If Montreal has such a developed cycling culture, it is partly thanks to the crazy and visionary militancy of “Bicycle Bob”, Robert Silverman of his real name, who died last week at 88 years old.
“What Bob always wanted was ‘velolution’, and I think he got it! consoles Raymond Lemieux, who participated alongside him in several actions of the “World by bicycle”.
This collective, co-founded by Mr. Silverman, multiplied extravagant demonstrations to advance the cause of cycling in Montreal in the 1970s and 1980s.
Because at the time, cycle paths were practically non-existent. Bicycles were strictly forbidden in the metro. And it was impossible to go to the South Shore on two wheels and without a motor.
“We had nothing for us. No infrastructure, no interest on the part of elected officials or Quebec society, and the harshest winter in any metropolis. We started from afar,” recalls Jacques Desjardins, co-founder of the group.
Photo d’archives
The inauguration of an “illegal” bike path painted overnight in Montreal.
Moses to the rescue
However, Mr. Silverman and his lifelong companion, Claire Morissette, were convinced that cyclists and pedestrians deserved a better place in the city dominated by cars.
And they had decided that organizing stunts that were both political and wacky was the best way to get their ideas across.
“Once, we painted a pink bike path on rue Marie-Anne, in the middle of the night. It had been considered a public danger and quickly erased, ”says Mr. Lemieux, laughing.
On Easter Sunday in 1981, Mr. Silverman was instead disguised as Moses and had invited the journalists to the foot of the Jacques-Cartier bridge.
The newspaper reported at the time that he had followingwards “supplicated the gods of [lui] give the power to cross the stream by supernatural means”, since it was impossible to use the bridge by bicycle.
Another time, the activists of the “World on a Bicycle” had lugged all sorts of bulky objects into the metro – ladders, ironing boards, papier-mâché elephant – to prove the absurdity of banning bicycles there.
These actions of civil disobedience earned Bob Silverman several fines and even a few nights in jail.
“But we were the darlings of the media,” recalls Mr. Desjardins, a smile in his voice.
To demonstrate the inequity that existed between motorists and cyclists in space, the demonstrators had also “disguised” their bike using a wooden structure and marched on Sainte-Catherine Street, in Montreal, in nineteen eighty one.
This “space manifestation”, many times imitated abroad, is still used today.
Stay in mind
In the end, the members of Le Monde à vélo mainly persuaded the authorities to take the rights and safety of cyclists seriously.
Gradually, kilometers of bike paths were created, bicycles were finally allowed in the metro, and it was possible to travel from Montreal to the South Shore safely by bicycle.
In addition to this legacy, many are convinced that Bob Silverman also made a lasting impression.
“Every time I hear Valérie Plante say that we are going to reduce the place of the car, it is Bob who whispers that in her ear. [Dans le temps]he appeared to be a weirdo, but he had a vision of the world which today seems obvious to us”, testifies his friend Jacques Desjardins.
“50 years later, we see that the vision of Bob Silverman and his accomplices is part of Montreal’s DNA,” adds André Lavallée, the “political father of Bixi”.
Tribute
Vélo Québec has also made Mr. Silverman an honorary member to highlight his contribution to cycling Montréal.
“I don’t know why he isn’t better known and recognized here. Everywhere I went in the United States, for work, people knew ‘Bicycle Bob’”, points out the CEO of Vélo Québec, Jean-François Rheault.
Photo courtesy, The World on Bicycles Fund
Montrealer, Jew, Anglophone, Bob Silverman “never took himself seriously”, slips Raymond Lemieux.
“He didn’t have clip-on shoes, or even 21 gears on his bike,” he said, taking a break. He was pedaling slowly, but he was going far.
Bob Silverman died of old age in a seniors’ residence in Val-David, in the Laurentians, last Sunday.
“He is now pedaling in peace,” wrote the Encore du monde à vélo collective.
Who was Bob Silverman?
- Born in 1933, he only started his cycling activism in his forties.
- He had previously served in the Vietnam War and had been a bookseller, taxi driver and sugar cane cutter in Cuba, among other things.
- A keen reader, he applied theories of community action and civil disobedience to advance the cause of cycling.
- One of his great convictions was that “the bicycle is not only a sport, but also a form of transport”.
