Living in Montréal : Bixis and Espresso

In 2013, as a new Montréaler, I made some good decisions. During the race season, I'm on the road very often, all over North America.  I finished the season in Europe with the World Championships in Italy.  When I was home in Montréal though, two of these decisions really paid off!

Lex Albrecht : Montréal Canada Photo copyright : Nicolas Paquet www.kipphoto.ca

I chose to buy a Bixi membership. RIGHT CHOICE. 

My car is not always ideal in the city.  And, as a cyclist I need an easy way to get around after my hard training rides.  Maximizing recovering each day is essential to be able to put the most into the next training session.  The Bixi seemed to do the trick for me, as long as I kept the cadence low ;).  

2014 memberships for the public bike sharing service in Montréal are on sale now, and this is why I am buying one again next year: 

1. I'm not left with a bike to store through the winter
2. I saved a whack of money on fuel and parking 
3. I avoided hours of wasted time in traffic (no exaggeration!)
4. I had extra freedom : Park a Bixi, walk a little while, and take a new one at a different location.
5. The gearing is perfect, and the geometry is comfortable. The Bixi is pretty suitable for post-HARD training.  It doesn't demand a lot of effort.

I Became a Holder of The Indie Coffee Passport

An ex co-worker (pre-pro cycling life) told me about the Indie Coffee Passport.  I couldn't believe my ears. But it was true.  For $22, holders can try a coffee (I chose espresso) at 18 different independent and mostly Third-Wave coffee shops around Montréal.

This was a great way to discover some excellent coffee shops where I'm almost a regular now (espressos aren't cheap, so I supplement my coffee shop visits with home-pulled shots from my entry level machine, & small mugs of instant decaf coffee).


Most importantly: this gave me a destination for my coffe-shop rides.  There's nothing like spinning around enjoying the city at a slow pace, while scouting out a new coffeeshop address.  Then BAM, at 45 minutes into the ride : ESPRESSO.  Most of the times, it was delicious.  Sometimes, off-the-wall delicious.

I'll be participating in this again during 2014 too!