suburbs

The National Post's Peter Kuitenbrouwer hits many nails on their heads with today's story on Vaughan, suburban developments, faux cities, and his search for a bicycle basket in Vaughan.

The Darkness at the Edge of Town:

The Globe gives us another reminder of the health problems associated with living in the suburbs. The reporter talks to a cardiologist who follows his own advice by cycling year round to two Toronto hospitals.

When he and his wife Amanda chose their home, a three-storey detached, they needed a place that had space enough for their three children and was close to a good school. But a prime factor was the timing for Dr. Connely's trip to work.

The following article was submitted by veronica, I Bike TO's intrepid, undercover reporter.

Having spent the last dozen years cycling around TO, I think I've hit just about every inch of the city from North York to Kingston Road, to the Island to Royal York, - been there/know those potholes. Lately, I've been itching to expand my range. So when an invitation came my way to have dinner at the Glenn Abbey in Oakville, I figured it was a perfect opportunity for me and my folding bike to go exploring.

I took a detour this morning to stop in at the site of the ghost bike where a cyclist was fatally hit one week ago.

If only I will age quite as gracefully. At about kilometre 60 into the 100 km "Amazing Toronto Bike Tour" an older gentleman on his Canadian Tire road bike tells me that only last year he was hospital-bound with a broken hip from a cycling accident. And now he's biking 100 km in one day. Amazing.

Ah, the suburbs. They're often misunderstood as cycling hell. The truth is, it's mostly idyllic. The streets are quiet, as long as you choose the right ones. Parallel parked cars are about as rare as pedestrians. The thing is, there are these short stretches of fire and bubbling lava that you eventually have to cross, known as the 400-series highways.