Another oddity from this pandemic summer: It occurred to me on my ride this afternoon that I’ve traveled further by bike since March than I have by car. I’m at 1079 miles after today’s ride (the most I’ve ridden in a year with plenty of days remaining, both outdoors and on the indoor trainer). I’ve driven just over 800 miles over the same period.
If I lived closer to work, I’d ride there most days. When I was in Montréal a couple of years ago, I took my bike and rode to the old Expo ‘67 grounds on Île-Sainte-Hélène at morning rush hour. There were so many bikes! I was mostly riding against the traffic flow, which was filled with men in dress shirts and ties and women riding in skirts. They take cycling très sérieusement in Montréal.
Another bike highlight from that trip was getting to ride around le Circuit Jacques-Villeneuve, which is where they run the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix. It’s open to bikes most of the rest of the year, and it was a blast getting to “race” around a track like that one.
My bike mileage outpacing my driving won’t continue if we get back some some version of “normal.” But for now, my overall miles per gallon for 2020 are looking pretty good.