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About this book
Few unknown figures have left such a lasting mark on the world as Robert "Bicycle Bob" Silverman.
A true nonconformist, this tireless advocate for urban cycling lived an extraordinary life. Poet, bookseller, restaurateur, traveler, educator, gallery owner—but above all, a passionate cycling activist—Bob led his vélorution (a term he was the first to popularize in Canada) with authenticity, ingenuity, and boundless creativity.
With his small but dedicated group, Le Monde à Bicyclette (MàB), and a handful of allies, Bob Silverman achieved the impossible. Over three decades, Montreal transformed from one of the least bike-friendly cities in North America into its cycling capital—thanks in part to MàB's colorful cyclodramas, street theatre protests where members donned costumes to make their point.
Silverman's story reads like a film script. A poet and independent bookseller in the 1960s, he drew in a vibrant circle of artists, intellectuals, and musicians, including Leonard Cohen and Armand Vaillancourt. In 1962, he traveled to Cuba to join Fidel Castro's revolution, meeting none other than Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Later, he worked on an Israeli kibbutz, becoming one of the rare Jewish activists to shake hands with Yasser Arafat. He studied in France and Spain, pioneered outdoor volleyball, and never shied away from challenging the status quo.
A larger-than-life figure, Robert Silverman was, as many describe him, "a prophet before his time." Discover how this real-life Man of La Mancha managed to reach a few unreachable stars…
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Halftitle Page
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Table of Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Acronyms
- List of People Featured in this Book
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword A Prophet before His Time
- Chapter 1 Killed by a Car, Reborn on a Bicycle
- Chapter 2 The Seven Steps Bookstore
- Chapter 3 Arriving in Castro’s Cuba
- Chapter 4 Back in Montreal, Protesting against the Vietnam War
- Chapter 5 Meeting His Second Wife at an Israeli Kibbutz
- Chapter 6 The Save Montreal Movement
- Chapter 7 Le Monde à Bicyclette
- Chapter 8 The First Demonstration
- Chapter 9 Storming the Metro
- Chapter 10 The Battle for Bike Lanes
- Chapter 11 Convincing Drapeau to Do the Right Thing
- Chapter 12 A Brief History of Montreal Bike Paths
- Chapter 13 One Million Cyclists Trapped on Montreal Island
- Chapter 14 A Bike-Friendly Mayor Is Elected
- Chapter 15 Protesting the Auto Show
- Chapter 16 The Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition and International Connections
- Chapter 17 MàB and Vélo Québec: Allies or Rivals?
- Chapter 18 Participatory Volleyball, Good Volleyball Is like Good Sex
- Chapter 19 The Handbook of How to Run a Vélorution
- Chapter 20 Vietnam and Cuba
- Chapter 21 Silverman and Politics
- Chapter 22 Milton Park Days
- Chapter 23 A Jew in Support of Palestinians
- Chapter 24 Moving to Val-David
- Chapter 25 Nearing the Finish Line
- Chapter 26 Epilogue and Homages
- Annex
- Notes
- Bibliography