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Culture<\/a><\/p>\n When the WorldTour comes to town, there is only one way to experience it: as fully as possible. <\/p>\n Christian Boodram<\/p>\n This is a reader-submitted contribution from Christian Boodram<\/a>, a Canadian cycling industry veteran, Escape Collective member, and photographer<\/a>. He’d like to give a shout-out to the nice people in the Shimano neutral service car (Elite Racing Service) and the inspiring members of the Escape Collective community.<\/p>\n There are not enough expletives in the English language to describe the panicked thoughts that were running through my head, patting at my jersey pockets like a manic penguin as I searched for my wallet which had been there not even two blocks ago. Being pick-pocketed in broad daylight at a busy intersection? Not on my bingo card for the weekend. <\/p>\n The sheer audacity of it all gave way to embarrassment as I retraced my path through the cobbled one-way streets of Old Montr\u00e9al. Eventually, I passed through to the \u2018acceptance\u2019 phase of grief, resigned to the fact that no amount of traffic infractions would bring my wallet back. I cancelled my credit card on my phone (which by some miracle had not been taken, too) and soldiered onwards. I had places to be.<\/p>\n The indignity (and indignation) of being robbed was not something that would overshadow the evening ride at the city’s edge that I had been looking forward to. I\u2019d wanted to bring my bike here, even if that meant a hastily-cancelled train ticket and hefty fees so I could drive the 5 \u00bd hours from Toronto, so\u00a0I was determined to get my money\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n As chance would have it, I didn’t have to suffer in silence \u2013 a surprise visit from a friend made during the Escape Collective Summit 2024<\/a> was welcome company. As we traversed spiderwebs of bike paths, crossed under technicolor bridges through clouds of gnats, and raced to catch the last of the fading light around an F1 race track, the energy of the city hummed in the air. The Grand Prix Cycliste de Montr\u00e9al had come to town, along with it a gaggle of performers in pastel tights that could be seen congregating around the numerous caf\u00e9s and well-traveled Strava routes.\u00a0<\/p>\n This post is for paying subscribers only Already have an account? Sign in<\/a><\/p>\n Did we do a good job with this story?<\/p>\n \n \ud83d\udc4dYep![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/blk-and-wht.jpg\")
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