Cycle Hire?

A recent trip to England gave me the chance to see London's version of the Bixi: Cycle Hire. A rather literal, uninspired name for the service. There were alot of the stands around full of bicycles though I did not see many people actually riding them. Given the amount of traffic in central London, cyclists have the aura of guerrillas battling superior forces.

One aspect of the cycling infrastructure that I would like to see implemented in Montreal is the use of colour on the bike paths to allow motorists to easily identify the paths. London chose blue (co-ordinated with the Cycle Hire colour scheme?) while in Portsmouth, the paths were green. Not every inch of a bike path was indicated in this way, but intersections and other areas where cars and bicycles have to interact were highlighted with the distinctive colour.

Tour de L'ile 2011

Parked at the start on Avenue du Parc

 
This year's Tour de L'ile rolled out along a familiar circuit north and west of the mountain and then down into Verdun, Lachine and Lasalle. I suppose the choices are limited due to the municipalities that bar the event from their streets, but I have to wonder at the idea of following this route with its steep downhill runs near the beginning of the tour when the numbers of people are larger and more dense on the street. With young children and families partaking it seems risky to say the least, and the few injured cyclists we passed only re-enforced this concern.

As much as I enjoy taking over the streets of Montreal with several thousand other cyclists, I am thinking that this might be my last Tour de L'ile. With the place of the cyclist firmly entrenched on the streets of Montreal, the tour has less of the old allure it once had. Still, once we got past the first rest stop, the numbers spread out and the last half was a very pleasant ride back to Jeanne Mance Park and the requisite carton of milk.

A confident prediction of victory