Montreal cyclists of all ages ride in Tour La Nuit for its 40th edition

Montreal’s Go Bike Festival is back for its 40th edition where more than 10,000 cyclists will take part in the famous Tour de l’Île de Montréal on Sunday. But Friday night it was the Tour la Nuit, a 21 km night tour that starts at Parc Maisonneuve.

“We’re expecting 17,000 participants at the Tour de Nuit tonight and on Sunday between 18,000 and 19,000,” said Jean-François Rheault, President & CEO of Vélo Québec. “The weather will be amazing tonight and it will be amazing on Sunday so we’re really excited.”

Cyclists of all ages and their families came out in record numbers for the event.

“I love when people are looking at us and they say “go go go you can do it,” said a young girl as she stood beside her father near the starting line.

“We did it last year, it was a huge success, the kids loved it, they were just jumping around the whole week waiting for that moment so we had no choice to do it again this year,” added her father.

“I love the adrenaline of passing through everyone,” added a teenager who was also participating in the event.

The first Tour de L’Île de Montreal back in 1985 had 3,500 participants, a testament to how the festival has grown in popularity each year since then. It even had 700 volunteers this year.

“This is kind of unique in the world, having all the streets closed at once, I mean it’s kind of a great celebration where people are essentially going to have fun,” said Éric Côté, a volunteer that the Go Bike Festival for many years now. “They’re going to move around – we’re going to be able to yell, we’re going to be able to chant, we’re going to be able to have fun together, creating a sense of belonging.”

“I’m coming back each and every year because each year I’m saying ‘Hey I had lots of fun at this event’,” he added.

The urban celebration happened throughout Montreal’s car-free streets where riders from all over the country came out to participate in the event filled with music, projections and light shows for an evening under the stars.

“I just like riding with everybody, we drove down from Ottawa for this,” said a rider who came down with his daughter and participated in the ride for the tenth time.

Starting at Parc Maisonneuve, many riders and their families showed up prepared for the evening ride with extra lights adorning their bicycle wheels that glistened in the evening air, creating a magical atmosphere as they took off for the 21 km ride.

And on top of being a great evening for families and those interested in a little physical activity, it’s also promoting living a sustainable lifestyle, which according to Rheault, is part of the event’s mission.

“Cycling is a simple solution to complex problems, whether its public health, the environment, or the mobility of the economy,” said Rheault at the starting line on 35e Ave. “An event like this does the promotion and it shows that people can cycle around – we need to be more active, we need to have families be more active,” went on to say.

“Biking, it’s important for your health and for the environment and I think we need that today,” added a 16-year-old who’s participated in the festival rides many times these last few years and even went on to become a volunteer for this year’s edition.

The Go Bike Festival will end on Sunday after the famous Tour de l’Île that has four route options. They can choose between the Classic Tour de l’Île, entirely on car-free streets, going through Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie, Montreal-East, Rivière-des-Prairies and more, which adds up to 50 km in total, or they can choose from the Discovery Tour de L’Île that offers three mixed routes, either 68, 88 or 105 km, that are partly open and closed to traffic.

To celebrate the flagship event on Sunday, cyclists are encouraged to come in colourful costumes as it’s going to have an 80’s theme as a tribute and celebration for the 40th edition of the festival.