You can also subscribe to have Dirt Rag delivered to your door every six weeks. Pedal on down to your local cool shop or any other nearby magazine selling location for a copy. Quebec 98 by Peter Richardson Located in the Eastern Townships, about 120 KM east of Montreal, Bromont, Quebec, host to the XC Finals offers a gateway to discover perhaps the most well kept secret in Canadian tourism. This region of the province was first settled by Empire Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, followed later by Irish, Scottish and French immigrants. The resulting blend of cultures has produced a unique region within Quebec.
Lush farms intermingle with industry and a strong tourist community.
History and heritage are everywhere in the townships, covered bridges span the rivers, there are several round barns and even a twelve sided barn located in Mystic. Magnificent Victorian homes can be seen in Cowansville, Sherbrooke and Hunter Mills amongst other communities. Bromont itself boasts the largest flea market in the Eastern Townships. In Rock Island, a border town with the state of Vermont, stands the Haskell Opera House, once used as a courthouse for a noted trial because the Canadian and US border runs right through the edifice, thus allowing one of the participants to remain on foreign soil while testifying. Today it is a library and an opera house and, yes, the border does still separate the two halves of the structure.