Get The Fast Track On Montreal

Climb Parc Mont Royal, the city's vast park, and you'll be rewarded with a panoramic view of Montreal. Photograph: Anne Kostalas

From The Guardian:

Boris is promising Londoners a public bike scheme soon, so Anne Kostalas test-rides one launched this week in Canada's French heart

As I wait on my bicycle at the traffic lights another cyclist pulls up on the cycle path beside me. I am aware that he is looking at me. As the lights turn to green he leans over. "Nice bike," he says and pedals off. That's the thing about Montrealers. They do love their bikes.

Maybe it's a French thing. Montreal is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world after Paris, and nationalism plays a large role in the politics of the province. It is only 14 years since Quebec narrowly voted against secession from the rest of Canada.

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