Imagine riding the road with no motorized vehicles. Now imagine doing this with over 15,000 other cyclists. Last night I did just that and it was freakin' awesome.

According to Time Magazine and the National Geographic Travel Guide, Montreal is the biking capital of North America. Cyclists are everywhere. Activists in Montreal over time have been able to raise awareness and create a relatively kick-ass cyclist path system.

One of the keys to this success has been the Ride the Road event in Montreal. Started in 1985, Ride the Road closes the streets to motorists. This year the event is on the morning of Sunday June 6. It started out as a small event. Last year over 35,000 cyclists participated in the 50 kilometre ride and this year they are expecting 45,000. Since 1999 there has been an evening addition to the Ride the Road event called Tour de Nuit. Starting after 9pm, cyclists take a 20 kilometre ride through the streets of Montreal. All together for both events 3,700 volunteers are needed.

According to Vélo Québec, both of these events are “an effort to improve the environment and the health and well-being of the general public.” Vélo Québec “continuously promotes safe, widespread bicycle use for recreation and tourism and encourages cycling as a means of sustainable, active transportation.”

In the lead up to the Ride the Road events, Joëlle Sevigny, executive director of events for Vélo-Québec, said in the Montreal Gazette, “Time passed, and as the event grew from a form of guerrilla transportation to an environmentally- and family-friendly event so large (about 50 kilometres this Sunday) that it takes thousands of volunteers to make sure it's successfully pulled off, the Tour de l'Île went mainstream.” She went on to say that, “the message from cyclists has been that we're (on the road) to stay....I think there's a message of hope in that, hope that the road will be shared.”

And relatively speaking, sharing the road cyclists do with motorists. Right now in Montreal there are 82 kilometres of bicycle lanes, where there is a painted line on the right hand side of the road that is designated for bikes. There are another 67 kilometres of bicycle lanes on roads that have a physical barrier, a low wall or short posts, to separate bikes from cars. The hope is that this will increase. The Ride the Road events are helping to do just this.

                

I arrived in Montreal late in the afternoon on Friday June 4. I couldn't wait to ride in the Tour de Nuit. I paid $5 to take out a bixi bicycle. Bixi is a public bicycle system to encourage cycling that was started in 2008. It is also known as bike sharing. There are bike racks on many street corners (as seen above) throughout the inner city. In fact, as of 2009 there were over 3,000 bixi bicycles in 300 stations in Montreal. You just take one (after inserting your credit card, debit card, or annual pass card, which is $78 a year) and return it to any bixi bike rack when you are done. Calgary City Councillor Druh Farrell brought this idea to council in Calgary, but it lost in a tied vote. Hopefully someday...

On my bixi I went to the starting route. There were over 15,000 others who were also there too. Some were decked out in race gear, most others were dressed up in costumes and had decorated their bikes and helmets. There were Just for Laughs lighted horns coming out of people's helmets, glow sticks in spokes, rabbit ears, fake fruit trays on top of people's helmets, etc. There were kids, parents, young and old people. The vibe was festive in only the way Quebeckers can be.

Not being familiar with Montreal it was fascinating biking through communities, parks, and major thorough fares. At times we were on 4 lanes going one way, sometimes 4 lanes going both ways, and sometimes even bike paths. On the sidewalks there were kids and adults cheering you on and music blasting from stereos in the row houses. Some on the sidewalk were playing the bongos, one was even playing the tuba, and others were in bands playing to the cyclists. The city was alive at night. It felt as if the spirit of cyclists and neighbourhoods were connected.
 
The pace was leisurely until we went through Olympic Park. Imagine 15,000 cyclists funnelling onto a 2 lane bike path. It wasn't pretty. It was grid lock for about 20 minutes. People were just walking their bikes. It did not seem to dampen the festive spirit though.

After crawling through Olympic Park it was fantastic. We went from grid lock to raceway in an instant. Speeding through the streets of St. Catherine street and Rene Levesque street was exhilarating. While cyclists flew down the one way 4 lane Rene Levesque street, motorists were in gridlock going the other way. I laughed thinking about the complaints by motorists in the letters to the editor in the Gazette (about the police costs and the inconvenience of the event).

By about 11pm the ride was over. I wanted to just ride forever. After a while you begin to daydream about cycling like this all the time, with no cars to watch out for. Just the road, the quiet sound of bikes, and the feeling of liberty.

When I wake up from my dream I am still in reality. There is a ways to go for cycling in Montreal and in Calgary, where I am from. In 2009, Calgary had its first Ride the Road event. An estimated two hundred Calgarians took part in a 12 kilometres ride through the streets of Calgary. This year the event (on June 6) is expanding to 25 kilometres. It starts in the community of Tuxedo at 10am and ends at Stanley Park. Take part to help Calgary create more space on roads for bicycles.

Cars are clearly kings of the road. This is not good for cyclists, the health of people, or the environment.  I say “off with the king's head.” The time has come to build roads that are shared. It will not happen today, but the time for this is coming....