As you may already know, the City has been plowing the Martin Goodman Trail this winter. A few weeks ago I took my bike down and discovered a peaceful east-west winter bike route where I didn't have to worry about sliding into a streetcar track or get run over. Bliss. This video and G&M article by Christopher Shulgan explains how the City got to plowing it and gets feedback from runners and cyclists.
Brian Betsworth, amateur photographer and journalist but professional bike safety teacher, recounted for us the thrill of having a bike lane that isn't heaped with blocks of snow and black ice:
I was thrilled to encounter a scraped-clean bike lane on the Bloor Viaduct last night...in -17 no less!
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This a reminder that this Sunday, Nov. 23 from 10am to 2pm in Riverdale you'll get a chance to see the best cyclocross racers in the province race and wipeout in Riverdale Park East. If all goes well we should be able to see people in skimpy clothing and bikes evidently unsuited for the terrain to wipe out on muddy snow. One can hope. If not at least there will be sausages.
From the desk of Cris Bouchard, City of Toronto:
Hello Toronto Cyclists,
Check today's Toronto Star for a video about winter cycling. Online edition, not print, of course!
The video features brief commentary from three cyclists: It starts on a bit of a low note with a cyclist who just sticks to the indoor trainer for the winter because "the risks outweigh the pleasure" and it's "awfully cold".
The second is a messenger who enjoys the winter riding because the roads and sidewalks are less crowded, and that "with the proper gear it's never too cold".
This Saturday, February 16th at 6:00pm Toronto's best annual winter cycling event takes place at Dufferin Grove Park. It's Icycle 2008, and it's all about bike racing on ice.
Riding to work in winter
Day Four after the snow storm and the bike lanes are still mostly unrideable. Whatever the snow isn't blocking is blocked by a car that is forced away from the curb by banks of snow. Tino has his entire snow in the bike lane on flickr set to document our frustration!
Last week there seemed to be a theme in the cycling news I came across: "problems and solutions". I liked how all the ideas spoke to problems we have here.
Reclaiming the street in Dhaka, Bangladesh:
If we loved our kids more than our cars
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