(Quebec) Alexandre St-Laurent was riding somewhere in Maine when Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon reiterated that Quebec’s car fleet should be reduced and perhaps one day “be forced to go by bicycle to Florida”. St-Laurent smiled: that is precisely what he is doing.
“I think he took a very intense example to illustrate his point. But basically, when he says that the electric car is not going to solve everything, I agree with him, “says the cyclist who took the time to speak to La Presse of the city of Ellsworth, in the Maine.
The 43-year-old left by bike on August 7 from Quebec. He must arrive in Fort Lauderdale no later than October 7 to catch his flight home. He therefore has two months ahead of him to ride at comfortable averages of 60 to 70 kilometers per day.
“I play pranks, but at some point people are going to have to go by bicycle to Florida,” Pierre Fitzgibbon said Wednesday, when interviewed by La Presse on Parliament Hill.
Ridiculous, then, to cycle to Florida? It is certainly not, in the eyes of Alexandre St-Laurent, who nevertheless recognizes that it is a good challenge. First there is the distance: the cyclist from Quebec will cover some 4000 km to reach his destination, taking into account the small detour he takes to see Acadia National Park.
So you have to have time. That’s good, St-Laurent has two months ahead of him. But the journey only takes a few hours by plane, and motorists can cover the distance in three or four days.
Then the cyclist who sleeps mostly in a tent has received his share of rain since leaving the capital.
Alexandre St-Laurent also plans to do part of the journey by train, reluctantly. “There’s a very good chance that in South Carolina and Georgia I’ll take the train, because I was told it wasn’t great to ride there. I watched YouTube videos. Other cyclists warn us because there are dangerous sections, such as a highway without sufficient shoulder. They say don’t go there. »
“Cycling there doesn’t mean cycling there all the time,” he adds. It can be combined with other means of transport that are less polluting than the car or the plane, such as the train. »
The idea of cycling to Florida came to St-Laurent when he began to think about his possible retirement.
“When I retire one day, I plan to do like the snowbirds, but on a bike. Not every year, but every two or three years,” says the entrepreneur and bike mechanic.
“So what I’m doing right now, I see it as a vacation and a bit like exploration for my future retirement,” says the one whose ultimate goal would be to cycle there and back, without plane.
He also seeks to show that it is possible.
For the moment, Alexandre St-Laurent finds that motorists in Maine are courteous to him. “I often come across new roads,” rejoices the cyclist who makes his trip on a 12-year-old touring bike.
The interview draws to a close. The time has come for St-Laurent to set off again. His mount won’t make it to Florida by magic. He hopes to arrive a day or two before his flight home: it would be silly not to even be able to enjoy the beach…
