After a long time at home in Toronto, it was a thrill to head to Montreal with my good friend Sammy (see his blog here) in mid-July 2021.
Sammy and I had plans to be in Montreal in April 2020 but that was of course not possible.
Strange objects, scrawled messages, light and shadow, and intriguing juxtapositions all call out to me when I'm walking around - but nothing quite draws my eyes the way a bike in a distinct setting does.
And so, I present to you, Bikes of Montreal! I hope you enjoy the ride!
I love Montreal. I have great memories of many family vacations there from when I was younger, and have gone back many times since.
Bikes - even when leaning against a wall - can at times feel like works of art to me...
When they are found outside of an art gallery there's another level of atmosphere about them.
A bike in front of La Guilde, founded in 1906 to "preserve, promote and increase awareness for Inuit art, First Nations art and Fine Crafts from Canada".
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (south side of Sherbrooke St W). "Twin 6' Hearts" sculpture by American artist Jim DIne.
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (north side of Sherbrooke St W). The elaborate glasswork art is by Dale Chihuly.
Bikes add a stylish touch to almost any setting, whether a graffiti covered wall, or next to a beautiful mural (Montreal has plenty of those)...
A bike outside of Camellia Sinensis, a stylish tea shop in Montreal's Villeray neighbourhood.
No Justice No Peace, by artists Louis Letters and Tshoko, working together as @salesmomesmtl.
Live Free. Love Life. Art (in the above three window spaces) by Montreal artist Adida Fallen Angel.
Old Montreal offered many moments to celebrate bikes...
A bike in front of the very tempting ice cream shop Mlle Catherine in Old Montreal.
Le Petit Dep in Old Montreal.
We had fun exploring the thrift stores and funky shops in the Plateau and Mile End neighbourhoods (near Mont-Royal and St. Denis)...
Super cool vintage store Hadio 514.
Paul's Boutique has an incredible collection of music and movies.
A scene from the window of Le Fameux Deli.
A Montreal classic - Wilensky's.
Schwartz's Deli is well worth the trip - but so is Wilensky's.
Be sure to check them out when you visit Montreal! (Right near Fairmount Bagel, another classic worth visiting!
We had a nice time strolling the pedestrian and bike-friendly Wellington Street of Verdun...
Employees of Cloud 9?! (The fictional store featured in the popular comedy series "Superstore".)
A Peugot outside of a Loco grocery in Verdun.
Stairs are a big feature of many Montreal homes...
Just like in Toronto, bikes in Montreal also have a mysterious way of coming apart!
A few more bike images before I end...
I've only previously seen bike parking like this in Europe. Well done Montreal.
Cleverly named bike store Bikurious.
The marquee at Club Soda music venue advertises a show for comedian Rosalie Vaillancourt.
Paix Peace
I've done three other "Bikes of..." blog posts:
And here are some of my favourite images of bikes as well as my Instagram feed, where bikes often appear in my images.
Many of my images are available as prints, so if you are interested, just send me a message and I'll be happy to help.
I will end with one of my favourite images that I took in Montreal - of Leonard Cohen overlooking a lone cyclist on Crescent Street.
Click here to learn more about the mural, which was made by Gene Pendron and El Mac and is based on a photo taken by Leonard Cohen's daughter Lorca Cohen.
Stay tuned as I hope to feature more posts of images from Montreal.
UPDATE: I've added a blog post featuring Montreal on Film. Click here to have a look!
Thanks for looking and happy cycling wherever you may be!