There is a tradition for a group of cyclists to ride out to the lighthouse on the Leslie St spit on New Year’s Day. The weather forecast was a balmy 3°C so I decided to give it a go. The meeting place was the corner of Queen and Logan. Our leader was Alex.
He asked how many people were here for the first time. About half raised their hands. A pretty good sized crowd. Here we go, Alex in the lead.
Turning east on Eastern.
Dave asking if I shot his good side.
Pause at the park entrance. A couple more people were waiting there.
Here we go. About half of the cyclists were fenderless roadies.
I liked seeing the wide range of different bikes that showed up.
This could be an ad for Tern.
Dodge those puddles!
Up towards the lighthouse.
It soon became apparent that there would be too many people for a photo on this side of the lighthouse. It was decided to backtrack to the flat area just north of the lighthouse.
Matthew decides to take the direct way down on his titanium cargo bike.
Gathering for the group shot.
Know your biking Brians.
Alex lines up the shot.
The group shot.
A number of people were taking video, so I’ll link to them as they are posted.
A nice way to start out the New Year! Thanks to Alex for organizing.
Great to see many of the usual suspects while not on a ghost bike ride.
Another year gone by, another 8000 km or so. A record distance over the year, just a bit beyond what I did the past two years, despite the fact that I did fewer long rides. Cyclemeter says I’m a bit over 8500 km, whereas veloviewer gives a slightly smaller total.
January:
I took advantage of a cold snap to ride the clear ice on Grenadier Pond in the course of testing out some pants. I could hear the ice sing.
Local bike advocate Janet Joy Wilson took a new job in the Big Apple, so she invited a few of us along for a group ride to mark the occasion.
Late January was unusually cold, and so I ventured out to Toronto Island to ride on the ice in the canals, with a bit of crunchy snow on top.
TCBC organized a ride to show support for extending the Bloor bike lanes all the way into Mississauga. The group was small because the ride had been postponed due to weather at the last minute, but some cyclists showed up anyway. So we went ahead and rode out from Runnymede and were met with a group coming the other direction at the bridge over Etobicoke Creek.
The annual fund raising bike ride on the Gardiner and DVP was rebranded the Ride for Brain Health. I was doing ride support with TBN as per usual, but I also met up with colleagues from my department at the beginning.
I had a streak of continuous days of bike riding that stretched back to Boxing Day 2020, but somehow I forgot to ride on July 1, so my streak ended at 517 days.
A quick trip to Woodstock NY to go to a concert by Nexus percussion. Got in some riding by the Ashokan Reservoir. Got to see the stage where 4′ 33″ was premiered.
A number of years ago, I was on an organized ride from Seattle to Vancouver, but due to a flat tire and other issues, I ended up completing the ride but leaving a gap of about 100 km. I went back this year to fill in that gap. It was punishingly hot, but there was ice cream at the end.
The World Human Powered Speed Challenge was back this year after two years of cancellations. Unfortunately our tandem crashed and we did not set any records.
This morning was a balmy 3°C with little wind, so it was an opportunity to get in one more road ride before the winter storm promised for this weekend hit.
Here are some shots of the underpass under the QEW on the Etobicoke Creek Trail. You can see that they have done some grading so it is an easy gravel ride. Hopefully everything will be wrapped up and officially open early this coming spring.
The trail itself was lightly salted so I’m going to have to use the garden sprayer this afternoon.
In honour of May the fourth, a group was organized to do some crafting of X wing pilot costumes, and today was the day to show them off on a bike ride. I did my bit my decorating a spare helmet.
I also dressed up my bike with some election sign material, pool noodles and zip ties.
The ride started at Christie Pits, but I arrived late, and I didn’t see anyone, so I took off along the posted route to try to catch the group. Here you can see by the shadow that my S-Foils are locked in attack position while I rode down Rosedale Valley Rd. I also noticed that the cars were giving me a wider berth than usual.
I got all the way down to Corktown Commons where I met Chris, but still no rebel pilots.
As it turned out, they left Christie Pits around this time, and I ended up doing another circuit from Bloor and St. George, and down to Corktown Commons once again before I finally caught up with the group. Here are some familiar faces from the bike team.
Thanks to Bill for taking this picture of me and my X-Wing.
Off we go.
David Pecault Square
Along Wellington.
Event organizer and Red Leader Natalie.
Across Garrison Crossing.
Thanks to Natalie, Gerry and everyone else for the fun evening. I imagine that much of the same crew will be riding again tomorrow for the Neon Rider kickoff.
A few shots of the bike related stuff at the end of the day. Firstly going by the bike shop to help out a bit with reassembling TITAN in preparation for some testing.
Basically together, with more prep to be done.
Dropping by a bar where we are wishing our fourth year MSE students well after the second last day of classes.
The good people at Toronto Community Bikeways Coalition organized a ride that was to start today at Runnymede Station, and to go along Bloor to Etobicoke Creek where we would be met by a group riding the other direction from Celebration Park.
The intent of the ride is to show support for Mississauga cyclists who are pushing back against a group that are opposed to bike lanes because they would violate their charter rights.
There is a online public consultation on March 9 from 6:30-8 about the bike lane project. You can register for the meeting at this link.
Unfortunately with the high winds forecast for today, the ride was postponed until March 20. However, I rode down to the start to see if anyone didn’t get the news about the cancellation.
I’m glad that I did, because here was a group of diehard cyclists who were prepared to ride west into a gale force headwind.
Zach was rocking a bike with a Buddy Rider.
He was kind enough to take this photo so that I could join in.
Angela, ever the activist, led us in a chant. Note the wind noise 😉
For those who want to join us for the March 20 ride, here is the information:
Join us this Sunday, March 20, 2022 for a ride in support of bike lanes on Bloor.
Starting points:
Mississauga: 12:45 PM at Celebration Square Toronto: 1:00 PM at Neil McLellan Park (across from Runnymede Station)
We will rendezvous at the Mississauga-Toronto border — on the bridge crossing Etobicoke Creek.
Note: given the lack of road safety on Bloor, this ride is not recommended for children.
Purpose:
1. To support a proposed bike lane on Bloor between Central Parkway East and the Mississauga border. 2. To support the westward extension of the Bloor bike lane from Runnymede to the city border with Mississauga (at Etobicoke Creek). Torontoʼs 2022-24 Bike Plan only includes bike lanes to Kipling but not beyond. 3. To improve dangerous streetscapes into healthy, enjoyable routes for the benefit of residents, visitors, and local businesses; and to provide a continuous east-west cycling route from Mississauga to Scarborough.
So we got a bit of snow overnight into this morning. TDSB called for a snow day, delaying what was supposed to be the first day back in person. There were reports all over the city of stuck vehicles, and the TTC was a mess. Still, major arterials were plowed, and traffic was very light.
This is Runnymede.
Also Bloor. Because of the lack of cars it was easy to take the lane.
Snowbank on Bloor built up from the repeated passes of plowing.
Of course the side streets were impassable, even those that were advertised as having been plowed within the past four hours.
You can check things out on the city plowing map here.
We’ll see how things are by tomorrow. In the meantime, stay safe everyone!
Another year of life and biking under COVID. My major goal was to do a ride every day, just so that I would never have to keep such a streak going again. Here is the summary of the year as rendered by veloviewer.
January:
The year started off with a new craze about monoliths popping up around the world. I took advantage of low lake levels to visit the 2nd monolith that appeared in Toronto. You can see that my ride went out onto the breakwater.
Sadly, long time cycling advocate Wayne Scott passed away after a long battle with cancer. It is due to his efforts that bike messengers are able to write off a portion of their food costs on their taxes.
February:
This review of a mask by Oakley has become one of my all time most popular posts. At least for me, it did not solve the problem of fogging up my glasses during winter riding.
Ports Toronto decided that the single track trails on the Leslie St spit that had been built up over a period of ten years were dangerous and announced that they would be bulldozed at the end of the month. I headed out there to take one last ride.
This post shows what the trails looked like post destruction.
April weather being unpredictable, this year we got the combination of sakura and snow.
There was a rally on wheels held in support of Laurentian University which was forced into a form of bankruptcy that was more appropriate for a corporation. An uneasy combination of cars and bikes circled Queen’s Park. I helped marshall the cyclists.
ActiveTO road closures happened again this year, but unfortunately the most popular route, Lakeshore West, was only closed for a few weekends out of the whole summer.
Toronto Ride of Silence had to be virtual again this year. Thanks to all those who sent in pictures of their inidividual visits to ghost bikes.
Public consultation on bridging the gap in the Humber River Trail just north of Lawrence Ave. It is particularly complicated since there is a rail line and also a patchwork of land ownership, including a private golf course. The preferred option would infringe on the golf course on the West Bank.
Ghost bike installation for Darren Williams. He was killed up in Muskoka, but the family wanted the ghost bike installed near where he ran the first indigenous owned bike courier company.
Growling Beaver 2021. Still had to walk up a portion of Sideroad 7B. I’m pictured below with Evan Siddall, founder of the event that raises money for Parkinsons Canada.
Closing out December with one last ride on behalf of FoodshareTO and the Bike Brigade. That’s 19 for the year, which is nothing compared to what fellow Haul a Day owner Chad did.
As we speak our friend and bike briagdier Chad is delivering 150 meals by bike on this 50th bday from @CAMHnews to @seedsofhopeto! Our partner orgs are incredible and so to our our cyclist volunteers! His brigade friend Jaime in the background on escort duties #BikeTOpic.twitter.com/xHzr45QVHN
Total mileage was more or less in line with last year, but with fewer long rides. The only ride above 100 km this year was the Growling Beaver. I’m determined to get out for more gravel riding next year.
Eight ghost bike installations for the year, although only two of them in the city of Toronto. This shows that safe biking infrastructure is needed across the GTA.
Sept 17 Ignacio Viana Lower Base Line West and 6th Line, Milton
May 4 Rayyan Ali Hurontario and Evans, Mississauga
On the plus side, the Active TO bike lanes on the following streets were voted to be made permanent:
Bayview Avenue (Rosedale Valley Road to River Street)
Bloor Street E
Danforth Avenue
Dundas Street E
Huntingwood Drive
University Avenue / Queen’s Park Crescent
Wilmington Avenue
Plus there are plans to expand the cycling network significantly over the next three years. Notably, an extension of the Bloor bike lanes westward to Kipling is on the table. You can read about the details on Cycle Toronto’s site, or on Rob Z’s blog.
Hoping for a better 2022 for everyone. Ride on and ride safe!
Apparently we are going to get about 5 cm of snow tomorrow, so it was time to prep the bikes that I ride during the winter. Ironically, the one that needed the most work was my winter beater.
Over the years, the linkage to the rear roller brake got corroded quite severely. Finally this year I found that if I used the rear brake, it wouldn’t release anymore
The chain wasn’t looking too good either.
I managed to source a compatible roller brake with the hardware on eBay.
Rather than tackling this job myself, I decided to take the bike to my trusty mechanic Geoffrey.
Usually I bag and drag, but given the studded tires, I elected to keep the front wheel outside of the saddlebags. I’m really glad that I have the special lower rails that have a slot for a wheel. I don’t think that they are made anymore.
Here’s the bike all ready to go back home. Thanks Geoffrey!
Look, a bike is following me home!
The final touch was to replace the rear fender, since the fender mount finally rusted out.
While removing the mounting bolt just to the rear of the bottom bracket, the whole brazed on mount broke off!
I got an Axiom fender than came with plenty of mounting hardware, so it was no problem to mount the new fender. Yes, I know that this is not the prettiest fender line, but I will have plenty of clearance. Also, the new chain is stainless from KMC.
While I was at it, it was time to put the studded tires onto the tandem and the cargo bike.
All three bikes ready for winter!
One final point: experienced winter cyclists know that keeping your hands and feet warm is an issue. Here are three sets of ponies that I have on hand. Left to right: Rock Bros, Metal Tiger, and a cheap pair from Amazon.
One issue that I have with standard pogies is that all my bikes have swept back bars, and most pogies are designed to give coverage for straight bars. The Odier pogies were not roomy enough to clear the shifter, brake lever and bell that I have on the tandem, but they will keep my stoker’s hands warm.
Brief update: I was riding the tandem alone, and one of the odier pogies fell off the bike, and so I really can’t recommend them. I’ve upgraded the stoker position to the metal tiger pogies that are more securely fastened to the handlebars.
and here’s a picture of us on the tandem, just for fun.
I have a friend in the Human Powered Vehicle community named Richard Myers who bikes his age in miles every year on his birthday. I’m inspired to do the same. Note: he turned 85 this year.
However, since I have never been the athlete that he was, and the fact that my birthday is in late November and not August, I’m making the following adjustments. The biggest one is that I’ll use kilometres as the unit of measurement. I’m also going to allow myself to bike within a week of my birthday, or potentially the entire month of November, since one never knows when the snows will descend.
At any rate, this past Sunday had decent weather and so I went out for my birthday ride. I did most of it by going out to Tommy Thompson Park and exploring a few parts of the park that I had not explored. Hat tip to Sam for alerting people about this new piece of artwork very close to the lighthouse.
Biking in a Big City 