Today was my first group ride with TBN since the beginning of the pandemic. The official starting point was downtown, but there was a pickup point at Queensway and Windermere. Here is the first group to arrive at the pickup point. That’s ride leader Danny on the right.
A few minutes later, most of the rest of the group arrives. We are all still getting used to chatting face to face. Note that we are all at least the required 2m apart.
and we’re off, headed to Oakville today.
Along Atwater.
Threading through a road closure just off of Mississauga Rd.
We’ve arrived at the lunch stop. A lot of cyclists had the same idea.
I elected not to stop, and to ride on. The route went to the mouth of Sixteen Mile Creek before doubling back along Lakeshore. Thanks to the anonymous person who took this photo for me on the pier.
On the way back, all of the Lakeshore Parks were crowded but it was nice to see so many families out enjoying themselves.
It was great to see familiar faces, along with meeting many new TBN members for the first time. However, it’s going to take some time for me to get used to being in a group of people again.
This evening, Lucy and I decided to join ManDem CC for another one of their Sunday night rides. Unfortunately, the city has decided that for the rest of July, the Lakeshore West closure for ActiveTO will be truncated at British Columbia Dr, meaning that it is closed basically only the length of the CNE grounds.
Lucy does not approve.
Waiting for the crowd to gather at the starting point, the Bentway.
Chris tells us that we will leave in five minutes.
Off we go.
Turning left on Lakeshore.
At a certain point, the ride broke up into several groups that were taking different routes. The one that I followed decided to continue on Lakeshore for a while which was not ideal from a safety standpoint.
Then we transitioned to Queens Quay which was very crowded.
Lucy and I started falling behind, partially because the drivetrain on the Haul a Day has issues and I can only use the lowest three gears. Here we are trailing some riders on Bayview.
Hey, we made it to the Evergreen Brickworks!
Loads of people arriving.
A great way to spend a Sunday riding with two very different groups of cyclists.
The Toronto Bicycling Network has recreational rides at all levels. Today was a Tourist ride, which is the second fastest type, with a moving average speed of 24-32 kph. For the duration of the pandemic, you must register in advance for any of the rides. TBN also has a route library which is a good resource for Toronto area cyclists.
ManDem CC has no formal structure. They announce their weekend rides on Instagram. Follow them if you want to be in the loop.
