Since 2024, Councillor Lily Cheng and Peter Low have hosted a community bike ride from Willowdale to Downtown. While the prior two rides were held in September, this year’s ride was moved to May because this year is an election year. This morning, about 125 cyclists gathered at Avondale Park, while Helen and Mozzie came along as well.
Today marks the longstanding annual winter cycling tradition called the “Coldest Day of the Year” Ride. However, the Alex Pretti Solidarity Ride held on January 31 was more deserving of that title with today ended up being a balmy 5’C. Even so, over 60 cyclists took part while Helen and Mozzie came along as well. This year’s route started at Sugar Beach Park headed southeast to the Tommy Thompson Park entrance before returning to Sugar Beach.
On Sunday, January 25, Toronto had a record-breaking snowfall with 46 cm reported at Pearson Airport and higher accumulations downtown. Seventeen days later, there are STILL a lot of bike lanes that have not been cleared! Since I had the day off today, I went to the east end to do some errands and get some takeout while reporting on the bike lane conditions along the way. Having above zero temperatures also helped.
On July 31, 2025, 28-year-old Samuel Willetts – an aspiring cinematographer – died from a crash which happened two weeks prior at Church and Gerrard Streets. Unlike past cyclist deaths, this one didn’t get reported in the media until at least a week later, while the memorial ride wasn’t held until today to accommodate out-of-town family members. Dozens of cyclists gathered at Bloor and Spadina to start the ride.
Unfortunately, Toronto’s cycling community had to gather tonight for the fifth time this year to pay their respects for a fallen cyclist. The latest victim was a 24-year-old female who was struck and killed on Bloor Street east of Avenue Road. While I wrote about the initial death and how to address some of the design fails at this site and others across the city, it was essential to write about tonight’s memorial ride.
By the time Helen, Mozzie, and I got to Matt Cohen Park, the park and sidewalk was already packed with people.
On April 6, 2022, Toronto City Council voted to extend the Midtown Yonge Complete Street Pilot until January 2023. Nine months and a municipal election later which saw nine new councillors elected, the pilot has been confirmed for debate at the January 30, 2023 Infrastructure & Environment Committee meeting (and at City Council on February 7, 2023). A petition from Yonge4All got almost 7,000 signatures at the time of writing in support of making the pilot permanent, while a counter-petition calling for the pilot’s removal has over 5,000 signatures.
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| Even by foot, the Midtown Yonge pilot is safer for Mozzie to walk! 😊 |
This past year ended as it began with COVID-19 cases surging thanks to the Omicron variant. Before then, it appeared the pandemic was being brought under control in Canada with millions rolling up their sleeves to get vaccinated. Speaking of which, we got our booster shots last weekend. 2021 saw the threat of climate change brought to our doorstep with British Columbia experiencing record heat, wildfires, and floods, while democracy south of the border was under threat with the January 6 Capitol Hill insurrection. As I mark my 35th orbit around the sun tomorrow, it’s time to reflect of some significant personal changes that happened over the past year.
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| Mozzie when we first picked him up in Ottawa |
Last month, Helen and I rented a Larry vs Harry Bullit e-assist cargo bike to get a feel for cargo bikes in real world conditions. It was overall a solid performer and can be customized to transport all kinds of cargo, but had its shortcomings such as the high top tube not suitable for shorter riders and its length. When trying to find something more compact for urban living, Helen found a German made Muli Muskel which has a collapsible 100L basket and is only 195 cm long (compared to 243 cm for the Bullitt). She ordered it from Montréal-based Âllo Vélo – the only Canadian distributor for Muli cargo bikes – and we went to the Beagle Bicycle Company in Mississauga on Saturday to pick it up.
During the May long weekend, Helen and I picked up our puppy Mozzie; a miniature poodle. While we have been carrying him around with a Basil bike carrier which got lots of positive comments, we were concerned that Mozzie would eventually outgrow the carrier. With this in mind and the need to transport other goods, Helen was looking at whether to get a bike trailer or a cargo bike. To get a feel for what a real world cargo bike experience would be like – had only done brief test rides before this – I rented a Larry vs Harry Bullitt e-assist from Robin Richardson who launched Happy Fiets back in May.
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| Robin (centre) showing Helen (right) and I the bike and being affectionately greeted by Mozzie |
