• Age: 13 to 18
• Grade: 8 to 12

Robert Silverman, or “Bicycle Bob” as many came to know him, was one of those larger-than-life, colourful, nonconformist characters who had a larger-than-life life. He was one of those incredible people whose biography becomes a true page-turner.
He studied in France and Spain. He was a poet, but a poet who owned an independent bookstore in the early 1960s. He and his bookstore attracted artists, intellectuals, and musicians—including the likes of Leonard Cohen and Armand Vaillancourt. He travelled to Fidel Castro’s Cuba—in 1962—to join the Cuban revolution, where he eventually met Ernesto “Che” Guevara. He subsequently made his way to Israel where he worked on a kibbutz. He became one of the few Jews to shake hands with Palestinian leader and Nobel-peace prize winner Yasser Arafat.
As if that weren’t enough to fill a book, he was also a pioneer of beach volleyball.
But it was as an avid cyclist and activist that he made his most important contribution, as his vision of a cycling city and dogged persistence to make it happen changed Montreal forever. Bicycle Bob, together with members of Le Monde à Bicyclette, worked tirelessly—including by organizing colourful street-theatre “cyclodramas”—to transform Montreal from one of the least bicycle-friendly cities in North America to the cycling capital of North America.
Discover the fascinating life of Robert “Bicycle Bob” Silverman, considered by many “a prophet before his time.”

John Symon's profile page

Stéphane Desjardins' profile page

Stéphane Desjardins (Author)
Journalist and author Stéphane Desjardins has managed several newspapers and newsrooms (Journal de l’assurance, Finance et Investissement, Québec Inc., Canal Argent/TVA Nouvelles, Coopoint, Géo Plein Air, Le Vélo Urbain, Journal AccèsLaurentides). In 2013, he founded the hyperlocal news network pamplemousse.ca, which he ran until 2018. He currently works as a personal finance and consumer affairs columnist for the Journal de Montréal and the Journal de Québec.

John Symon (Author)
John Symon is the author of several guidebooks covering Montreal and Ottawa. He was a long-time reporter for the Montreal Times, as well as Montreal correspondent for Pedal magazine for many years. An avid cyclist, John met Bicycle Bob Silverman through volleyball, which led to a 30-year friendship. A two-time Green Party candidate and long-time environmental activist, John is well aware of the many challenges Bob has faced as an activist. Bob wanted John to write an unfiltered bio, but only read short excerpts before flying him off to Bicycle Heaven.