Road Cycling in Toronto



Yeah those I've seen before, they look alright (pricey though), a friend of mine made his own out of an old set of down hill tires and a box of 500 carbide motorcycle studs (the smallest sized ones he could find).
I was wondering about non studded tires, cause I work in an office building and we have a bike room inside.... but I'm sure with studded tires I'd get flak for scratching up the shiny floors haha.
I read an article once about arctic cyclist who lace two rims to one hub (to create a wider footprint for the tire) I can't find it now though...

http://www.allweathersports.com/winter/winter.html

MsMittens said:
If I ever get a house so I can properly maintain a winter bike I'm getting these. I figure these would probably be your best bet (both are available from MEC):

Schwalbe Snow Stud 26 x 1.9

Schwalbe Snow Stud 700 x 38C

HTH :D
 
I also recommend Lakeshore for rides starting in Toronto. I live on Lakeshore and cycle out past Oakville and even to St. Catherines and back if I'm feeling good. Stopping for a stretch, a cold drink, and some food at a restaraunt in between makes it all worthwhile. Especially for the reactions you get from the service staff: "you got here from Toronto... ON A BIKE?!" I only recommend this route to experienced cyclists, as traffic can get pretty hairy and being passed closely by a rig going 80km/h is enough to rattle a pro. Watch out for potholes after Oakville. Road repairs have helped, but I can still find one or two molar-rattlers every ride.

As for the trails (MUTs), well, I only recommend them to those getting started or those without expensive bikes. I've seen more near-misses than I can remember, and they've ALL followed the same pattern: (1) some dumb kid swerves into the wrong lane (2) said dumb kid isn't looking forward (3) surprise! A fast-moving cyclist clears a blind corner/hill, right into the dumb kid (4) both parties ditch their bikes, narrowly averting a nasty head-on crash. (5) dumb-ass kid curses the cyclist, calls him a "***." Also, there are loads of newcomer-families (is that the right term?) who come out in droves on weekends, block the whole trail (esp. around the science center) and have kids running around. You really have to take it slow around non-cyclists, so most of the trails are rendered pedestrian-only on weekends with nice weather.

Another great place for riding is down near the ports, around The Docks. It's dead on weekends and, while you have to stay in a fairly small loop, the road is all yours. Great for crit training and meeting other fast cyclists.
 
juf2m said:
Someone on the TBN suggested the following:

"If you want to beat along the road without a lot of traffic, try Commissioners Street (in the Portlands) on a weekend - its four lanes paved, traffic lights are far between. Its almost no traffic on a weekend (lots of trucks on weekdays)

For getting to the country you can take your bike on the GO train outside of rush hours ....


Hows your endurance?
We do anywhere from 80-150km rides on some weekends. No it's not the doughnut ride. We can take you on some sweet flat roads or the more challenging hilly ones.
I'm organising a trip to Wasaga beach from dwntwn Toronto in the summer.
Stay there a night, BBQ/have some beers on the beach under the stars and maybe hit the bars there. Have a huge breakfast and ride back the next morning with a hangover. woohoo!
More the merrier
www.kingzoftheroad.com so fresh!
 
I was going to ask if anyone has good routes to share that are Northwest of Toronto. I live in Brampton and ride from my house mainly to Belfountain. I was wondering of other areas within a 1/2 drive of Brampton, say between Trafalgar and Highway 50, north of highway 7 and south of 9 (seems like a wide boundary). I'm looking for good roads, minimal traffic, and places of interest or somewhere to refill water and get a bite to eat. I didn't search much last year, but will this year, so your advise is appreciated.

As it could be tedious for you to provide all of the details in this thread, I'd love to know if there are web sites with maps and points of interest for some of these routes.
 
noonievut said:
I was going to ask if anyone has good routes to share that are Northwest of Toronto. I live in Brampton and ride from my house mainly to Belfountain. I was wondering of other areas within a 1/2 drive of Brampton, say between Trafalgar and Highway 50, north of highway 7 and south of 9 (seems like a wide boundary). I'm looking for good roads, minimal traffic, and places of interest or somewhere to refill water and get a bite to eat. I didn't search much last year, but will this year, so your advise is appreciated.

As it could be tedious for you to provide all of the details in this thread, I'd love to know if there are web sites with maps and points of interest for some of these routes.
Brampton to Georgetown, or even better Guelph could be a great ride. While in Guelph you've got Sleeman's brewery to help with the fuel for the ride home! :)
 
General reply to people before me:

Reesor Road is a nice ride but I usually take the York-Durham Line which is just east of Reesor. Takes you straight up to Stouffville and then keeps going north. Also, Bloomington Rd, although with some cars, is still rural and I believe between York-Durham and Kennedy, it was freshly paved half a year ago so its sweet riding.

Commissioners, which is down by the docks, is where Toronto hosts its annual triathlon in July so that's some nice flat riding too. The actual race route is Commissioners-Leslie-Unwin-Cherry.

Don Trail, running along DVP, not a good choice if you want speed. People are slow, pedestrians, rollerbladers, etc.

Markham Rd (pretty much anywhere) is dangerous. Try to avoid that.

The Hwy 2 route that was previously mentioned is good if you want to do hills, but I'm not a big fan of that one since there are quite a number of cars depending on the day (smog problem in summer). From Dundas to about Kennedy is generally uphill.

And for any Torontonian who wants easy city riding, smooth roads, no traffic lights at all, and probably the funnest ride of the year, you must join the Heart & Stroke bikathon held every year in June that gives you the option to ride 25, 50, or 75 km on the Gardiner or DVP.
 
Hockley Valley area anyone???

I'm interested in knowing of good routes in this area, between highway 10 and Airport (West to East) and highway 9 to 89 (south to North).

I'll end up riding around there and discovering some anyway, but I would like to know which roads are less travelled (Airport not good) and in good condition. I figure these should be some of the best climbs in the area (based on Airport rd).

Thanks.
 
Hockley Valley area anyone???

I'm interested in knowing of good routes in this area, between highway 10 and Airport (West to East) and highway 9 to 89 (south to North).

I'll end up riding around there and discovering some anyway, but I would like to know which roads are less travelled (Airport not good) and in good condition. I figure these should be some of the best climbs in the area (based on Airport rd).

Thanks.
 
eric_the_red said:
My advice, forget Toronto, come out to the West coast instead, Vancouver is much more bike friendly.
Ah,

Forget Toronto.

Forget Vancouver.

Come to the Southern Interior of BC, the Okanagan IS bike friendly! ;)
 
BC is fine and dandy for lots, but does not compare to Toronto for things to do, shows, culture, restaurants, all that. For good riding in TO too don't forget the Humber Trail. Bike path that starts at Lakeshore and gets you to almost woodbridge--30km of bike path in a forest with a few turns here and there. Take that out of the city and all your rides are fine.

Good day Sir.

toomanybikes said:
Ah,

Forget Toronto.

Forget Vancouver.

Come to the Southern Interior of BC, the Okanagan IS bike friendly! ;)
 
Uboat said:
BC is fine and dandy for lots, but does not compare to Toronto for things to do, shows, culture, restaurants, all that. For good riding in TO too don't forget the Humber Trail. Bike path that starts at Lakeshore and gets you to almost woodbridge--30km of bike path in a forest with a few turns here and there. Take that out of the city and all your rides are fine.

Good day Sir.
MAtter of fact it compares very favourably to TO. In addition, the most significant benefit of all is that I can enjoy all of the above, here, without having to set foot in TO to do so.
 
toomanybikes said:
MAtter of fact it compares very favourably to TO. In addition, the most significant benefit of all is that I can enjoy all of the above, here, without having to set foot in TO to do so.
Agreed, Toronto is *not* a cultural capital, but a commercial one. Come to Vancouver if you want culture; or, even better, take in Montreal. Victoria, as well as the Okanagan, are the places to go for cycling.