I Love Riding in the City
NAME: Jeffers Lennox
LOCATION: Montréal, Quebec
OCCUPATION: Student
Where do you live and what’s it like riding in your city?
I live in Montreal, which aspires to be Canada’s Portland (only with more snow and fewer theme rides). Having moved here after living in Toronto, Halifax, Paris, and London, I’d say this is one of the most enjoyable cities I’ve ridden in. We have a decent system of downtown bicycle lanes, hundreds of kilometers of paths and trails, and a relatively comfortable balance of hipsters on fixies, business-types on hybrids, bearded men on recumbents, and tourists wobbling around on rented BIXI bikes.
What was your favorite city to ride in, and why?
Ottawa, hands down. It doesn’t win any points for flash or speed, but it never lets me down.
Why do you love riding in the city?
I love riding in the city because of the variety. If I want to work hard, I’ll climb the mountain (it is MONTreal, after all); if I want a rush, I’ll zip through some traffic; if I want to relax, I’ll do the Lachine Canal route. Cities are also the great leveler, forcing cyclists of all stripes to share resources and find common ground. Of course we mock each other and engage in stereotyping—surprise, those roadies didn’t acknowledge me or I hope that courier can’t tell that all I’ve got in my messenger bag is cookies—but we also realize that, at root, anyone on a bike is doing a good thing. Riding in the city makes getting anywhere the highlight of your day, even if you’re numb from the cold when you arrive.
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