lattes

I live in Leslieville (Pape & Dundas Area) and have been trying to figure out a good loop to mostly circumnavigate the city.

For a quick jaunt I will go down to Lakeshore and go east to Ashbridges then turn around at the end, go west through the trail to cherry street then cross over and take the Don trail north to Edwards Gardens and then back down but that is only about 55km and I am looking for 100-120

Anyone have any suggestions besides the obvious 'do it twice'

Man this city sucks for bike/recreational paths...

cyclocommuter

I suggest you head North of the GTA so you can put in those mileage. On 9 AM Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays the Donut Ride heads North West from Laird/Eglington. That's a good 90 - 110 kms or so of cycling depending on the group you chose to be with.

You could also head out North East towards Souffville, Aurora, Uxbridge and beyond via Birchmount/14th Ave/Reesor Road. Lots of hilly areas North of Markham. To the East you could head out towards Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa via Birchmount, Huntingwood, Sheppard, Meadowvale, Taunton Road.

dasgib

There is a well worn path out to Oakville following mostly the waterfront trail which you already know how to get onto. It gets a bit tricky to find after the Humber River. Ask at your local shop and they can explain it, or hook you up with someone riding it.

The path goes through Port Credit, to Southdown RD across Lakeshore to old Oakville. From your place it will be 100k. You can go north on Trafalgar hook up with 6th sider road to Burnamthorpe over to mississauga Rd. for a nice 120K.

but as previous poster said, get in a car and drive out to Milton or Uxbridge or something.

dasgib

There is a well worn path out to Oakville following mostly the waterfront trail which you already know how to get onto. It gets a bit tricky to find after the Humber River. Ask at your local shop and they can explain it, or hook you up with someone riding it.

The path goes through Port Credit, to Southdown RD across Lakeshore to old Oakville. From your place it will be 100k. You can go north on Trafalgar hook up with 6th sider road to Burnamthorpe over to mississauga Rd. for a nice 120K.

but as previous poster said, get in a car and drive out to Milton or Uxbridge or something.

gadabout007

the don trail MUP is a disaster waiting to happen. I avoid that place like the plague

AEO

if you take lakeshore... it doesn't end until Hamilton.

well okay, you have to take a left at Southdown Rd, right at the border of Mississauga and Oakville.

AEO

it takes a good 2~3 rides to figure out the trail... much easier to just go along lakeshore.
I can guide people through the trail, but if you want a real workout, do lakeshore.

dasgib

Yup. Though the trail is nice on the way out to warm up and avoid some of the worst lakeshore driving. You can start hammering on last bit going out to Southdown and all the way back (after stopping for coffee in Oakville). The ride up 6th to Burnamthorpe is tough - energy sapping road.

jeanluc

You can add several km by branching eastbound the trail under DVP to the Taylor Creek Park and back. But it still doesn't compare to a country ride. Road quality is better out of Toronto and you can have a more flowing ride (less interruptions, more constant cadence). If you don't have time for 100k, go in a hilly area and you'll work hard enough. Forks of the Credit should be fun :-)

es82

Maybe check out some of the training rides used by the Friends For Life Bike Rally - their longer rides top out at 127km and leave from subway stations, typically - finch, Kipling or Kennedy. They have them in PDF format, and also KMZ (which can easily be converted to GPS maps with some websites - I've loaded them all into my Edge 605)

Training Ride Maps

People that have done the ride in previous years say that they really enjoy the Terra Cotta ride -102km leaving from Kipling Station.

I'm doing the rally this year (first time), and have really enjoyed the last few rides. Did one on Saturday from Kennedy Station, up Warden to Mussleman Lake and back down, decided to bike home instead of taking the subway and put the ride at about 100k.

There are some stretches of road that are pretty ass to bike along. But once you get outside of the city, there are some really nice stretches of road and scenery.

urbanlegend

once you hit lakeshore, you can also go west, then north once you hit the humber river, at the white bridge. you can head up the humber to just shy of steeles, or take a detour west at eglinton to centennial park, or a detour west up north of the 401 and head over to the 427. if you can find a route across the top of the city, you could do a big loop.

https://www.toronto.ca/cycling/map/index.htm

j