My new car has two wheels
Like my new ride?
My move to Montréal has been full of changes, challenges, and transitions. I have been thrust into a new life that is very different from the one I have been living for the past several years – urban instead of suburban; northern instead of southern; francophone instead of anglophone; boulangerie artisanale instead of Dunkin Donuts; and pedestrian instead of driving.
In my past life, I never went anywhere without my car (unless I was going for a short walk around my neighborhood). Now, I don’t even own a car. I said my goodbyes to my trusty Subaru, as it rolled away on a flatbed trailer, on the day I left Florida.
I made the right choice parting ways with my four wheels. Not only did it avoid the hassle and paperwork of vehicle export and import, and put a wad of cash in my pocket before my big move, but that decision to go carless changed my lifestyle going forward.
Shortly after I arrived in Montréal, I got second hand bikes for myself and my daughter from generous friends in our new neighborhood. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been adjusting to using the bikes ALL THE TIME as our daily mode of transport. We use the bikes to do the “commute” from our apartment to my daughter’s camp (just under 2 kilometers each way). Each morning we ride together to her camp at the local park and community center and lock up her bike there. After drop off, I ride back home. Repeat in the afternoon. So, 4km for my daughter, 8km for me.
That distance is not far, but (a) it’s hot (a common misconception about Canada is that it’s cold all the time – in fact many parts of Canada get very hot in the summer – future blog post to follow on this topic), and (b) it’s hilly.
Most people don’t know that Montréal is an island, located in the arterial Saint Lawrence River, a.k.a. the Fleuve Saint Laurent. In French a fleuve is a river that empties into the sea or ocean (in this case, the Atlantic Ocean), as opposed to a regular old rivière, which is a tributary of fleuve. OK, French lesson done for today. Moving on (or should I say, up), this island in the big river is named after the mountain that sits in the middle of it, Mount Royal.
All of this is to say that the elevation varies quite a bit in the island city of Montréal, from 20 feet (6 meters) above sea level at the riverfront to 764 feet (233 meters) above sea level at the top of Mount Royal. My daughter’s camp is not at the top of Mount Royal, but the trip to camp is notably downhill-minimal-pedaling, whereas the trip back from camp is distinctly uphill-hot-sweaty-huffing-and-puffing-and-eight-year-old-complaining.
Vélo, biblio.
Not to mention that I also use the bike to get everywhere else – to run errands, to go to appointments, to get books from the library, to go to yoga, to go to the métro station (it is a 10 minute walk away or half the time by bike), or to go to the… bike shop.
I’m getting a lot of exercise. It’s good for me, physically and psychologically, and I can feel the muscles returning in my legs after a very sedentary suburban lifestyle in a subtropical climate. But boy am I tired. All the time.
Montréal is a very bike-friendly city – indeed the most bike-friendly city in North America according to some indices – and there is a lot more to write about bike lanes, the BIXI bikes mass transport system, and stories of my good and bad bike karma days.
But for now, bonne nuit!
