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| - Bixi made our trip to Montreal an absolute blast. Since we didn't pack bike locks in our carry-ons, we were a little confused on what we would do with the bikes once we got to our destination, but we figured out quickly that there are Bixi stations EVERYWHERE. We never had a problem finding a rack to clip our bikes into so that we could walk around, grab some food, or whatever. No pre-planning or mapping out your day required. If you see somewhere you want to stop, or need a rest, you just clip the bike back into the nearest rack, do your exploring, and then when you're ready to ride again you swipe the same credit card you rented the bike with, get a new four digit code to unlock the bike, and you're on your way. You only get charged for the 24 hr. period; that is to say you don't get charged every time you swipe your card. You can clip and unclip as many times as you want. We did get the $200 (per bike) hold on our credit card, but it just stayed in "pending transactions" until it fell off a few days later. I suppose this could screw you up if you were using a debit card, as opposed to a credit card.
We saw so much more of the city than we ever would have on foot alone, and had so much fun taking full advantage of the very bike-friendly city plan of Montreal. I would say we're both moderately active (I run two miles two or three times a week) and we had no trouble navigating the city and managing the physical aspect of it. Obviously, you chart your own path, so if you're not in very good shape, you could keep your rides short and on flat ground. The bikes are easy to ride and while sturdy, they aren't too heavy to pedal around the city very easily.
The bikes also have a nice basket and bungee cord set up on the front, which we used for our backpack/bags throughout the day.
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