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. 😉

November 2024 Ride to Brampton

The past few weeks have been pretty stressful. Not just for work, but also Doug Ford’s war on bikes via Bill 212 while Donald Trump being voted back to the White House didn’t help matters either. Given the need to use up some vacation days and blow off some steam, I took today off and used the morning to do an 85-kilometre bike ride to Brampton and back.

One Final Push For Bloor

This month has brought lots of good news for Toronto’s cycling community! First, Toronto city council approved the Bloor bike lane extension from Runnymede Road to Six Points with only one councillor opposed. This past Monday saw Torontonians elect bike-riding Olivia Chow in the mayoral by-election! And yesterday, Mississauga City Council finally approved the Bloor Street Integrated Project using Alternative #6 consisting of two traffic lanes, one centre turning lane, and protected bike lanes! Let’s find out what this means for the soon-to-become intercity bikeway.

2023 Bloor Recap (+ A Site Check)

This week saw two debates related to Bloor Street; those being Toronto’s Infrastructure and Environment Committee (IEC) on Monday and today’s General Committee in Mississauga. Toronto’s IEC approved their motion – which will now go to City Council on Wednesday, June 14 – while Mississauga’s General Committee offered a silver lining despite the motion being deferred. Let’s review what happened at both meetings, as well as a site visit I did on my way home from the IEC meeting on Monday.

Albert Koehl getting ready to speak at Monday's Infrastructure & Environment Committee meeting

My Highlights from 2022

Having tallied up this year’s numbers for Toronto’s bike lane installations, it’s time to reflect on some of the other highlights of 2022. With two elections, a return to the office and in person events, a new place, some long distance rides, and the first international trip since COVID-19, it’s been quite the crazy turn of events. Let’s dive in!

One of the Berber villages we hiked through in Morocco

Will the Fourth Time be Mississauga’s Bloor Charm?

Back in March, there was a sense of momentum for getting bike lanes on Bloor in Mississauga. The third public meeting for the Bloor Street Integrated Project saw more than 100 people take part, while 80 to 100 people from Toronto and Mississauga rode along Bloor to show support for bike lanes on both sides of Etobicoke Creek. Given yet another public meeting was held on Tuesday, November 29 while I was on vacation in Morocco, it’s time to offer a quick recap of what had happened since March.

Alternative #5 was presented at the third public meeting for Bloor Street in March 2022

Tour de Mississauga 2022

Sunday was a great day for the 15th Annual Tour de Mississauga which saw over 2000 people take part. This family friendly ride has five ride options to choose ranging from 5 km to 100 km, while those doing the 50 km or 100 km had rest stops with complimentary food and drink. I chose the 50 km which – combined with biking to and from Downtown Toronto – lead to my first century ride since the Ride to Conquer Cancer in 2014. The ride offered a good sampling of Mississauga’s trails and bike lanes. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Mississauga Momentum for Bloor Bike Lanes

Earlier in March, I reported on the fight Mississauga advocates had on their hands regarding getting bike lanes installed on their part of Bloor; most notably the ridiculous complaints over charter rights. There has been a renewed sense of momentum since then with Mississauga’s third community meeting on Wednesday, March 9 and Sunday’s Ride for Bike Lanes on Bloor. Let’s recap these recent developments, as well as introduce the group Mississauga Cycling Now.

Mississauga’s Bloor Bike Lane Fight

While the City of Toronto’s latest bike plan called for extending the Bloor bike lanes west from Runnymede to Six Points (at Kipling) by 2024, Mississauga has their own Bloor bike lane fight through the Bloor Street Integrated Project. During the January 19, 2022 city council meeting, the City of Mississauga opted to hold a third community meeting on March 9, 2022 given opposition to the project; most notably from the Applewood Hills & Heights Residents’ Association and their petition which got 130 signatures. I heard of many arguments against bike lanes over the years of fighting for bike lanes on Bloor in Toronto, but none were as ridiculous as that about bike lanes violating charter rights brought up by Athinda Tagidou of the AHHRA during the city council meeting. An argument which made the top twelve weird things on Cracked.

Ridicule to the charter right argument was picked up by Cracked

Biking to Brampton - April 2021

The last time I biked to Brampton three years ago, the underpass at Highway 401 was closed and there were no off road trails linking the Mississauga and Brampton parts of the Etobicoke Creek Trail. A fair bit has changed since then with the Mississauga – Brampton trail gap having been filled in, while the Highway 401 underpass was recently reopened per a post from Wayne Noble in the Cycling in Toronto Facebook group. With Saturday being 18’C outside, it was a good time for Helen and I to do our first long ride of the year, so we rode to Brampton and back for a 63 kilometre ride.

Etobicoke Creek Trail Update

Good afternoon, folks! Hope everyone is coping with COVID-19 to the best of their abilities. Earlier this week, I biked along the Humber River, Eglinton West, and Etobicoke Creek Trails while maintaining physical distancing and found some useful updates.

For something to lift your spirits, one of the trees on the Humber River Trail was decorated with Easter eggs. Something much needed during these unprecedented times.

Toronto to Brampton (via Eglinton and Etobicoke Creek)

The first time I biked in Brampton was during last year’s “Bike the Creek” event. Since both Mississauga and Brampton have their own trails along Etobicoke Creek, I was curious to find out how cyclists from Toronto could get to Brampton. With Friday being a day off and a need to lose some steam from Thursday’s Fordian slip of an election, I found out by biking the Humber River, Eglinton West, and Etobicoke Creek Trails; a roughly 90-kilometre round trip!

Stop! Hammertime! Cycling in Hamilton

While MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” is one of my favourite hip hop songs, the Hammer I am referring to is the City of Hamilton. This nickname is loosely based on its steelmaking heritage, though a Raise The Hammer article mentioned its origins were in the music and arts circles; only entering the mainstream over the past decade. Just as how Toronto rapper Drake coined “The 6ix” last year as Toronto’s new nickname.

On Sunday, May 22, I biked 80 kilometres from “The 6ix” to the Hammer for some Ride For Heart training. Here are some cycling observations I made along the way.

Hamilton skyline from York Boulevard