Montreal’s Tour de l’Ile hits 30

The Tour de l’Ile, the feature event of the 30th Running of The Bikes (Feria du vélo), will be held in Montreal on Sunday, June 1, and is expected to attract tens of thousands of riders as it has in past years. Cyclists will take over the streets of the city for routes of 50 kilometers and 25 kilometers. Cars are banned from the streets of the route. The start is at 9:15 a.m. at Lafontaine Park, near the headquarters of Vélo-Québec, which organizes the event attracting up to 35,000 participants.

There will be some new wrinkles added this year. The Discovery Route will have two options – 130 kms or a shortened version of 100 kms. The capacity has been doubled to 3,000 cyclists who ride the perimeter of the Island of Montreal on a marked route open to motorists.

And for seasoned touring cyclists there will be the 100 –kms Express. It is limited to 200 riders in a peloton who will travel at 30 kms per hour with a police escort.

Ambitious riders can also ride from Ottawa or Quebec, leaving on Friday morning to take part in the Tour de l’Ile. The can return home by VIA Rail. The train package is also available to Montreal riders who want to travel to Ottawa or Quebec for the ride to Montreal.

Full details: http://www.veloquebec.info/en/govelo/The-Tour-de-Ile-de-Montreal

About Dave Yates

I have hiked and biked through Nepal, Cuba and Mexico. I also maintain a busy schedule of adventure traveling in Canada. Many stories in the blog were originally published in the Travel Section of The Montreal Gazette. My web site is: https://davestravelsblog.wordpress.com