I love being in the city. Montreal is amazing. I really enjoy my commute but there is a strong learning curve. I take the bus to and from Montreal. I have 3 options, the Local, the Express and the Super Express which is my favorite, of course, and which my cousin and I have decided has the ability to both fly and submerge, otherwise, why would it be super? When I arrive, I have a 2.5 mile, (4 km) walk to my school, uphill, but no, not in the snow. My school is located not far from the mountain for which Montreal gets its name which means I have to walk both up and around it. Rue University runs through Mcgills campus, at the top of it is the Universitys hospital which boasts that its cardiology department is among the best. I thought today, what a great location, if someone makes it up this damn hill they either have great cardiovascular health worth a study or they are in grave need of medical attention. I turn left onto Avenue des Pins which turns into Avenue du Parc. After passing through the park, the topography actually begins to level out. My lungs, glutes and hamstrings are grateful for this. Many of the people who commute in Montreal use public transportation or bike. There are cyclists everywhere. I was really struck by how many cyclists there were this evening as I walked my 2.5 miles back around and down the mountain. At about that point, I heard a little bell ringing behind me, a cyclist was letting me know he was passing on my left. It was also at this point that I realized, I was not walking on the sidewalk, I was in a bike lane. The sidewalk was nearby, about 4 feet away. I was shocked that not a single person cursed me out or yelled at me to get out of the bike lane and I walked in it for at least a good 1/2 mile. In the states, I definitely would have been yelled at. Ive seen it happen. In Hollywood, Florida a man stooped down to pick up his toddler who had just popped a squat in the bike lane. A spandex clad cyclist, yelled Get yer kid out of the bike lane. Without missing a beat, the rather muscular dad retorted, I got your bike lane. This line lives on in various forms in the Rix household. Like Nashville, Montreal has a bike rental program, but far more expansive in both the size of its fleet and amount of docking stations. Its called Bixi, not Big C, by the way. I could not understand for the life of me why my family members kept calling it Big C when Tellus, the name of a local cell provider, is plastered all over the bikes and their docking stations. I dont mind the walk, but I think it would be fun to ride as well. Bikes are not allowed on the bus from St Jean to Montreal, so my own bike has not made it there. Also not allowed in the first row of the bus: me. Of course I had gotten pretty comfortable before I realized the 1st row is reserved for elderly and handicap. As I was sitting, in what I thought was a fortuitous, stroke of luck seat, I began to read a label. One of the few words I could make out read old. I had helped myself to the elderly/handicap row. Wow, I am pretty awesome. Generally, I use my bus rides to improve my french using the Duolingo App. Today I learned from experience. Its the fail your way to better french method. Cest la vie.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 02:08:17 +0000
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