A Brief Recap About Kyrgyzstan

Two years ago, Helen and I visited Central Asia for the first time including Uzbekistan and Almaty, Kazakhstan; plus a few days in Istanbul. We enjoyed Uzbekistan’s rich history and cuisine including plov – their national dish of rice, meat, and vegetables – and shashlik meat skewers; while Shymbulak Peak in Almaty was a decent day hike. Since we wanted to further explore that part of the world and get some serious hiking in, we visited Kyrgyzstan this year including an eight-day trek in the Alay Mountains. I will do a separate post about that trek and will use this post to briefly recap Kyrgyzstan.

Calling Out Excessive Pedestrian Street Policing

All right, folks! We need to talk about the excessive policing in this city! Especially when it comes to pedestrian streets, open streets, and other street events.

Back in late June, the Toronto Star and other media outlets published reports stating that the Church Street Pedestrianization Pilot costs more than tripled to $500,000; about $300,000 of which was used for policing and security costs. If that didn’t sound bad enough, the Toronto Police Service originally requested $3 million for a 24/7 police presence there!

Marking One Year Since Cycle Toronto’s Court Victory

This evening, Cycle Toronto marked one year since their court victory against the bike lane removal provisions of Bill 212 with a rally and ride from Ramsden Park to the courthouse at University and Armoury. Having just returned from Kyrgyzstan last night – more on that soon – I joined the almost 40 people who showed up despite the jet lag.

July 2026 Lower Don Meanderings

One trail closure which has long frustrated cyclists in Toronto is that of the Lower Don Trail south of Pottery Road. It was originally supposed to reopen in Summer 2024, but after several missed deadlines, the City updated the project website in June stating they would pave and reopen the trail as soon as possible. The Riverdale Park ramp was deferred due to “unsuitable soil conditions” for building the foundation. This afternoon, I decided to check out the progress, as well as check some new developments at Biidaasige Park and along Lake Shore Boulevard.

Nine Creeks Trail and Jim Tovey Conservation Area

Earlier this year, I got a tip from Terry Walsh that a new active transportation bridge was built across the Credit River in Mississauga as part of the Nine Creeks Trail. There was also the Jim Tovey Conservation Area which opened on May 30 and was under construction when biking to Niagara Falls last October. With today being nice out, I took the opportunity to check it out. An idea Jun N also had per his blog post. 😉

Wednesday Social Ride with Dismount

Having recorded my rides on Strava for the past few years now, I have noticed many Toronto area cyclists had done Wednesday night rides with the Dismount Bike Shop. These rides tend to be roughly 15 to 20 kilometres with the route revealed either the day of the ride or the day prior; often using off-road trails and neighbourhood streets. Since the weather was nice out this evening and I had been curious to try these rides for a while, I finally gave it a shot last night after work.

East Don Trail and Pedestrian Streets at City Council

Next week’s city council meeting has two member motions proposed which the cycling community ought to pay attention to. The first is a proposed land exchange at Donalda Club for a future expansion of the East Don Trail and the second seeks to create a pedestrian streets program for Toronto. Let’s dive in to see what they have to offer.

The original East Don Trail ends at Milne Hollow Park