27th Tour de l'Île cyclists ride through Montreal

Around 25,000 people showed up with bikes at the ready on Sunday for Tour de l'Île, so many that some riders had to wait an hour just to get started. 2,600 volunteers also staffed the 52 kilometre route for the the 27th annual event.

Cyclists kicked off their trip on Parc Avenue at 9:15 Sunday morning. They were enthusiastic about the ride, which had them travel through and around the city. 

However, the subsequent road closings until 4:30 p.m, were as usual a headache for motorists. Drivers had to deal with related road closings all weekend, as the Tour de Nuit happened on Friday as of 7 p.m. The evening ride is shorter at about 20 kilometres in length.

Photo by Betty Esperanza