Today was the city group commute, the 25th anniversary of this event. It’s the signature event that kicks off Bike Month in the City of Toronto. As per usual, we gathered early in the morning at the High Park starting point.
Cheri diNovo was there at 6:45 to see us off. She got the one metre passing rule written into legislation, but it did not get voted on because of the election.
The feeding frenzy when shirts arrived.
A fellow Xtracycle rider. His donor bike is classier than mine.
All set to go. It was a larger turnout than last year, probably because of the weather. It was already about 19C at the start.
We’re headed straight into the sun for most of the ride.
Waiting for a light at the ROM.
Once we got rolling, we didn’t need to stop because police corked all the intersections. It was awesome.
Can you tell if the turnout was bigger than last year?
Alberto always shows up with the best bikes. Last year it was an ornithopter. This year, a speeder bike from Return of the Jedi.
Sam was captain of the Cycle Toronto Ward 13 group. Regrettably, he moved out of our ward.
Jared Kolb, executive director of Cycle Toronto, lives in our ward. This is the only picture that I have of him not smiling. Note the “Ward13bikes” button.
Sara Doucette is our councillor. We’ll see her in High Park for Bike the Park on June 8.
A nice day to be out and about with about 1500 like minded cyclists!
Updates:
Danielle has posted some pictures on Flickr.
Some coverage by Dandyhorse here.
There are several claims of 2500 cyclists participating today.
The ride this morning was wonderful, and the run down Yonge was so much fun! My daughter really enjoyed the whole thing.
We stopped at Urbane on our way home, then took Beverly/St George, Harbord, found our way onto Shaw, and then Hallam/Lappin to Dupont/Annette. So we had bike lanes or sharrows almost the whole way home. I hadn’t been on Shaw before and the north bound bike lane is very nice.
You mentioned after the Ride of Silence that there is a meeting coming up about the Annette/Dupont/Dundas intersection, but I can’t remember when or where it is. Can you post or email me?
Thanks!
Judy
The Dupont/Annette Intersection is part of an overall EA for the Dupont Corridor. There won’t be any action on this for probably a year, but we’ll be keeping an eye on this and getting the word out if there are any opportunities for public input. Glad you found a safe route home!