Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Cycle Fun Montreal

@cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social

2.1K followers 23 following 19K posts

On a quest to find the very-best bike rides in Québec. I have seen a mink in the wild. Living kidney donor Québec citizen status: Historic Scot

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · Oct 22

With this bike I discovered that I had total freedom.
This is what a bike gives you.

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · Oct 22

New Bike.

2 3 34

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 19m

Bike theft in the news.
Electric bikes are higher value, attracting the attention of the thieves. Often, it appears, thefts are targeted, not random.
ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/219...

Au moins cinq fois plus de vols de vélo haut de gamme en cinq ans à Québec

2025 n'est pas encore terminée que le nombre de vols de vélo de plus de 5000 $ déclarés aux policiers de Québec a déjà surpassé ceux des 4 années précédentes.

ici.radio-canada.ca

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 22m

"BIXI, la police mise à contribution contre le vandalisme"
journaldesvoisins.com/bixi-la-poli...

BIXI, la police mise à contribution contre le vandalisme

La dégradation des bornes des stations de BIXI dans l’arrondissement a pris une tournure qui a fait réagir des utilisateurs sur les réseaux sociaux. BIXI a

journaldesvoisins.com

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 27m

Quebec has many great things but we don't have any hot springs.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/a...

Master of a Thousand Satisfied Soaks

www.nytimes.com

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 1h

"Samedi soir, éteignez vos lumières!

La Voie lactée s'étend au-dessus de l'Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic.
ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/219...

Samedi soir, éteignez vos lumières!

Vous pourriez plutôt contribuer au scintillement des étoiles en ce Jour de la nuit, une initiative panquébécoise, qui se rend même en France.

ici.radio-canada.ca

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 1h

Time for some positive, happy, joyful posts!
Driving to the ride yesterday at our usual crack-of-noon departure time we listened to cbc Radio Noon show featuring neuroscientist Sarah Baldeo about what gratitude does for the brain (creates positive emotions and better mental health.)👍
Listen here:

www.cbc.ca

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 1h

There is a concerted campaign by religious extremists in Canada & abroad to misrepresent Canada's MAID (medical assistance in dying) law, & portray it as "killing the unwanted."
Fuck those people.
MAID is "death with dignity" & it removes the misery & suffering that accompany fatal diseases.
👇👇👇

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 2h

😂😂😂
5 foot maximum length for a leash.
Muzzle mandatory.

If you ever walk on trails in Montreal's Parc Mont Royal, you've come across some big dogs, unleashed, unmuzzled, and heading your way.

👉Dogs should be banned from Montreal parks, no exceptions.👈

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 2h

Every cyclist has a story about being chased by a dog, or worse, a group of dogs.😱
JdeM op-ed says current laws are much too soft on dog owners, & this needs to change.👍
"Montreal's by-law requires that any dog weighing 20 kg or more must wear a harness or a muzzle when walked in public."
🤣As if!

Chiens dangereux: il est temps de sortir les crocs contre les maîtres irresponsables

La loi actuelle manque cruellement de mordant.

www.journaldemontreal.com

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 2h

The bicycle wasn't stolen as a "bicycle", the store owner was defrauded by customer who bought a bike using payment app Square. The customer paid with Square, then a couple days later contested the payment & was refunded the money they used to buy the bicycle.
That's why I never trust "fintech"apps.

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 2h

"Un vélo impossible à voler" ...volé!
("An impossible to steal bicycle" ...stolen!)

1 2

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 3h

western part of the ride up Covey Hill the quiet way via montée Stevenson, down the mega hill through Havelock on Covey Hill Road, and then north on Jackson❤️/Giroux is very very nice.
Loop direction is counterclockwise.

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 20h

Nice shortest version of Lacolle > Covey Hill Summit & big descent ride today.
Carte / map : ridewithgps.com/routes/52982...

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 3h

I'd seen this tree on every ride and finally got a decent photo of it.
It's a very tall pine tree.
#ThingsYouSeeOnABikeRide

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 18h

Tall pine got a haircut.

Reposted by Cycle Fun Montreal

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 19h

Saw a few people on Moore/Hurley/Cowan/St-Charles road.
This was an old couple and they were much faster than we were. Speed demons!

1 1

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 3h

Today in "professional athletes getting punished for having a moral compass" is Derek Gee.

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 3h

Often night photography on a moving bicycle using the headlight as light source makes an awful photo.
But sometimes... the result is quite intriguing.

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 18h

Used the headlight for last few kilometres of the ride.

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 3h

Related to today's theme of getting lost in the woods is this story from the other day.
Lost hunter knew he was lost, wandered a but but finally decided to "stop moving, and stop getting "more" lost.
Makes me think I should upgrade my cellphone to one with an emergency satellite "SOS" button.

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 3d

Hunter lost in the forest survived for six days before being found by another hunter.
Tips
Always tell someone responsible where you're going & when you will return
-Always have a way to signal for help (a whistle, blow it 3 times)
-Are you ready to sleep outside without shelter?
-Stay in one place!

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 3h

Quebec's drought ("sécheresse") is finally making the news.
Today's news-angle is that it's going to cost a lot of money to deal with.
In french you say "Ça coûte la peau des fesses."

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 3h

👍

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 3h

I'm sure he feels very bad about it every day.
But as I said above, fatigue/dehydration/summit-fever* degrades decision-making ability, and team members will defer to the (supposedly more experienced) group-leader's decision.

* "Summit fever": the summit must be reached. Nothing else matters.

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 3h

Classic example of lost hiker is (as told by a NYS DEC ranger):
A group reaches the summit together.
Faster members of the group descent faster.
Slower members maybe take a wrong turn, maybe have to backtrack but tl;dr take a lot longer to descend, and don't get to bottom before nightfall. Uh-oh.

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 4h

Except that I never said that.
Plenty of people using bikeshare have no difficulty carrying their own helmet around with with them.
Also, in Quebec it's a $400 ticket to ride e-bike or e-bike bikeshare without a helmet.

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 4h

One thing we've learned over the years is that when fatigued/exhausted/chilled, out of water & dehydrated, our decision-making ability is affected and the wrong decision is easy to make, and then it's dark, we're lost and where's the rest of the group?
And uh-oh cell phones don't work out here?

1 3

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 4h

Here's a safety tip: stronger members of a hiking team must *never* leave the weaker/less experienced member(s) of a hiking team behind, never tell them to start going back downhill alone, simply never leave someone "who can't go on" alone.

4 2 10

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 4h

I think the revolutionary aspect of Bixi is that Bixi system solved the "where do I park my bike?" problem when arriving at a destination.
OTOH Bixi design team forgot that there are humans who are taller than 5'10 tall, & that's why the seatpost on 1st gen Bixi bikes was too short.
#Design

Cycle Fun Montreal @cyclefunmontreal.bsky.social · 4h

Halloween is coming, and in case you need a costume or party-theme idea, here's one.
(for our english readers, "garnotte" is a word for gravel in french)