Thursday, November 09, 2006
Taking the Tooker To-Be
I'm pretty sure I'm going to go on the Take the Tooker Ride this Saturday. I always like riding with other cyclists, and I figure I should back up an idea I like with some action.
Now I have to decide where to start. I can ride through Etobicoke, over the Humber River and past High Park, or I can ride through Scarborough, the Danforth, and over the Don River. I'm leaning towards the Etobicoke ride, since I barely ever ride there.
I rode out to Scarborough last weekend and had a surprisingly good ride. I went to the Bluffers Park area to meet my parents. I've done this ride a few times, and it usually goes well until I find myself stuck on St. Clair Avenue. Once on St. Clair, some moron in a 3/4 ton pick-up pulls up within inches of me, revs his engine and glares at me. Then I pull up beside the moron at the red light. With the value of his pick up truck in question, he proves its practicality by squealing the tires when the light turns green. There's also usually a little bit of yelling regarding where my bike should be. I usually ask him if he finds his underwear isn't quite as filled-out as it used to be since he started taking the injections, but he's long gone by then.
Since that interaction was getting boring and predictable, I chose a different route. The first half of the route was along the Don River, then up Taylor Creek. (There were quite a few joggers out for this chilly morning. There was even another cyclist who I had a brief chat with.) After leaving the bike paths, I followed back roads just north of the Danforth and Kingston Road. It's nice to see the parts of Toronto where a corner store still survives in the middle of a residential neighbourhood. Some places reminded me of the small towns in central Ontario where the town is made up of rows of similar houses with one shop built into what is essentially a larger house with a front deck.
The route was somewhat direct, but not perfect. Taking the bike paths along the rivers, and then taking back roads made my ride 21 km, instead of 18 km. For a weekend ride, it was well worth the extra distance.
If anyone out there wants to ride with me to the Tooker starting point, leave a message here and we'll get in touch. I'm probably going to go south on Yonge to St Clair to Russel Hill to Davenport to something to Bloor, then head west.
Now I have to decide where to start. I can ride through Etobicoke, over the Humber River and past High Park, or I can ride through Scarborough, the Danforth, and over the Don River. I'm leaning towards the Etobicoke ride, since I barely ever ride there.
I rode out to Scarborough last weekend and had a surprisingly good ride. I went to the Bluffers Park area to meet my parents. I've done this ride a few times, and it usually goes well until I find myself stuck on St. Clair Avenue. Once on St. Clair, some moron in a 3/4 ton pick-up pulls up within inches of me, revs his engine and glares at me. Then I pull up beside the moron at the red light. With the value of his pick up truck in question, he proves its practicality by squealing the tires when the light turns green. There's also usually a little bit of yelling regarding where my bike should be. I usually ask him if he finds his underwear isn't quite as filled-out as it used to be since he started taking the injections, but he's long gone by then.
Since that interaction was getting boring and predictable, I chose a different route. The first half of the route was along the Don River, then up Taylor Creek. (There were quite a few joggers out for this chilly morning. There was even another cyclist who I had a brief chat with.) After leaving the bike paths, I followed back roads just north of the Danforth and Kingston Road. It's nice to see the parts of Toronto where a corner store still survives in the middle of a residential neighbourhood. Some places reminded me of the small towns in central Ontario where the town is made up of rows of similar houses with one shop built into what is essentially a larger house with a front deck.
The route was somewhat direct, but not perfect. Taking the bike paths along the rivers, and then taking back roads made my ride 21 km, instead of 18 km. For a weekend ride, it was well worth the extra distance.
If anyone out there wants to ride with me to the Tooker starting point, leave a message here and we'll get in touch. I'm probably going to go south on Yonge to St Clair to Russel Hill to Davenport to something to Bloor, then head west.
Darren J 11/09/2006 05:21:00 p.m.
6 Comments:
I'd like to go, but it's not likely. If anything changes, I will be riding from the west end too.
I might go but I would probably ride from the east though.
it was fun day and ride
That was a great ride! Thanks for coming out, Darren!
Btw, I did not mean to be rude when I said 'which Darren.' Leanne told me I sounded rude, and thinking back I think I did. Anyways, my excuse is I think there are two Darren bike bloggers in Toronto. Anyways, sorry again.
Btw, I did not mean to be rude when I said 'which Darren.' Leanne told me I sounded rude, and thinking back I think I did. Anyways, my excuse is I think there are two Darren bike bloggers in Toronto. Anyways, sorry again.
Hey Ben, I wasn't offended! I was just trying to resist doing a Troy McClure impression: You might remember me from such blogs as Bike Refugee, and comments on sites like Cycling Cog ...
It was a fun time, despite the rain. Thanks to all of you for organizing the ride and working for a better city.
It was a fun time, despite the rain. Thanks to all of you for organizing the ride and working for a better city.
lol