roadracer13

I was wondering if anyone could give me some good advice on riding my bicycle in/or near Toronto. A friend of mine is heading to Canada to shoot a movie in about two weeks. He will be filming downtown, but will have a couple days off to ride. I am going to fly up there with my bike when he has those days off. So the questions follow:

Is there any riding in the city?
How far out are the good roads, and how to I get there?
What kind of terrain can we expect? Hills, flats, rollers?

Any other help would be great.

Thanks very much! RR13

jet sanchEz

Hi

There are tons of cyclists in the city and I personally find Toronto to be a good cycling city ie: drivers watch out for you, look before they open doors, etc, but I think I might be in the minority with that thinking as I know quite a few cyclists who have been doored.

The city is pretty flat unless you are travelling north, there is a slight grade up from the lake but it is nothing too steep-----check the Fixed Gear/Single Speed forum, there is a massive thread for fixed gear riders there, so you know that if there are so many of us riding fixed, the land is fairly flat.

Be careful riding in the city as there are streetcar tracks everywhere; approach the tracks at a perpendicular angle and you will be fine. If you lock your bike up anywhere, lock it up tight as bike theft here is pretty nuts; there are a lot of vagrants in this city during the summer and your bike will be gone if it isn't locked up well. The roads are kinda crappy within the city as there is a lot of construction; you might want to stick to the the Martin Goodman Trail, which is a community trail that runs along the Lakeshore and is quite nice.

If you are an experienced rider (I am guessing you are from your questions) you might have to be patient as in Toronto, during the summer, there are a million cyclists out there who really don't know what is going on around them and pay no attention to their surroundings or other cyclists. It can be annoying at times but if you are aware of it, it won't be a problem.

All in all, I think Toronto is a great city for cycling as there are many things to see and do and the best way to see the city is from a bicycle. Feel free to ask some more questions

fixedude

https://tbn.ca/

roadracer13

This is great stuff.... thanks!

Canonet

If you're interested in longish road rides, you have to deal with increasing urban sprawl. Due north of the city, you have to go almost 100 km before you're free from new subdivisions under construction. I suggest that you go northeast or northwest of the city. When I visit Toronto I will typically start in Pickering or north Scarborough and then follow rural routes north to Stouffville and back -- about 55 km. There is a patch of land protected from development on either side of the Rouge River in the north-east corner of the city, and the roads which traverse the Rouge ravine (try Finch Avenue or Twin Rivers Road) are winding and steep. There's even a bit of farmland within the city limits out there.

Otherwise, everything is relatively flat.

If you're just interested in noodling around, there are some extensive recreational trails that follow the ravines that cut though the city; watch out for joggers/rollerbladers/dogs.

One of my favourite rides, if you can do it early on a weekday, is the pathway which circles the Toronto Island -- about 6 km end-to-end, but you can do a few circuits, and if you go early enough it isn't too crowded.

cooker

There's a waterfront trail that should be reasonably well marked going east and west along the Lake Ontario shore and passing through the downtown harbourfront area. Within the city it is known as the Martin Goodman trail. That one is pretty flat, of course, as it follows the shore.

For commuting within the city you can use any street, of course, but preferred routes including ones wth bike lanes are on this map. You can likely get a free colour copy at most LBS or tourist info booths. Do you know where you will be staying?

operator

Uh not really. Once you get past Richmond Hill, which is 30km from downtown core you're already in nice country, rural areas.

Downtown riding blows. There's a lot of MUPs but if you're looking for some good places to road ride and not just touring for scenery then downtown is a bad place to be.

Toronto island is a good idea.

Tequila Joe

I'm currently in the Toronto area on vacation and have found some really nice sparsley traveled rurl roads that have wide shoulders in the north around Lake Simcoe. It has been hot an humid the last week so has been nice to be able to stop at one beaches for a cooling dip every so often.

T.J.

Canonet

You're right; 100 km is a bit of an exaggeration. But it does seem that every time I ride north there's a little less space -- Richmond Hill is blending in to Aurora which is blending into Newmarket which is blending into Bradford, all the way up to Barrie. All that farmland ....

Jit4

If you are looking for a fast training ride and are experienced with group riding, their is the 'Donut Ride' every Saturday and Sunday at 9 A.M.

For more info check out:

https://www.thedonutride.com/

EGreen

I was in TO last year this time, but did not bring my bike nor did it occur to me to rent one. You are a smart man! ... or alternatively, I am a dumb man!

BTW, if you want to check out a great/casual Italian Restaurant go to Gio Rana's Really Really Nice Restaurant at 1220 Queen Street East. I'm not advertising nor am I affiliated with it - I pass it along because our visit sucked dining-wise until we found this place.

cooker

Will you be riding from downtown out? You can take city streets, but there also some park/ravine trails that can bypass the traffic

Has anyone been on the lower Don Valley trail this year? I see the section south of Queen is closed, and on the city map it also shows it closed between Pottery Road and Beechwood.

I mention this because taking that route north from downtown could be a very pleasant first leg of a ride out of town. However bypassing the section north or Pottery Rd. would mean a short but brutal climb up Pottery Road and a steep descent back down at Beechwood a couple of blocks farther north. You can then continue north and end up either on Leslie St at Lawrence (via Edwards Gardes) or you can access Bayview Avenue through the grounds of Sunnybrook Hospital.

Alternatively, you can also ride north from the Goodman Trail along the Humbers system of parks. All this should be apparent if you check the city cycling map.

This will work better during the week...there will be a lot more congestion on those MUPs on the weekend.

roadracer13

This is great... sounds like something I am interested in for sure. Great, thanks and keep it coming!

roadracer13

I love me some Italian food!! That is why I ride my bike! When ever I am in NYC... I am all about SAL'S Pizza!! Man... I am hungry! Thanks.

P.S. The first comment cracked me up.

uxrider

I agree completely! I live in Uxbridge (about 1 hour north east of Toronto) I often ride up to Lake Simcoe along any one of several north south concession roads (conc. 3, east of HWY 48 is best) very light traffic, rolling hills, good pavement. If I ride south to Stouffville area I can do many short steep hills along conc. 2, 3, or 4. I find most of the north/south concession roads to be lightly travelled unlike the east/west routes which seem to have more traffic. Try the roads east of HWY 48 as these are less busy. Look for towns such as Zephyr, Sandford, Jacksons Point, Keswick, Stouffville, these are all very pretty rural towns with light traffic and great roads, good luck!

godspiral

Its still fenced up at the north end of the closed point (queen street?). I see a way to sneak through though by the water. Not sure about the south end.

Tequila Joe

Hey uxrider,

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm in Keswick and will try "conc. 3, east of HWY 48" as you suggested.

Cheers!

T.J.

cooker

A grotty little pizzaria with a loyal fanbase is Massimo's on College St. two blocks west of Spadina. The Margharita is my fave. Do you know where you'll be staying?

cooker

What about north of Pottery Road?

operator

Yep, that is so - I live in Richmond Hill

godspiral

Not sure, sorry... I always go into the path that leads to taylor creek park at the intersection there... the toronto bike map seems all wrong, as it seems to indicate a huge gap in the path, that I dont think is there.

fredf

I did my first century alst summer in the City limits: road down the Rosedale Valley Rd to Bayview Extension...north to Don Valley trails (all paved), up to Finch Ave...across Finch to Humber Valley trails (again, all paved) and back down to the waterfront then along waterfront to Strachan and back home.
This ride has some hills but nothing too dramatic.

Most weekends I ride down to the waterfront trail and west to Missisaugua or Oakville and back...very pleasant and quite flat.


lots of riding just outside Toronto. I like to ride up Bathurst St (from Bloor) to Highway 7 and back.

good luck

DocRay

Try asking about riding northwest of the city, in the Halton hills, this is where pros ride.
TO is flat, flat, slight hill going up North. It is better than most US cities for riding, but it is still dangerous and crowded. NOTE: this is the bike theft capitol of North America.

fore0121

Bingo. Great area to ride.
f

ftr

I was riding in Richmond Hill this morning waiting for rush hour to fade away, but it never did. Traffic just switched from cars to dump trucks, so it was a little stressful. anyone know when's a good time to ride in the area of Bayview and Major Mackenzie?

Also, i'd appreciate some tips on nice routes - preferably between 60km and 100km.

yeah i'm from out of town.

on the plus side, coming from hilly nova scotia, it's pretty sweet to up my coasting speed by 8kph!