its 6km from oss/bloor to front/bay (12km return). I'm thinking I will take shaw street all the way down to wellington and then take wellington and niagara east and then turn down onto front street for 'the gauntlet'. I have spent hours staring at a map of downtown and I just can't find a good way to avoid the gauntlet without having to go down Bay street which is just as bad... I guess I could take queen's quay blvd but it would add another kilometer to my route. How is queen's quay during morning and afternoon rush-hour? (barring this week's special events)

laminated means a strip of strong nylon glued between 2 strips of strong leather. Mine had the necessary compnents to be called laminated, but lacked their strength unfortunately. Now the nylon part is broken completely and unbonded so I have 3 floppy straps keeping my feet on the pedals.