Robert Silverman (cycling activist)

Robert "Bicycle Bob" Silverman (30 November 1933 – 20 February 2022) was a Canadian cycling activist in Montreal.

This article is about the cycling activist. For the pianist, see Robert Silverman.
Robert Silverman
Born(1933-11-30)30 November 1933
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died20 February 2022(2022-02-20) (aged 88)
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
EducationHigh School of Montreal
Sir George Williams University
OccupationCycling activist

Biography

Silverman grew up in the Snowdon neighborhood of Montreal and attended the High School of Montreal and Sir George Williams University. At the age of 25, with the financial help of his father, he opened a bookstore on Stanley Street. A Trotskyist, he had no incentive for profit and often gave books away to customers, driving him into bankruptcy.[1]

While studying in France in 1969, Silverman discovered great enjoyment from cycling. Encouraged by his wife, Edith, he rode his bicycle to his French lessons. Upon his return to Montreal in 1970, he purchased a second-hand bicycle during an era in which cycling in the city was rare.[2] In 1975, he co-founded the group Le Monde à bicyclette to fight for better bicycle safety in Montreal.[3][4] In 1977, he attempted to organize an international cycling foundation, saying "Cyclists of all countries, unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains! Let's build International Cycling".[5] He proposed the creation of a multilingual library and an international liaison bulletin.[6]

Silverman died in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts on 20 February 2022, at the age of 88.[7]

References
  1. Scott, Marian (21 February 2022). "'Bicycle Bob' Silverman, a father of Montreal's vélorution, dies at 88". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  2. Laforge, Monique (15 November 2017). "Robert Silverman, quand la « cyclofrustration » mène à l'action". Mémoires des Montréalais (in French). Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  3. Sherman, Robert B. (12 October 1976). "Bicycle Bob Silverman rides for change". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  4. Béland, Gabriel (2 June 2017). "Ils en ont fait, du chemin..." La Presse (in French). Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  5. Laforge, Monique (12 December 2016). "Le Monde à Bicyclette : vive la vélorution!". Mémoires des Montréalais (in French). Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  6. Bernard, Pablo (June 2015). "Naissance et évolution de la lutte cyclo-militante à Montréal et à Paris (1972-2004)". Dépôt Universitaire de Mémoires Après Soutenance (in French): 231.
  7. "Montreal mourns 'cycling pioneer' who pushed for bike paths in a time when there were none". CBC News (in French). 21 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
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