Bike for the needy

For a dozen unsuccessful years Murray Levine has been trying to persuade the annual Tour de l’Île bicycle event to encourage its participants to raise money for charity. But for the first time, Levine’s sails might have caught a friendly wind, as city councillors favourable to his cause, including Jeremy Searle, Michael Applebaum and Marvin Rotrand, sit on the ruling administration.

However, Suzanne Lareau, an organizer of the event since its 1985 inception, doesn’t sound like she’ll knuckle under. “We launched the Tour de l’Île to focus energy and communication on our cycling mission, which is to encourage people to use their bike as a way of leisure and transportation,” she says.

The June 2 event, in which 30,000 participants pay $22 to ride a 50-kilometre course, raises money for cycling awareness and safety. But Levine, noting Quebeckers’ woeful track record of giving to charity, says that the tour is a wasted opportunity to help the needy. He calculates that, based on comparable events in other cities, our tour could easily raise $6.4-million a year, “although honestly, I’d be happy if they raised $1-million.” he says.
Levine contends that the event attracts little tourist interest and harms local commerce, as stores like Costco have claimed they lost $175,000 in a single day of roads blocked by two-wheelers. The event’s flagging participation rate, he argues, could be bolstered by the added participation of those who’d ride in order to raise cash for charity. :

—Kristian Gravenor