S U M M A R Y News Cyclist profiles Bicycle-Friendly initiatives Tips and advice Flash

 

NEWS

During the Montreal Bike Fest, take part in our activities !
		From May 31 to June 4, Montreal will be Bicycle City ! Take the opportunity to participate in the popular Bike-to-Work Day, on Wednesday, June 2 in La Fontaine Park. At our booth, you will get the answers to all your questions about urban cycling and benefit from a free bike tune-up. To find out more about the week's program »» On that day, Gaz Métro, in cooperation with SOS Vélo, invites you to donate your old bikes for recycling. You stand a chance of winning a $1,000 cycling getaway with Vélo Québec Voyages or one of three ÉCOVÉLO bikes. »» What's more, two bike-to-work workshops will be held downtown, one on Monday, May 31 at Place Ville-Marie and the other on Thursday, June 3 at the World Trade Center. Be there !

NEW on our Active Transportation site !
At the end of May, we will launch an Employer Space. This will serve as: 1) a discussion forum for bicycle friendly organizations wishing to share their experiences in promoting biking among employees 2) a source of inspiration for employers looking for activities or initiatives for recognizing bike-to-work enthusiasts.

For the purposes of this Space, we have asked a few bicycle friendly organizations to inform us of activities specially organized for their employees during the week of the Montreal Bike Fest (May 30 to June 6) or initiatives implemented in their workplace (bicycle day, picnic, company group for the Tour de l'Île or Tour la Nuit, etc.) that same week to encourage more people to try biking on this special occasion and perhaps get into the habit.

Employers will receive all the information for accessing this space by e-mail. Feel free to contact us by e-mail regarding any questions you may have or if you did not receive this e-mail on June 7.


Bicycle Friendly Organization AwardThe bicycle friendly organization puts measures in place to encourage its employees to bike to work, such as adding bike racks, providing free tune-ups, organizing a group for the Tour de l'Île de Montréal, and making bikes available to those who have to commute during the day. All these measures and many others are worthwhile and could earn the organization our 2010 Bicycle Friendly Organization Award. Just register in Operation Bike-to-Work and send us your candidacy »»


Cycling is a priority in the City of Montreal ! Addition of 50 km of bikeways and participation in the study Bicycling in Quebec in 2010. More info (in French only) »»


Jacques-Cartier Bridge bike pathGood news ! The bike path along the Jacques-Cartier Bridge will be expanded on the Longueuil side. Construction work, which will extend over three and a half months, should be completed by the fall. To follow its progress (in French only) »»




CYCLIST PROFILES
Montreal Bike Fest sponsors bike to work
Stephen Côté at the UPA
On Earth Day last year, the Environment Committee of the Union of UPA Employees launched a challenge to the building occupants to swap their cars for bicycles. To increase the challenge, a common objective was proposed : to collectively pedal 40,000 km during the following months, or the equivalent of a tour around the world !

Just over 50 cyclists have taken up the challenge. A total of nearly 34,000 km of home/work commuting have been covered without the use of cars. Coming mainly from Montreal or the South Shore, the participants bike anywhere from a few kilometres to more than 60 km per day to the UPA office in Longueuil. Our cyclists pedal an average of 1 to 5 days per week. This initiative has helped reduce the equivalent of nine tons of CO₂ in the atmosphere.

“Our employer has been totally committed, sparing no effort to add the necessary commodities. A second shower was installed and bicycle parking spaces were tripled.”

Due to an early spring, the second edition of our Bike-to-Work Challenge was launched at the end of March. Great enthusiasm was generated by the registration of new participants, attracted by the personal benefits of physical activity and the satisfaction of supporting this small collective gesture.

Stephen Côté
Coordinator of the Environment Committee of the Union of UPA Employees


Gisèle Gariepy at Gaz Métro
I will always be grateful to the person who accompanied me to the office the first time I made the trip by bike 11 years ago. I had actually been toying with the idea of biking to work for some time, but never put it into action until one fine morning, my boyfriend announced that he would go along with me. I was immediately hooked !
Since then, I get renewed pleasure every time I ride my bicycle to work. While the trip home is also enjoyable, I prefer the morning commute: the air is fresh, the daylight is beautiful, and sometimes I even see people doing their exercises along the Lachine Canal ! Montreal is slowly waking up...

What I also appreciate about biking to work is that I arrive in good shape – full of drive and energy to start my day. It's completely different when I take the metro, believe me ! Walking up an escalator will never generate as much energy as riding a bike ! That's why after the long winter months, I can hardly wait to get out my bicycle !

When my car died in 2001, I asked myself whether I really needed one. My lifestyle on Montreal Island actually allows me to do without. It's been almost 10 years now since I've had a car, and I'm in much better shape !

I'm a member of the Gaz Métro Bike Club, whose mission is to promote the use of bikes for commuting to work. Like all its members, I'm available to accompany whomever needs a nudge in the right direction in terms of starting to bike to work !

Gisèle Gariepy
Gaz Métro


Magalie Paré at the STM
I don't live several kilometres from work, I don't have a super bike and hot racing pants and you'll never see me pedalling at full speed through the city streets. I don't even bike in the winter. I'm a very ordinary cyclist.

In fact, I bike to work daily out of pure laziness: it's the fastest way of making the 6-km commute between my home and Place Bonaventure. What's more, I don't have to feel guilty about my ecological footprint or, worse still, drive around downtown looking for a parking place !

Let's debunk a few myths
If, like me, you live less than 10 km from your workplace, I'd like to take this opportunity to debunk a few hard-wired myths that prevent you from biking to work:

Myth No. 1: “I'll arrive at the office all sweaty.”
You don't have to beat the clock ! Leave on time and take it easy !

Myth No. 2: “Biking in the city is too dangerous.”
Safe routes exist, even in Montreal ! A route calculator (Google, for example) will help you choose the ideal itinerary.

Myth No.3: “I can't go to work in biking shorts and running shoes.”
True ! But who says you have to wear special clothes for biking ? I pedal in sandals and a skirt.

Myth No. 4: “I'll get my bike stolen.”
If your bike is attractive to thieves, you always have the option of using BIXI or purchasing a second-hand bike – both very economical alternatives !

Myth No. 5: “It's too cold, it's raining, I'm tired...”
Then, it's a fine day to take the bus and metro !

Magalie Paré
Internal Communications Advisor
STM




BICYCLE FRIENDLY INITIATIVES HERE
Caravan: The Great Ride !
Having arrived in Quebec just over five years ago, Papa Amadou Touré, a Senegalese biking enthusiast, made an observation: his immigrant sisters and brothers rarely or never used bicycles in the city. Since this is his only mode of transportation year-round, Papa Amadou embarked on an adventure “to encourage new arrivals to embrace what is, here in Quebec, already a culture. A community project.

So he created a non-profit organization called Caravan: The Great Ride ! and launched the Vélo-École, a cycling and road safety course, since his clientele does not necessarily know how to bike. In addition, pedaling through the streets of Dakar in Senegal is not exactly the same thing as in a North American metropolis.

Vélo-Autonome, the second initiative of his plan, is a basic bicycle mechanics course, which allows his clientele to handle routine bike repairs by themselves. Aware of the economic reality of most new arrivals, Papa Amadou knows that they be demotivated just by a flat tire and the costs related to an in-store repair.

To provide incentive, his organization also collects bikes throughout Montreal, revamps them and sells them at a price “lower than the cost of a bus pass”. These repairs are carried out by recent immigrants interested in bicycle mechanics. They also serve the purpose of training.

Lastly, Caravan organizes weekend bicycle outings in the city so that its clientele becomes familiar with the cycling network and feels safe using it. These outings are supervised by its team, but also by Quebec mentors who want to accompany new arrivals on their biking adventures. These group activities are called À vélo, j'arrive au Québec.

But Papa Amadou doesn't stop there. His organization provides an advanced bicycle mechanics course to immigrants whose interest in biking or mechanics is more pronounced. His organization has gone to meet with potential employers ready to hire its students. As he says so well, the bike is also a job.

All these fine initiatives were launched in December 2009 and, despite the refusal of two grant applications, are still on track. The activities take place in schools and community centers that support Caravan, which does not have its own premises.

Papa Amadou's enthusiasm is contagious and aimed at mobilizing the entire cycling community. If you want to support Caravan and Papa Amadou's projects, contact him via his Web site (in French only) »»


Buses with bike racks are becoming a reality !
Things are changing ! In Quebec City, the Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) started offering this service on May 1^st on bus route 801. See the RTC brochure »» In Trois-Rivières, the Société de transport de Trois-Rivières (STTR) will follow suit as of May 18 on four of its routes. More info (in French only) »»



ELSEWHERE
In France
The Weldom home renovation chain offers bikes to employees who want to commit to commuting mainly via this mode of transportation. Read the article (in French only) »»



TIPS AND ADVICE How to minimize the risks of bike theft

• Make your bike invisible: If your bike is even remotely valuable, it will definitely be coveted by thieves. Use your imagination, a bit of electric tape and some paint. Your bike will ride just as well and you'll be able to enjoy it longer than if it tempts thieves gleaming on a street corner.

Bike lock – your insurance policy: Did you know that it is possible to break an average quality U-shaped lock in less than 10 seconds, without any tools ? That's right – a bike attached to a post only by a lock is a magnet for thieves. They just have to turn the bike (like a propeller) and presto – the lock opens ! Invest in a high-quality lock (hardened steel or Kryptonite) – thieves looking for speed and efficiency will be dissuaded at first sight.

A bike lock after a theft: less than 10 seconds to twist it off, 30 seconds to cut the tube !



• The right location: It's important to lock up your bike in a location provided for this purpose – on a permanent rack. Avoid hidden areas, which thieves adore ! But whether you use a bike rack (avoid clamp-style models, which close on the bike and are easy to force open with a crow bar) or a sign post (tolerated), attach the lock to the frame, the post and the wheel. The thief will not want to twist off the wheel, so he'll probably move on to the next bike.


• Vigilance: We've all been in the situation where we lock up our bike, go to an event and realize upon our return that the bike was not attached properly to the post or rack on which it was resting. Take the time to verify the way in which your frame is locked up – a quick glance will prevent your bike from disappearing ! It's also important to lock up more than one wheel, unless you want to convert it into a unicycle !



• Other useful tips:
  • Engraving: certain police stations offer the service – check it out.
  • New product: certain companies offer products for identifying all your bicycle parts, as well as a data base on the Net for registering them »»
  • Photo of your bike with its particular features: feel free to take a photo of yourself with your bike – if you find it at a pawnbroker's, it will be easier to recover.

If your bike gets stolen anyway, don't forget to notify the police: the measures above will allow you to find it more easily and may also help the authorities understand the extent of the problem and act accordingly.




FLASH

Proof that not everything that rolls is round !