They must have looked ridiculous, this ragtag band of Montreal cyclists with cardboard wings strapped to their backs, riding along in a small group in July 1980. They were protesting the lack of bicycle access around their city; their wings symbolizing how it was impossible for them to cross the river. The day was warm as they rode through bucolic parkland on Saint Helen's Island. Then, unexpectedly, Mayor Jean Drapeau drove by in the other direction. Drapeau had ruled autocratically over Canada's second-largest city for almost three decades with essentially no opposition. There was probably little that Drapeau was afraid of but the mayor must have just seen something that terrified him. Suddenly, the cyclists were in hot pursuit of Drapeau, furiously flapping their wings as they pedalled hard to catch the fleeing mayor. And catch him they did when the mayor changed vehicles, at which point Drapeau was showered with pamphlets.

A watching journalist found the scene hilarious, writing: "Cyclists wear the wings but the mayor takes flight." Who were these cyclists and why were they so able to intimidate the longtime mayor of Montreal? This is the incredible story of "Bicycle Bob" Silverman and his merry band, le Monde à bicyclette (MàB). The MàB was the most militant bicycling group in Canada or perhaps anywhere. Lacking money, the group creatively employed guerrilla street theatre, irony, humour, and research. With these tactics, MàB invariably forced the most resolute adversaries to bend. For some two decades, that is exactly what MàB did, completely transforming Montreal in the process.