Category: Toronto

Looping Toronto

Yesterday, Albert Koehl from the Toronto Community Bikeways Coalition led about 50 of us on a loop around Toronto, from the central waterfront along the lake to the Humber River, up the Humber to the Finch Hydro Corridor, across the city to the Don, and back along the waterfront:

We did 79 km in 8 hours, and I met lots of nice people. The theme of the ride was ‘filling the gaps’ — calling on the city to remove the awkward parts where we had to leave the bike trails behind for fast roads and, in one case, an active construction site where we had to help each other through fences.

This could be a fantastic season for cycling, and I am looking forward to when the Neon Riders start meeting weekly again.

Toronto’s bike season re-emerging

Snowbanks are still dwindling and another winter blast is still expected, but I was nonetheless able to ride my bike every day from Saturday through Monday.

Official Neon Rides likely won’t resume until April, but if attractive weather warrants it we might undertake some unofficial rides sooner. For me, that would represent the re-emergence of a social community which I have badly missed through the winter’s flurries and pools of slushy brine.

Meadoway 2025 report

I have been suffering for a week from a vexing stomach bug that has had me living on nothing but an hourly soda cracker and oral rehydration salts.

It has nonetheless been very exciting to read about the excellent work being done by the Meadoway project, in which a 16 km stretch of hydro corridor has been turned into a giant re-naturalization project. The corridor runs all the way from the eastern edge of the Don Valley to the Rouge and Toronto Zoo area.

Their 2025 annual report is detailed, beautifully illustrated, and inspiring. Toronto has a great opportunity to add new ways of getting around the city on foot and by bike, avoiding cars, while achieving all the erosion and biological benefits of re-introducing native plants at scale.

Their restoration manual is highly interesting too, and shows a laudable desire to share lessons with everybody.

As soon as ground conditions, weather, and health allow, I want to take my first real bike trip of the year to see the early emergence of the plants of interest out in Scarborough.