S U M M A R Y

NEWS 2009 Montreal Bike Fest
Active year-round, Operation Bike-to-Work reaches its peak during the week of the Montreal Bike Fest. Try commuting by bicycle and rediscover the true meaning of words like self-sufficiency, speed, cost- effectiveness and fitness. Have a little fun before work !

Join us for Bike-to-Work Activities Day on Wednesday, June 3 at La Fontaine Park, or for a Bike-to-Work Workshop on June 1 at Place Ville-Marie and on June 4 at the World Trade Centre. Lots of fun ahead ! To find out more about Operation Bike-to-Work week, click here »


Bicycle Recycling
This will be the third year that Gaz Métro has teamed up with SOS Vélo to promote bicycle recycling. Throughout the month of June, you are invited to donate your old bikes to SOS Vélo, which even offers a pickup service (514 251-8803). You can also drop off bikes for recycling at La Fontaine Park (Rachel Street East, corner of Brébeuf) on Wednesday, June 3 as part of Operation Bike-to-Work, one of four events scheduled for the week of the Montreal Bike Fest. For each bike donated, you stand a chance of winning a $1,000 cycling getaway for two with Vélo Québec Voyages or one of two ECOVELO bikes.


BIXI is a go !
A new mode of urban transit was introduced in Montreal on May 12, 2009 : Bixi. In fact, after gaining many fans in Europe, the public bike system is bound to encourage more people to get around town on two wheels. And why not - given the increased popularity of biking to work ? Perfect for those who dare not ride their recreational bike to work for fear of having it stolen, or for people who have not yet tried biking to work, but would like to use a Bixi to complete their trip by metro or suburban train, or as an occasional mode of transportation for lunchtime grocery shopping, returning a library book, going for a picnic or getting to one of the City's numerous festivals. We, at Velo Quebeb, hope that Montrealers will adopt the public bike system as an essential means of transportation and will then be encouraged to bike to work. To learn more about Bixi and locate the 300 stations : www.bixi.com


Bicycle Friendly Organization Contest (BFO)
You have added bicycle racks and offered new benefits or incentives to the cyclists in your company or organization ? You have organized bike outings or a group for the Tour de l'Île ? All measures to promote biking to work are worthwhile and your company or organization may qualify for our Bicycle Friendly Organization Award. Submit your candidacy ! This year, we are adding something extra to this contest : the Iso-Vélo certificate will now be reserved for companies and organizations registered in Operation Bike-to-Work who have submitted their candidacy for our BFO award, whether they are winners or not. All organizations and companies registered in Operation Bike-to-Work will receive an Operation Bike-to-Work Participation Certificate. Find out more »


2009 Bike-to-Work Questionnaire
A few weeks ago, we asked you to take a few minutes to complete our short questionnaire regarding the bicycle friendly measures implemented in your company or your expertise and service requirements. The response was impressive ! For those who have not yet had a chance to return the questionnaire, there is still time to do so by clicking here (in French).


Reminder of our tools and services to help you promote biking to work

Urban Cycling Course
This course is aimed at employees who would like to bike to work, but do not feel comfortable circulating in traffic. This two-day lunchtime course comprises a theory component, as well as some practice biking around the workplace neighbourhood. Register your employees before the fall in order to benefit from our launch price. For more details about the course » (in French)

Personalized bike path map
What better tool for planning your bike-to-work route than our large-sized bike path map ? We suggest that you personalize it by centering it on your company's address, which will be identified within a radius of your choice (8, 10, 12 km). You can then locate your home and determine the best cycling routes available to you for commuting to the office. For more information or to order the map : write to us.


And always at your service :
Our in-house workshops and lunch and learn to answer all your questions on biking to work, bicycle safety, cycling trips, etc.

Our consultation visits to help you choose locations and stands for additional bicycle parking and thereby encourage even more employees and visitors to commute by bike. For more information : write to us.




PROFILE OF A CYCLIST — MARIE-ANNIE A young mom who bikes to work
I had already been biking to work for two summers, but didn't think I would be able to continue in 2008, after returning to work following a maternity leave. What a surprise !

I was lucky enough to find a place in a daycare located on the route between home and work. As all young parents know, it is really a stroke of luck ! I also have a little girl, Sarah-Maude, who, at just over a year old last year, already loved riding in her sports stroller, whether to accompany me to the cardio stroller course or to go cycling.

We therefore set an objective of three days of biking per week, which we managed to achieve. The trip to the daycare took me about 30 minutes, followed by another 10 minutes to reach the office. Since it was all downhill, I fortunately arrived at the office with dry clothes.

Some of my Ville de Gatineau co-workers were nice enough to find me a little corner inside to park my bike and trailer, since the latter is not really waterproof. In addition, many colleagues also biked to work.

The return trip was much more demanding with the upward climb, but I was motivated by the fact that home and dinner awaited me at the other end. I admit that I had to call my husband a few times to bring us home by car, but only during strong downpours.

My daughter, who would see me arrive at the daycare wearing my bike helmet, would gesture to me to put on hers, and her little friends would enviously watch us leave ! This enjoyable experience allowed me to integrate physical activity into my daily routine, which is not always easy with a young child. In addition, I found these biking moments very relaxing and often came up with good ideas en route.

Happy summer biking !

Marie-Annie Blackburn Lefebvre, Jr. Eng.
Aged 29
Temporary Project Leader, Environmental Department, Ville de Gatineau




OPERATION BIKE-TO-WORK HERE Profile of a bicycle friendly organization
For the Douglas Mental Health University Institute (DMHUI), biking to work is serious business ! As a result, from June 1 to October 31, employees are asked to swap their car for a bike. To this end, the Institute has provided several incentives to facilitate bicycle commuting for workers. At various times during the season, the DMHUI invites interested personnel to workshops covering, among other things, safety, clothing or mechanical problems. In 2008, the Institute replaced the old bike racks with brand-new highly visible ones located near the building entranceways. Last season, DMHUI employees travelled an average of 3,300 km per week. It's a safe bet that this year, they will cover even more ground, thanks to the Institute's numerous bicycle-friendly initiatives !




ELSEWHERE Dring Dring : all of Brussels on bikes for one week
From May 11 to 17, bicycles were front and center in Brussels. In addition to the Velo-City Convention, the European Union Capital hosted Dring Dring, the major 100% Brussels bike festival which, in the spring of each year, promotes the idea that bicycles have a key role to play in urban mobility. Both practical and leisure activities took place in the Capital, such as bike tours, city biking workshops, etc. On May 11 and 15, the City's 5^th and 6^th grade elementary school students participated in a major bike ride. On May 12, a noon cycling trip was organized for the City's personnel, to which the employees of Brussels' companies were also invited.


Bike-to-Work in Switzerland
For the 4^th consecutive year, the Pro Velo Association is organizing the Bike to Work initiative to encourage companies to get their employees to bike to work during the entire month of June. Companies had until March 22 to register and have a chance to win prizes : a trip to Copenhagen, gift certificates, electronic bikes, etc. There is a real interest in Switzerland in safer, more environmentally friendly mobility. More than 40,000 people — employees of 870 companies — participated in Bike to Work in 2008, an increase of over 20% compared with the previous year. Pro Velo is the Swiss association for cyclists — 25,000 members — in daily life and leisure activities. Its slogan says it all : More than a sport : it's my means of transportation)




BICYCLE FRIENDLY INITIATIVES Additional 60 km of bikeways in Montreal
Montreal will be constructing 60 km of bikeways in 2009, representing an investment of over $14 million. Of this number, 20 km will comprise exclusive bike lanes and 25 km will take the form of white stripes, separating cars and bikes. The remaining 15 km will consist of pictograms painted on the pavement. The boroughs that stand to benefit the most are Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (8.7 km), Saint-Laurent (6.9 km) and Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension (6.2 km). On Plateau-Mont-Royal, the missing section of the Rachel route above Papineau — hence the detour via Gauthier — will be completed. Between 2007 and 2009, the City of Montreal will have added 160 km to its cycling network, bringing the total to 560 km.


Trois-Rivières : $1.2 million over three years to expand its cycling network
It is quite a bike plan — developed with the participation of Vélo Québec Association — that Trois-Rivières is offering its residents ! The City intends to invest nearly $1.2 million over three years, including $600,000 this year, to improve its cycling network, starting at the end of the summer. First of all, it will complete the Trans-Quebec Route Verte along highway 138, in the Pointe-du-Lac district. Then, it will continue the bike path between Père-Marquette and Michel-Sarrazin Streets and add the final touches to the cycling route linking Saint-Louis-de-France and Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel. These developments will also include a bicycle lane crossing the Trois-Rivières sur Saint-Laurent site, between Saint-Louis and Saint-Maurice Boulevards. Next year, when it celebrates its 375^th anniversary, the City will continue in the same way, mainly by constructing a bike path on the Duplessis Bridge. The City has also made a brand new cycling network map available to the public, the first document of this type since the municipal merger. Find out more »




SAFETY CAPSULE According to the Quebec Highway Safety Code, cyclists, like motorists, must follow certain rules. Here are a few of them :

What cyclists must do :

• respect road signs and traffic signals (stop at red lights, come to full stop)
• give pedestrians the right of way
• ride with the flow of traffic (unless a bike lane allows travel in the opposite direction) and always on the far right of the road or lane
• signal their intentions (turning left or right, stopping)
• always ride in a straight line (and do not zigzag between parked cars) to remain visible to motorists following them at all times

What cyclists must NOT do :

• ride on the sidewalk
• weave between cars
• pass on the right
• listen to music with earphones or talk on the phone while riding
• carry a passenger without an adapted seat or trailer

Reminder :
Mandatory accessories

• front white reflector (handlebars), rear red reflector
• wheel reflectors : yellow on front, red on rear
• yellow reflectors on pedals
• visible lighting when riding at night : white headlight, red rear light (29% of fatal accidents involving cyclists occur after dusk.)

Source  : Safe Cycling Guide, 5^th Edition, SAAQ




FLASH Giving new life to old bikes = bicycle-friendly fencing...