Thousands of people, Montrealers and tourists alike, of all skill levels and ages, take part in the Montreal Bike Fest every spring, in cycling tours of the city and other events. For over 40 years, non-profit organization Vélo Québec has been boosting biking for recreation, commuting and as a great way to tour Montreal’s many neighbourhoods – the Bike Fest takes this advocacy to the next level, with the Tour de l’Île de Montréal, the Tour la Nuit, an entertainment event at Olympic Stadium, a fashion show and more.

Serious cyclists take advantage of the just-right springtime weather on Sunday, May 26 in the Metropolitan Challenge, featuring 75, 100, 125 and 150-km routes leaving from Saint-Lazare, but for a more casual, chilled-out, city-focused bike ride, choose the Tour la Nuit on May 31 – experience Montreal by bike at night, surrounded by, oh, about 17,000 other cyclists, many of them in wild costumes, biking for 25 kilometres through the city streets. The event begins at 8:15 p.m. out on Boulevard Pie-IX and finishes with a party at Olympic Park’s Esplanade. Encouraging families to get and stay active together, the Tour la Nuit is free for all kids aged 12!

Also free for kids is the Tour de l’Île de Montréal on the morning of Sunday, June 3, a ride now in its 29th year, with options of 25 and 50 kilometres as well as a 100-km morning tour all along the city’s shoreline. Cyclists who want to test their speed and stamina can go for the 50 or 100 km Express routes, with average speeds of 30 km/h for 1½ hours. For families and others who want to stop and smell the roses, or at least glide past them more slowly, bike together on a loop of of either 25 km or 50 km, ending at a new finish site this year, Olympic Park’s Esplanade, complete with ferris wheel!

If you’re not bringing your own wheels to town or renting a bike from one of Montreal’s many bike tour and rental shops, opt for Montreal’s public bike system, Bixi, offering a $10 deal for the Tour la Nuit and the Tour de l’Île. But if you’re in Ottawa or Quebec City and looking for a challenge, bike over to Montreal on May 31 or June 1 and hop the train home after the Tour de l’Île with a special-to-the-festival VIA Rail Canada package. On the other hand, just soak up the fashionable side of cycling at the Montréal Cycle Chic fashion contest at a Happy Hour event on May 30, organized by new bike-culture magazine Vélo Urbain.

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 THE DETAILS

The Montreal Bike Fest, May 26-June 2, 2013

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(hot wheels) World champion cyclists wend their way to Montreal this weekend for the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal , like a (very) mini Tour de France at and around Mont Royal Park on Sunday, September 9. The Grand Prix Cycliste sees 18 UCI ProTeams of 168 riders from across Europe, Canada, the USA, the UK and Australia, come to Montreal to race over 200 kilometres – 17 times up, down and around the 12.1 kilometre course. It all begins at 11 a.m. at Parc Jeanne-Mance, where spectators can see the teams check in, peruse hot cycling merchandise (not entirely a euphemism!), and watch top athletes do what they do best: race!

(world-wide photos) News of the world has never looked so stunning, in all senses of the word, as it does at the annual World Press Photo exhibition, installed at Montreal’s Marché Bonsecours September 7-30. The World Press Photo show gathers juried work by 54 international photographers whose images tell recent news stories in emotional, captivating ways, from the devastation of the Japanese tsunami to protests in Cairo, war zones to wild animals, fashion in Senegal to feminism in Ukraine, and much more.

(port performance) Montreal’s Old Port teems with art and performance this week as the annual public festival Escales Improbables unveils new and exciting works from Montreal artists. During the day September 7-9, see performances of public dance piece Trajets de ville, marionette show la Famille Sombre, urban bee hives and honey tasting, music by The Unsettlers, and much more, including the relaxing afternoon Siestes Musicales. And over at the Quartier des Spectacles see parkour-inspired dance work Intersection and Forêt, an installation by Montreal artist Phil Allard and architect Justin Duchesneau.

(dance city) Dance festival Quartiers Danses, September 12-23, opening its 10th year on September 12 with performances by Dominique Porte, Manuel Roque, Tentacle Tribe and more, at the Monument National, followed the next night my an Emerging Artist showcase. During the day on September 13, see the six acrobatic dancers and two musicians of Atypique-Le Collectif perform free at the Promenade des Artistes du Quartier des Spectacles (just north of Place des Arts in downtown Montreal), at noon and at 5 p.m. And Agora de la Danse opens its season with Cas Public’s new creation, Duels, choreographed by  Hélène Blackburn and Pierre Lecours, September 12-14.

(farm fresh fun) This weekend sees farms across Quebec opening their gates to the public for the annual Portes Ouvertes sur les Fermes du Québec, now in its 10th year. But you don’t have to leave the city to partake in the agricultural bounty: just hop on the metro or drive or bike over to Parc Jean-Drapeau, where a family-friendly rural-themed party goes on Sunday, September 9, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Farmers and other producers will set up an active agricultural village, complete with animals, a corn roast, farm machinery, fruit and vegetable stands, regional products, a photo exhibition, and plenty of activities for kids.

(early ski season) Ski and snowboard season starts a little early with iF3, the International Free Ski Film Festival, September 12-16 at the Monument National on St-Laurent Boulevard in downtown Montreal. See all manner of ski and outdoor-sport films , meet pro athletes, dance the night away at parties, and check out the iF3 Outdoor Village at at la Place de la Paix, next to the SAT, with a free outdoor film screening September 13, an après ski bar, ski gear and more. Later at the SAT, get down and dancey at the iF3 Alpine Initiative Fundraiser and Launch Party party with A-Rock, DJ Blaster, DJ Johnlee. Also this weekend at the SAT, see surround-sound film Six mil Antennas at the immersive Satosphere dome, to September 14.

(finding fashion) This fall’s Montreal Fashion Week comes to a close on September 7, at Griffontown’s Galerie Arsenal, where Quebec-based and internationally known designers show their high-style, cutting-edge wares, with Hinda A, Rachel Sin and Anomal Couture on Friday. What’s old is new again at Pop Montreal’s Vintage Pop, a pop-up shopping event happening until September 9 at 19 Prince-Arthur W., with a constantly overturning variety of vintage clothes and accessories for men and women, as selected by local vintage hunters – doors open at noon and cash and credit are accepted.

(art of music) The music week starts off on an arty tone with Jazz Amnesty Sound System and Mark Morgenstern exploring the vivid audio-visual world of jazz in a live show at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, September 7, 7 p.m. Also that night, see Sub Pop indie-rock stars Jaill, with Fergus & Geronimo and Reversing Falls, at Il Motore (179 Jean Talon W.), and sound artist/composer Kyle Bobby Dunn and guests at Casa del Popolo. Montreal fave Julie Doiron & The Wrong Guys bring sweet yet rockin’ tunes to Il Motore (179 Jean Talon W.) on September 8, while summer-long outdoor dance party Piknic Electronik celebrates its 10th year with a night show from DJs Sébastien Léger, Riva Starr and Forrest at Parc Jean-Drapeau, while on Sunday, the party goes on with Mosa, Eloi Brunelle and more.

Later on September 9, great musicians Matthew Shipp and Darius Jones play as a duo at La Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent). Amazing Nigeria guitarist and singer-songwriter Bombino, who has been called the Jimi Hendrix of Niger, plays Club Ballatou (4372 St-Laurent) on September 10. On September 11, the Sao Paulo Underground comes to Casa del Popolo and on September 12, Mount Eerie is at Sala Rossa, while popular millennial punk band Rise Against rolls into town with openers The Gaslight Anthem, at the Bell Centre. On September 13, Jacques Lacombe conducts the Montreal Symphony Orchestra with Berstein and Debussy tunes, while over at Le Belmont (4483 St-Laurent), British sensation Lianne La Havas sings her heart and soul out.

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