| July 1, 2006had thoroughly enjoyed my guided | | | | included in every tour. |
| bicycle tour with Ça Roule and Bruno, a | | | | |
| licensed city guide from Guidatour, really | | | | His customers come from all over the world |
| introduced Montreal up close to us. And my | | | | including the USA, the rest of Canada and a |
| own independent explorations of the bicyle | | | | wide variety of European countries. Even |
| trail along the Lachine Canal introduced me | | | | Australian, Korean and Japanese travelers |
| to a side of Montreal I had never been | | | | rent muscle-powered equipment from him and |
| exposed to. After returning my bike after a | | | | many of his clients are referred by hotels |
| full day of exercise I wanted to find out a | | | | and the Montreal Tourist Office. In addition |
| bit more about who is behind this operation, | | | | he also offers bicycle repairs and some of |
| Ça Roule, or Montreal on Wheels, as it is | | | | his repair clients are part of the 3500 |
| known in English. | | | | permanent residents that now live in Old |
| | | | Montreal, or employees that work in Old |
| Montreal, by the way, is a fabulous city to | | | | Montreal and commute there by bicycle. |
| explore by bicycle. The Old Port area, the | | | | |
| bicycle path network along the Lachine Canal | | | | Ça Rule has six staff members: two |
| and alongside the St. Lawrence River, as well | | | | bicycle repair technicians and four tour |
| as the islands of Ile St. Hélène and | | | | leaders. Recently he has started to |
| Parc Jean Drapeau in the St. Lawrence are | | | | collaborate with Guidatour and both companies |
| eminently bikeable. Of course the trail | | | | combined have developed an Official City Tour |
| network on Mont Royal also adds some | | | | By Bike that is led by a licensed tour guide. |
| interesting terrain for cycling enthusiasts | | | | This morning I participated in this official |
| and many of Montreal's quaint neighbourhoods | | | | city tour and in my opinion exploring a city |
| lend themselves perfectly to be discovered en | | | | by bike has to be one of the best ways of |
| vélo. Montreal was actually voted the | | | | discovering a new place. |
| number 1 city for bicyclists in 1999 by | | | | |
| Bicycling magazine. | | | | In any northern country, the bicycling |
| | | | business is seasonal, and the high season at |
| Ça Roule is a Bicycle Rental and Touring | | | | Ça Roule goes from May to October, |
| Shop located on the harbourfront boulevard at | | | | sometimes stretching into November, depending |
| 27 De La Commune Est. André Giroux, the | | | | on the weather. During the winter André |
| owner, created this company 12 years ago. He | | | | works on updating the website and preparing |
| originally studied law and spent 7 years as a | | | | the strategies for the next business years |
| lawyer, specialized in litigation and legal | | | | and last year he had a chance to go to |
| consulting for large real estate developers. | | | | Florida for 3 weeks. During the summer the |
| As an avid sports person, André plays | | | | shop is very busy and André and his staff |
| hockey and tennis and he really enjoys | | | | members work very had, but he tries to go out |
| cycling and in 1994 he decided to open a | | | | bicycling himself in the evenings between 7 |
| small rental store that initially focused on | | | | and 8 pm. He loves to cycle over to |
| renting roller blades, a big craze in the mid | | | | Montreal's islands: Ile St. Hélène and |
| 1990s. His original stable of equipment also | | | | Jean Drapeau Park. |
| included 12 bicycles. In the meantime his | | | | |
| fleet has grown to more than 70 bicycles | | | | André also pointed out that Ça Roule |
| which include touring bikes, tandems, trail | | | | is able to offer customized bicycle tours. |
| bikes, electric bikes and electric scooters. | | | | One time a group of people asked to start a |
| His store also rents kids trailers and child | | | | tour on top of Mont Royal. So he rented a |
| carriers. | | | | cargo van and carted several bikes up to the |
| | | | top of the mountain so the tour group could |
| I asked him what the name "Ça Roule" | | | | start their ride at their intended starting |
| actually means and he explained that this | | | | point. All sorts of special assignments can |
| French phrase literally means "it's rolling", | | | | be done, they might just require a bit of |
| but is generally understood as "it's going | | | | notice to organize. |
| well", "it's running well". He explained that | | | | |
| his store specializes in customer service, | | | | With all this exercise I was ready for a very |
| his staff is knowledgeable, and they are | | | | solid dinner, so I thanked André for his |
| available to provide advice on all sorts of | | | | time and for putting on the Official Guide |
| biking activities in and around Montreal. | | | | City Tour, one of the best ways of getting to |
| Everyone gets outfitted with a city-wide | | | | know the city and continued my explorations |
| cycling map and a free bottle of water is | | | | of Montreal on this Canada Day. |