"Thank you for dedicating the book to me. Reading it actually saved my life."
Bob Silverman in 1976
Photo : PIERRE RIVEST / MONTREAL GAZETTE
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What was it like for cyclists when Le Monde à Bicyclette started in 1975?
There were virtually no facilities, it wasn’t even in the vocabulary. No bike paths, no bike parking. And we had a very anti-bike mayor, Jean Drapeau. All the budget went into cars and roads. Even worse than that, they destroyed houses to build things like the Ville-Marie Expressway. We needed bike paths, bike parking, access to the métro. (Breaks into a poem). Cars, cars everywhere, what a stink! / packed together / street by street / eliminating our feet / we had nothing to like / then, we rediscovered the bike … The car was usurping our space. We were cyclofrustrated and wanted to point out how crazy car reality was. It’s still crazy. Ever listen to the traffic report? The bridges are paralyzed, the streets are paralyzed. It’s madness.
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Now, Montreal is now known as a bike city, bike tourists come here because of the bike paths. I’m very pleased Montreal is considered in the top 30 bike cities in the world. It makes my life seem worthwhile.
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When it comes to cycling Montreal has a few undeniable drawbacks. For a start, it’s hilly, the streets rising gradually from the riverside
Activist ‘Bicycle Bob’ attempts to part the waters of the Saint Lawrence river. Photograph: Robert Silverman archive
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https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jun/17/people-power-montreal-north-america-cycle-city
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