), but fresh cream cheese and salmon have a way of getting you ready for the road.

For something equally inspirational for lunch, why not stop in at Santropol (3990 Saint-Urbain Street)? After all, the funky sandwich restaurant is already hip to bike culture: their Santropol Roulant program has delivered 350,000 meals by pedal-power to seniors in the last 15 years. Warm and fuzzy feelings aside, Santropol also offers some of the largest and most colourfully creative sandwiches in the city. One of the most popular is the Hazel Brown, a huge, three-story concoction involving chocolate spread, bananas, cream cheese, honey and blackcurrant jam.

If all this feels a tad, um, healthy, you can thankfully indulge your inner glutton on the trek back home; Romados (115 Rachel Street East – just two blocks off Saint-Urbain but still on a bike path), awaits. The mostly unassuming Portuguese bakery has quietly evolved over the last two years and now offers rotisserie chickens (rotating on massive spits in the back), sandwiches and soups. This development hasn’t gone unnoticed and it’s normal to wait 20 minutes or more just to get close enough to see the counter. Of course, can you blame anyone? Where else can you get a beautifully barbecued half chicken with salad, rice and an absolute mountain of fries for just under $8?

For those put off by large, borderline intimidating portions, Romados also offers a chicken sandwich, which stuffs nearly a quarter chicken into a bun, and comes with the same fresh cut, pepper-spiced fries. Of course, the bakery also offers an additional “choice” between spicy and mild sauce on all dishes. Opting for the latter, however, will likely result in a disapproving look from the staff.

With the introduction of BIXI (the rental bike system) and over 40 kilometres of new bike paths improving the east to west cross-city commute, cyclists in Montréal have a lot to look forward to. Then again, if the path along Saint-Urbain Street (and its many restos) proves anything, it’s that they’ve always made the best of it.

* The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is one of Richler’s novels set in Montréal in the 1950s