2026 (Not So) Coldest Day of the Year Ride

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.

TCBC Clears the Bloor Bike Lane!

Almost three weeks after the big snowstorm, there were still some parts of the Bloor bike lane that were blocked by snow including the eastbound lane in Koreatown. Since I had to do some errands in The Annex and Chinatown this morning, I helped Albert Koehl and some other TCBC volunteers with the bike lane clearing in Koreatown.

Solidarity Ride for Alex Pretti

On Saturday, January 24, 37-year-old Alex Pretti was killed by ICE officers in Minneapolis, making it the second ICE killing after Renee Nicole Good. Since Alex happened to be a cyclist, Angry Catfish of Minneapolis organized a memorial ride in Alex’s honour, while over 100 other cities around the world held their own rides in solidarity. Toronto’s ride saw over 60 people take part which started at Christie Pits Park and ended with a moment of silence in front of the US consulate on University Avenue.

I Fought the Train and the … Train Won?

Toronto’s newest transit line in more than two decades – the Finch West LRT or Line 6 – opened on Sunday, December 7 to lots of criticism over its slow speeds with some trips taking more than one hour. One person – Mac Bauer a.k.a. 514runner – beat the LRT by 18 minutes while running! While Toronto City Council passed a motion this week to speed up the LRT including enabling full transit signal priority, I decided to ride the Finch West LRT to Humber College and return via bike share.

Winter Don Trail Riding

On Monday, I found out on the Urban Toronto forums that Bridge #2 on the East Don Trail (Phase 1) was finally installed; making it one of the last major pieces of infrastructure needed to complete the trail. Since I was also curious to check out how the trails are in the winter months, I went to check out that new bridge, as well as some of the trail conditions along the way.

A drone shot of Bridge #2 shared by TwinHuey on Urban Toronto on December 9, 2025

Cycling Good Cheer 2025

One of my favourite winter rides is by far Cycling Good Cheer; a ride organized by Community Bikeways. This is the sixth year they put it together with this year’s ride starting at Raccoon Park and ending at Biidaasige Park with feeder rides coming from High Park, North York (a.k.a. the North Pole), Scarborough, and the St. Lawrence Market. Helen and Mozzie came along as they did last year, while it was a much-needed positive ride after my LeMond road bike got stolen on Thursday while waiting to depute on a bike plan item at City Hall.

2025 (Truly) Coldest Day of the Year Ride

Originally, Cycle Toronto was planning to host their annual winter cycling tradition – the Coldest Day of the Year Ride – on Saturday, February 15. However, the heavy snow that weekend and uncleared bike lanes at the time made them postpone the ride to today. This year’s ride lived up to its name with -8’C temperatures unlike in past years which saw about 70 people brave the cold from Perth Avenue Parkette to Michael Power Park in Etobicoke.

A Snow-Covered Chinatown Trip

More than 50 centimetres of snow had fallen in Toronto in a series of snowstorms from February 12 to 16; something which the City recently admitted could take as long as three weeks to remove. Since I needed to do my weekly grocery run in Chinatown, I took the Mozzmobile (cargo bike) this morning to see the status of the bike lanes.

New Year’s Day Ride 2025 + Leslie Lookout

Happy New Year, #BikeTO! Hope 2025 has gotten off to a good start for you. With today being 4’C with some light drizzle in the morning which tapered off later, I went to the 13th Annual New Year’s Day Ride hosted by Alex which started at Yonge & Queen’s Quay. It was my second New Year's Day ride after last year’s one.

Last Critical Mass Ride of 2024!

Yesterday, about 30 people took part in the last Critical Mass ride of 2024. A reasonable turnout considering the Holidays, while the 2’C temperatures and lack of precipitation made for great riding weather. Here’s a picture of the group at the start of the ride.

Fridays for Future & Cycling Good Cheer

This weekend saw two cycling events take place in Toronto and the two atmospheres couldn’t be any different with one being a protest ride and the other being a festive one. Let’s recap what happened during these two events.

New Year's Day 2024 Group Ride

Happy New Year, fellow cyclists! Last year, Jun wrote about a New Year’s Day group ride that Alex put together which involves riding from Queen & Logan to the Tommy Thompson Park lighthouse for a group shot. Since I wanted to step up my bike riding game for 2024, I decided to join this year’s group ride – the 12th time Alex organized this – and check some infrastructure in the Port Lands thanks to Brian Tao.

RANT – Toronto’s Winter Biking Gong Show

Last Monday saw 36 centimetres of snow fall in Toronto. While it may not be as much as the 48 centimetres fallen in December 1944 or the over one metre over two weeks in January 1999 which prompted then Mayor Mel Lastman to call the army leading to national ridicule, the aftermath still merits a rant. Especially from a cycling perspective after what I found while biking to do some errands yesterday.

Habs vs Leafs Bike Showdown

One of the oldest and largest Canadian sports rivalries is the Montréal Canadiens (Habs) versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. Until last week’s Winter Cycling Congress (see previous post), I never biked in Montréal which Copenhagenize and Biking Expert ranked as among North America's best. After getting a taste of Montréal’s infrastructure, let’s review their facilities and see how Toronto stacks up.

Bike box (sas vélo) at Avenue de l'Hôtel-de-Ville and Avenue du Mont-Royal

Winter Cycling Congress Recap

What is the first thing that comes to mind regarding winter cycling? Some believe nobody bikes in winter, yet year-round cycling has become so popular it has its own conference! Over 400 people attended the 5th Winter Cycling Congress from February 8 to 10 in Montréal; home of smoked meat, BIXI, and the Canadiens. Darnel Harris and I attended on behalf of Cycle Toronto’s Advocacy Committee.

Pedalling Back Full Circle

My love for cycling started during childhood in Moncton, New Brunswick more than twenty years ago. It's a journey that lead me to bike in four provinces (New Brunswick, Québec, Ontario, British Columbia) and four other countries (United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Sint-Maarten); not to mention advocate for safer streets in Toronto since 2012. During Christmas vacation in Moncton, this passion has come full circle with some Viking Biking (or should we say Polar Pedal for a more Canadian tie-in?) to see what has changed since I last biked there in 2006.

Downtown Moncton from City Hall pedway

Nothing Wrong With Winter Cycling!

Upon seeing this title, some of you may be wondering “are you nuts?” Even for someone whose favourite activity since childhood has been cycling, I didn’t start biking regularly in winter until a couple of years ago. Looking back, I see it as a way of not letting our Canadian winters stop us from doing what we enjoy the rest of the year. After all, we still need to get to work or school, and we don’t make a big deal about people doing other activities in the snow such as jogging. To prove my point, I will discuss a recent bike ride, a book I recently finished, and some winter cycling tips.