Posted at 7:00 a.m.
83%
Increase in the number of people using winter bike paths in Montreal in 2020 compared to the 2015-2019 average, according to the Montreal office of Eco-Counter
Source: The Climatoscope (Gervais, Lapointe, Kingsbury, Bernard)
560
Average number of people cycling per day at the intersection of Saint-Laurent and de l’Acadie boulevards between December 21, 2019 and March 20, 2020
Source: The Climatoscope (Gervais, Lapointe, Kingsbury, Bernard)
PHOTO ROCKET LAVOIE, THE DAILY
Joanie Gervais
I live in Chicoutimi and I don’t have a car, I do everything by bike: my groceries, my shopping… It’s about ten kilometers in all. I meet other cyclists, more than I anticipated. I get noticed, that’s for sure. People think I’m good, they don’t understand, but I don’t get yelled at by motorists either. Quebecers are all used to going outside when it’s cold, -20°C, -30°C. We don’t prevent ourselves from living: we go downhill skiing, we go play sports. So why not cycling?
Joanie Gervais, Master’s student in the Department of Human Kinetics at the University of Quebec in Montreal
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Celia Kingsbury
People say we’re brave, but in the end, we’re not that brave, we just get somewhere. I ride my bike to be active, to not use my car, to reduce my environmental footprint. Also, you are independent in your travels, you don’t wait for a bus or a metro, you leave when you want… I feel like I’m killing three birds with one stone.
Célia Kingsbury, doctoral student at the School of Public Health of the University of Montreal
Who rides a winter bike?
– Majority men
– Age: between 20 and 40 years old
– Objective: get to work quickly
– Reasons: physical exercise and pro-environmental attitudes
– Concern: maintenance of cycle paths
Source: The Climatoscope (Gervais, Lapointe, Kingsbury, Bernard)
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Jean-François Rheault, CEO of Vélo Québec
People who have never cycled in the winter may have the perception that it is inaccessible. What I realized is that it’s easier than you think. Apart from ten days during the winter, we drive on asphalt. And the cold is not inconvenient; it’s like cross-country skiing, you’re constantly moving. The key is the infrastructures, they are what make the practice of winter cycling accessible. In Montreal, the City should centralize snow removal and equipment on the Réseau express vélo. I believe there would be gains in terms of quality.
Jean-François Rheault, CEO of Vélo Québec
70%
Proportion of winter cyclists who say they are not bothered by temperatures down to -20°C.
Source: The Climatoscope (Gervais, Lapointe, Kingsbury, Bernard)
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Lawrence McComber
Twenty years ago, at my first serious job in an architectural firm, I was looked at askance. One of the firm’s partners said to me: “What, do you cycle in the winter?”, as if I were a nobody. I even wondered if it was going to harm my career… Today, you are seen more as a hero, even if people often find it dangerous. I will meet customers and visit construction sites by bike. It always provokes reactions, but I learned to laugh about it!
Laurent McComber, architect who has cycled year-round in Montreal for about 25 years
City roads are really designed around cars. The public space devoted to them is immense, much more than that reserved for bicycles and pedestrians. When the structure will change, the behaviors will follow.
Josyanne Lapointe, master’s student in the department of physical activity sciences at the University of Quebec in Montreal
Finland by bike
IMAGE FROM TWITTER
Bicycles in a schoolyard in Finland
In Finland, many students use their bicycles to get to school, as evidenced by this image taken in front of a school in the municipality of Oulu, by -15°C… They use the network of cycle paths in the municipality.
Do you practice winter biking in Quebec? Answer a questionnaire developed as part of a research project at UQAM.