Season 1 Episode 1 Pilot

Montreal's Cycling Ghosts Part 1 : Text Details & Links

Hello, my name is Malcolm McRae, a few  years ago, I came across a number of photographs such as this showing a historic Montreal Bicycle Club.  At first I was unable to find anything about who they were and my curiosity about them grew.  After a while, I decided to create a website devoted what I had learned about this club. However, soon after going down this path I started to see ghosts, and has been no turning back!

  I am not alone in seeing ghosts in Montreal. On Mont Royal  an  Algonquian warrior has been spotted. 

  I
n In Griffintown a decapitated Mary Gallagher is said to roam.

 
These ghosts amuse themselves by scaring tourists. No, these cycling spirits who choose haunt me have very different motives.

     I work with a group of cycling advocates, and I have I slowly became aware of a ghostly cycling club that lived here, in Montreal, long before there were any cars.

     Back then, they were well known, respected, the first users of a new technology with dreams of how it could transform this city. However the 20th century was not kind to the memory of these ghosts. Both they and their dream were almost forgotten! 

    Contrary to what they had predicted, the new  century started with electric trolleys, rather than bicycles, dominating this city’s streets.

     Then, in mid-century, they watched, as this city, removed its trolley system and was transformed to accommodate the car.

Street Car era Decarie Boulevard

Decarie Boulevard today

 
     This type of out-dated urban design, results in Montreal's over dependence on automobiles. It pushed the electric trolley off of this city's streets and almost did the same to the bicycle. For a while it seemed like this club's dream of a livable city, with intelligent choices of transport would be forgotten.

     Yet these phantom wheelmen are still among us. The bicycle has re-emerged as a contender into this modern transport mix.  These ghosts celebrate every time a new cycling path is created.  There rides about this city offer a glimpse into big issues like climate change, and offer suggestions of where to build the next paths.

 I was a perfect mark for their plans. They sought me out, forcing me to be their spokesperson, to tell everyone how cycling and Montreal have long been linked.