Introductions - hello from Toronto

Hello Forum. I am a newbie to this forum. I have been reading many of your posts for the past month and the advice within has been invaluable during my reintroduction to cycling. I'm 50 years young and recently returned to cycling to improve overall fitness, and reduce weight for may favourite passion....ice hockey. Some where along the way I discovered how wonderful, free, and rewarding cycling can be. My wife of 26 years has joined me in this "hobby" . I look forward to bantering with many of you about the 'wonders' of cycling.

:) Hockey

Hi there, welcome to Bikeforums!

Watch out for a little (and I mean that LITERALLY) troll who will want you for her boyfriend...heh heh.

Welcome.
As a member of the City Cycling Committee, I am interested in how you view Torontos efforts on behalf of cyclists. The committee works to promote cycling as a healthy recreation as well as an alternative to car use.

Each year we promote Bike Week (first week of June) and right now we are working on our booth at the Bike Show--CNE, end of February.

http://www.telsec.net/bicycleshow/springtimedate.html

Our new and improved city of Toronto bike map will be available then.

Also check out our site.

http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/cycling/

Enjoy,

Allan

Hello stokell.
Most of my cycling revolves around the waterfront trail. My wife and I cycle the trail from West rouge to Darlington Provincial Park. We generally ride 30-50 kms. This trail is amazing. With the completion of the path, bridges and signage it is truly one of the finer parts of Toronto life.
I am hoping to begin communting 3 days a week beginning early April. (Hockey cuts down to 2 nights). I am concerned about riding on some to the streets in the east end. Most of them lack a bike lane and I must admit the fear factor is a bit high. Downtown I was impressed to see the designated narrow bike lanes. These should be present on many more roads. If we really want to encourage people to commute by cycle we need to make it a much safer activity.
We look forward to the bike show. Hope to see you there.
Hockey.


Originally posted by stokell
Welcome.
As a member of the City Cycling Committee, I am interested in how you view Torontos efforts on behalf of cyclists. The committee works to promote cycling as a healthy recreation as well as an alternative to car use.

Each year we promote Bike Week (first week of June) and right now we are working on our booth at the Bike Show--CNE, end of February.

http://www.telsec.net/bicycleshow/springtimedate.html

Our new and improved city of Toronto bike map will be available then.

Also check out our site.

http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/cycling/

Enjoy,

Allan

Hockey,
You are quite right. There is a problem in the far east end where the waterfront trail disappears for a number of kilos.

I biked the route from Pickering back to the city on new year's day. There is a street route that for the most part keeps you off arterial roads (we call them car-terial). We need to have a path which parallels Kingston Road and the lakefront. Start bothering your city counsellor.

On the bright side, once you get to Woodbine Avenue there is a commuter bike trail which takes you right downtown. It has recently been completed but it is not cleared of snow by the city.

As a suggestion, consider driving with your bike to Woodbine Park and riding the rest of the way in.

For recreational purposes the rest of the Waterfront Trail is great. I especially enjoy the stretch from West Toronto to Oakville, as well as the part that takes your from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Fort Erie.

Hope you do come down to the Bike Show. I'll be at the cycling committee booth on Friday from noon till around 5:00.

Allan

Welcome, from Triker (Ron), a Minnesota Wild, University of North Dakota hockey fan.

i will be at the bike show.. and will stop by.
i get on the waterfront by cherry beach.. but its very crowded with bladers and pedestrians on the nice days.. so i usually stick to the roads.. and cut along the path after leslie...
anyway to get the sand off the paths around the beach.. i have seen a number of kids wipe out.. its not a nice sight.
wish the routes were more cycling related but hey.. its nice to see ppl out and enjoying the weather.

Hi everyone

This Toronto thread probably should move from Introductions to a more relevent thread.

Dare I say advocacy and safety?

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20383

See ya out there!

Allan

Hi:
I hate to reply to my own posting, but I've got information on BUG's (Bicycle User Groups):

http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/bug/index.htm

BUG's are very useful for commuters, especially those working in the same building or for the same company.