Montreal: A Nice Place to Visit, an Awesome Place to Bike

	A bunch of us went to Montreal in early June to ride in the Tour la Nuit and Tour de L'Ile. We took the train up and got there just a few hours before the first ride, a nighttime tour. Here we are waiting to start, next to Benoit, who'd decorated himself with light-up breasts that unfortunately aren't too visible in this picture. Next year we'll think more about how to decorate ourselves for this ride! We saw all sorts of interesting creations.
After sampling Montreal's best bagels during breakfast the first morning, we headed straight La Maison des Cyclistes, a store and travel agency devoted to people like us. This being Montreal's biggest bike weekend, the store was packed. Candlesticks, coat hooks, and wrapping paper, oh my!
	It rained off and on all weekend, but we still loved the biking, for reasons like this--really good bike lanes. Most of the lanes were two-way and physically separated from motorized traffic. This lane leads right up to the Mont Royal park. Other nice facilities for bikers included well-designed parking racks that could fit several bikes and were everywhere, and excellent signage.
Here are some of us up in the park, which has a great view across the city and the St. Lawrence. The park was designed by Olmsted, codesigner of Central Park and many other NYC sites, but it didn't feel particularly Olmstedian to me. The ride up to this overlook was along a wide gravel carriage road with woods on both sides. I didn't see much evidence of  landscaping.
	Lucky for us, a race was going on in the park that day--part of the women's world cup championship series. I'd happened upon all the same women (including the great Jeannie Longo and NYC's Elizabeth Emery) at the HP Laser Jet Challenge in Idaho last summer--I must be fated to be with them. Genevieve Jeanson of Team Rona stole the show, winning the 99K race by more than 7 minutes, with a record time. She's from Montreal and is just 19 years old. It makes perfect sense to me that a champion rider would come from the city; she probably spent her childhood riding along canal paths and bike lanes, looking forward to the Tour de L'Ile each year. Her team is sponsored by Rona, a housewares store that also sponsors the Tour de L'Ile and Tour la Nuit. Anyone who can get me one of the cool blue and yellow Rona jerseys will be rewarded. (photo by Harvey)
After the race, we headed for this sweet downhill, where I attempted to reenact the speedy ride (sans chain break) of Laurie in the Montreal bike movie Two Seconds. The women in the race had just ridden up this hill 12 times.
	After more riding and a trip to an island, we ended up in the old part of town for the evening. Here we are doing a massive bike lock in the pretty central square.
The Tour de L'Ile the next day was awesome--lots of people but very well organized and just plain fun. Even in heavy downpours, we had a great time. Here we are near the third rest stop, where we fortified ourselves with Nutella and baguettes.

For scenes from the ride back to NYC, click here.
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