Lake Wilcox Park

Cycling from Old Bayview Road to Oak Ridges Community Centre in Richmond Hill
Lake Wilcox Park is a beautiful new park.  Check it out!

Oak Ridges Corridor Trail and Lake Wilcox Park

This past weekend, I had two hours to spare after dropping my son off at a birthday party, so I took the opportunity to explore Richmond Hill by bike.  The Town of Richmond Hill has perhaps the most connected bike network of the nine municipalities in York Region.  Among the highlights of my tour was the Oak Ridges Corridor Park, a wonderful place to enjoy nature.

Here's the view from my bike...




After exiting the trail, I happened upon the newly renovated Lake Wilcox Park.  Wow! What an incredible public space.  Definitely worth checking out.  And yes, I did order ice cream at the end of the video.  Is there anything better than combining cycling and ice cream?!

A better Hwy 7/404 interchange crossing

I rode the Hwy 7 bike lanes across the 404 interchange this week.  York Region has worked in partnership with the Ministry of Transportation to make this a safer and more effective interchange for cyclists and motorists. Completed in Fall 2014, the bike lanes with green markings across the ramp mixing zones are among only a handful of such examples in Ontario (I only know of 403/Fairview in Burlington, and 400/Duckworth in Barrie).





There were a few wet spots, and some stored snow was encroaching the bike lane, but the buffer provides some extra width for cyclists and I thought it was a relatively comfortable winter ride.  A cyclist could easily use this commuter route year-round (though the left turn bike boxes were completely covered with snow).

Hwy 7 BEFORE (no bike facilites) - westbound approach 404











Hwy 7 NOW (buffered bike lanes, sidewalk, transit lanes) - westbound approach 404

With MTO's #CycleON Action Plan 1.0 released in 2014, it appears that these types of interchange improvements will become the norm rather than the exception, making the crossings a lot less challenging by bike.  All road users will benefit.

Cyclists from around York Region

Here are a few candid shots from around York Region.

Group ride on Keele Street in King Township.

Family on Major Mackenzie @ Dufferin in Vaughan

 Tannery/GO Station Parking lot, Newmarket

Tom Taylor Trail, Newmarket

Tom Taylor Trail, Newmarket

Dufferin Street approaching Major Mackenzie (on road even though there is a multi-use path in the boulevard)

I spotted this guy crossing High Tech Road in Richmond Hill.

Embrace Winter

I recently read the book Frostbike, by Tom Babin.  Going in, I had a lot of questions about whether year-round cycling is a realistic option for most people.  The book is a refreshingly inspiring take on winter. Winter cycling is certainly doable, and very common in many cities. How do we get there?  Firstly, we have to personally plan for it by choosing the right bike equipment and clothing.  Secondly, our city needs to support winter cycling through adequate infrastructure and maintenance.  However, what's the main thing holding us back?: our attitude.

Some quotes from Frostbike:

"Bike infrastructure can work wonders for most of the year, and having it used less frequently for a few winter months doesn’t negate its need." 

"Our personal and collective outlooks on winter are key to the mass acceptance of year-round cycling."... "A city that encourages year-round cycling helps normalize it."... "The three most bike-friendly cities in North America have harsh winters: Montreal, Minneapolis, and Anchorage"

"When women, children, and the elderly, not just aggressive young men, start to see the bike as an easy way to go shopping, to school, or to work, then our cities will start to enjoy improvements in our street life, our economy, our health, and our transportation systems."

I snapped this photo in a Toronto a few years ago.  But the truth is, most of our winter days aren't this extreme.  We tend to exaggerate our winter weather.

I would say that most of the neighbourhood residential streets in York Region are quite bike-friendly all year round.  Rural and arterial roads are a different story, but getting better as each new project gets built.  As for the trails, try a Fat Bike!

Remember the ice storm last December?  Well, there was at least one winter enthusiast at the Richmond Hill GO Station.

My main takeaway from Frostbike: Get outside and embrace winter, whether it's cycling or another type of outdoor adventure.  It makes the winter season a lot more fun!

Recap of York Region Bike Month 2014

What began in Toronto as a Bike to Work Day celebration in 1989 has evolved to become one of the largest events of its kind in Canada and is now coordinated by Cycle Toronto. Bike Month brings together families, artists, commuters and community groups to promote cycling at hundreds of events all month long.

BikeMonth 2014 is supported across The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area by Metrolinx and locally by The City of Toronto, The City of Mississauga, The City of Hamilton, and York Region.  I want to recap some of the happenings that took place in York Region.

 

Smart Commute organized Bike to Work Day events on May 24th at Newmarket Riverwalk Commons, Hwy 7/Leslie Street area in Richmond Hill, and York University.  The first two had about 175 and 150 participants respectively.

 

Bike to Work Day - Richmond Hill

Bike to Work Day - York University

 

Bike to Work Day - Newmarket.  Viva/YRT launched Bike N Bus now has bike racks on their entire fleet.

Vaughan Bicycle User Group hosted a "Discover Your Inner Cyclist" event at Sonoma Heights Park in Woodbridge.

Regional Councillor Deb Schulte

MPP (and now Minister of Transportation) Steven Del Duca

Bicycle Valet at Mill Pond Splash in Richmond Hill

Bike Day at Woodbridge Village Farmers Market

Oak Ridges Trail Association hosted the Moraine Relay Adventure.  The 160km route across the Oak Ridges Trail is a non-stop running/cycling/canoe race with 15 participants per team.  There was a record 35 teams this year.

Here's one of my teammates, Paul.

Pedal power smoothies at Nature's Emporium in Maple

 

New this year was a June Bike Challenge organized by Smart Commute Central York, with the grand prize of a $800 gift certificate from Spoke O Motion bike shop.  The more days you cycle, the greater your chances.  307 people participated, with an average of 11 days of cycling.  Fantastic.

 

Cycle on, friends!





Cruising the new Hwy 7 Buffered Bike Lanes in Richmond Hill

They're FAST (faster than car traffic at certain times of the day), COMFORTABLE (even more than I suspected), and part of a larger VISION (across Hwy 7 from Markham to Vaughan, and Yonge Street from Richmond Hill to Newmarket).  The Hwy 7 rapidway from Chalmers to East Beaver Creek opened last summer.  It has been transformed from a car-oriented highway to a complete street: designed for all ages, abilities, and modes of travel.  We'll see the bike lanes extended from Hwy 404 easterly in Markham soon, as they are currently under construction.

"If you want to see the future, go to Richmond Hill and check out Highway 7" ~Honorable Glen Murray, Minister of Transportation, speaking at the Ontario Bike Summit on April 15, 2014.

Here's some video of Hwy 7 from a cyclist's perspective.  At 6:15 and 7:45 of the video, check out an example of the new curb inset left turn queue boxes that were just installed this month.  So new, they don't have bike markings on them yet.  I believe these could be the first of their kind in North America!

Love your commute

On Fridays through the summer, I often cycled the 70 km roundtrip from my home in Maple to work in East Gwillimbury.  Though it was a long distance, it was an invigorating start to my day and I always felt great after doing it.  It improves my fitness, saves me money, and is a thrill.  I would have biked to work more often if it not for family commitments and the extra time it required.  It takes me about an hour and twenty minutes each way (which is about double the 40 minutes it takes to drive).

Boulevard path on Vandorf Sideroad east of Bayview

I tried different routes, and what I found was that most roads were more bike-friendly than I thought, with paved shoulders and only a little traffic.  I eventually settled on the route shown in black (north on Keele Street, east on 15th Sideroad / Bloomington, north on Yonge Street, east on Industrial Parkway/Vandorf Sideroad, and north on Woodbine).  One of the biggest route determining factors was avoiding the hills.  There are some thigh-burning climbs!  19th Sideroad between Keele and Bathurst, and St. John's Sideroad between Yonge and Bathurst come to mind.

Try it.  Bike to work.  Dust of that Schwinn and hit the ground pedaling.  You'll use all of your senses.  You'll notice things, like the smell of Fall, the birds chirping, the wind in your face, the swoop of each turn.  You'll feel alive, and it's wonderful.

Paved shoulder on Keele Street

Boulevard path on Bloomington

Crossing Hwy 404 on St. John's Sideroad

Crossing Hwy 404 on St. John's Sideroad

Bike lane on Keele Street at McNaughton

Beautiful vistas

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