patparazi

Take a deep breath, start pedalling and enjoy yourself…

This is an amazing cycling event!

I been there last year and it was a lot of fun. Again this year, I join the 30 000 others cyclists and I invite you to do the same. Its fun, it keep in shape and you wont regret it.

It start at 9:15 am on boul. Rosemont between Viau and Pie IX and finish at the Parc Maisonneuve.

For info check those link:

Tour de l'Île de Montréal Web site

facebook event

jaddle

I like the idea of the Tour, but I've never really understood why I would want to spend $24 to go on a 50k ride around the city when I could hop on my bike right now and follow the same route for free... Of course, having the streets closed to traffic would be nice, and it looks like a fun thing to do, but $24 seems awfully steep for the privilege.

Maybe I'm missing the point though! Can anyone comment who has taken part in this?

patparazi

Hi Jaddle,

To answer your question, the organization of the Montreal Bike Fest event takes nine months of preparation and a team of more than 50 persons coordinating more than 2600 volunteers. Overall budget cost of this event this year was $1,9 million subsidized by:

·Sponsorship money 44 %
·Government funds 31 %
·Revenues from registration and merchandising 25 %

100% of all registrations are reinvested into the promotion and preparation of the event.

The contribution of all participants is not a privilege but the condition to the success of this event.

Hope this answers your question.

Cheers !

AndrewP

I will be doing the night tour (20 km) which starts at 8.30 Fri evening. Ther are a lot fewer participants so the riding is less stressful and the atmosphere is more friendly. I rode as a volunteer mechanic from about 1987-93.

dbc

If just going for a ride is your aim, then no large organized event will be for you. I'm like that myself, and do a fair amount of solo rides.

The key point here though is the large group of riders, which is a plus and a minus. With over 30 000 participating, this is one of the few rides in the world of this size. This is a great opportunity to form a small group of people to sign up for the ride, or to socialize with the other bicyclists you'll meet during the ride. But on the other hand, this amount of people will have a certain amount of traffic congestion. Don't count on racing through this course.

This year will be my first participating. We have a group of seven. Hopefully, the rain in the forecast will be kept to a minimum.

I don't know if I'll like it enough to return again, but we'll see. If you have any interest for next year, you can pre-register for a little bit of savings - I paid $20.

jpmartineau

Did the night tour and the 50k tour on Sunday. The weather sucked, but we had a lot of fun. As DBC said, being surrounded by thirtysomething thousand bike is not something you do everyday.

Worth doing even for all the irritants: too young kids (I saw a 5 year old on his own bike!), people not being careful, people stopping in the middle of the street at the slightest ascent, accidents (saw 3 happen over the weekend!).