Originally Posted by
91MF
i live in ajax ontario canada, just east of toronto. i work in scarborough which could be best described as northeast toronto without being in the core. my commute is 30.1kms door to door and i ride on some horrible roads with bad[very] traffic. it takes me about an hour each way. there are buses available for my route and there is a train however it heads too far south to be effective as an option.
i have thought about winter commuting but im not really a 'mtb guy'. i dunno if a road bike could handle our winters in the city or alternately, i could handle a road bike in the winter in the city.
I lived in high school during high school and the traffic has only gotten busier in 20 years. Have you gone to
www.bikely.com to search for
routes from Ajax to Scarborough? Also, next week is Bike Month in Toronto and the city gives away free maps of the city with all of the bike lanes, MUPs, park roads, and quieter routes marked on it. You will be able to pick one up from libraries, bike shops
and the Scarborough Civic Centre (next door to the Scarborough Town Centre) later in the month.
As well, the TTC buses have bike racks on the front on nearly of their routes. There's no cost to use them and you can use them at any time of day (unlike trying to bring a bike onto a bus or train during rush hours). Depending on your schedule and crazy road conditions, hoping on the bus might let you escape Ellesmere Rd or Kennedy or Nielson.