More York Region Bike Month highlights

Bike Month 2015 has come and gone, but I had some memorable cycling experiences.  Here are a few more photos from some events in York Region that I participated in.

York Region Pedalpalooza - Tom Taylor Trail in Newmarket

Myles from Spoke O Motion set up some bike demos.  A quality bike makes such a difference in your cycling experience.  I rode my first tandem and fat bike!

Tom from Bike Sports showed off some different types of bikes including an electric bike.  Going faster and further with some power assistance makes me want to use a bike for more trips.  Pat from Smart Commute was there with her new e-bike.

Vaughan Bicycle User Group hosted two rides.  The Napa Valley Bike Lane celebration went from Sonoma Park to McMichael Gallery in Kleinberg.

Hydro Corridor trail south of Sonoma Park

Odette checking the map on the William Granger Greenway

The other Vaughan BUG ride was a Peter Rupert Bike Lane Celebration.  Starting from Walmart at Major Mackenzie / McNaughton, we biked south on Peter Rupert/Confederation to Hwy 7 with a stop for refreshments at McDonald's, and back north on the Bartley Smith Greenway.

I participated in the Toronto Bike Network's Dim Sum Ride.  The ride was led by Fred (who I previously met at Bike to Work Day Newmarket), and had about 10 cyclists.  We started at Finch Subway Station and headed north to Markham for an authentic chinese cuisine near Pacific Mall.

Finch hydro corridor in Toronto

Locking our bikes before lunch

Bike Month York Region had many other events, like bike valets at festivals, charity rides, mountain bike races, and kids bike camps. 

I'm all geared up for more cycling through the summer!

Here's another video to get you inspired to ride your bike.

Winter Bike to Work Day

A couple of weeks ago, I learned about International Bike to Work Day on Feb 13, 2015.  I was up for the challenge and immediately signed up to ride that day.  I've ridden in cold weather before, but only about minus 5C or warmer.  When that morning came, the temperature read -22C (-33C with the windchill), but it was a clear sunny day, and I remained undaunted.  My original plan was to combine biking and transit for the 35 km, but I didn't have that much time to spare, so I threw my bike in the back of my truck, parked about 10 km away from work, and biked the rest of the way.

Here I am riding the Tom Taylor Trail (check out the bare pavement):

I have a few observations from my winter ride:

1. I was quite warm, though my fingers and toes started to get uncomfortable toward the end.  I could have used warmer boots and gloves (mitts) to help with this.
2. My mountain bike took more effort than I expected, particularly up the hills, for several reasons:
- slower bike than I'm used to (thicker tires, no clip-in shoes)
- terrain is a little rough in the winter
- things don't lubricate as well in the cold (e.g. my bike wouldn't shift to low gear for an unknown reason)
3. Newmarket has awesome winter trail maintenance; Aurora does not
4. It was a fun way to start the day and I'd definitely like to do it more often.
5. Most people I talk to think it's crazy to bike in winter.  It's certainly not considered normal in the 905.

I find it interesting to see which cities have high participation in winter bike to work day.  It's an indicator that they have normalized winter cycling.

# of Participants in 2015 Winter Bike to Work Day
York Region - 3 (including me)
Mississauga - 2
Brampton - 2
Hamilton - 13
Toronto - 44
Peterborough - 44
Thunder Bay - 21
Ottawa - 115
Montreal - 292
Winnipeg - 179
Saskatoon - 38
Edmonton - 219
Calgary - 292
Ankorage - 194
Minneapolis - 275
Halifax - 62

2015 Winter Bike to Work Day made headlines in some Canadian cities: Edmonton | Halifax | Winnipeg

I'm hoping that it will catch on here in York Region too.

Testing the Greenbelt Cycling Route

The Waterfront Regeneration Trust has received funding from the Greenbelt Foundation to implement a new cycling route connecting communities throughout the Greenbelt. The project will create a signature provincial cycling route from Northumberland to Niagara (460 km) using existing infrastructure, and is expected to launch in late summer 2015.

I was fortunate to be one of the over 200 people who participated in the Greenbelt Route Mobile Workshops from May 5-10. The Workshops were a great opportunity to hear presentations from visiting and local experts on cycle tourism, cycling infrastructure and services; network with other cycling, tourism, business and Greenbelt leaders; and, most importantly, experience and evaluate the route.

Here are some of the highlights of the 63 km York Region segment of the route from the mobile workshops on May 7 and 8, 2014.

Greenbelt Route Mobile Workshop from Shawn Smith on Vimeo.

Cycling the Nokiidaa Trail - Newmarket Section

Named for an Ojibway term meaning "walking together", the Nokiidaa Trail System follows the Holland River from Aurora to Holland Landing.  The Nokiidaa Trail was initiated in 2000 as a Special Millennium Partnership project connecting the neighbouring municipalities of Aurora, Newmarket, and East Gwillimbury.  With a trail connection in Aurora complete in 2011, there are now over 20 kilometers of continuous trail that link the three municipalities. 

According to the Town of Aurora's website, the vision and foresight for the connection of trails came from Newmarket’s resident Mr. Ernie Crossland, who worked to make the trail a reality and a recreation treasure for the residents of all three Towns.

Earlier this month I cycled the Newmarket section (called the Tom Taylor Trail) with my family.  It was a great ride and I highly recommend checking it out.  Most of Newmarket's section is paved, while Aurora's and East Gwillimbury's are crushed limestone screenings (still very rideable).

Most road crossings go under the road, like this one at Mulock.  The exceptions are at Davis Dr (bridge currently under construction, so there's a detour through the Tannery parking lot), and Water Street in front of Riverwalk Commons, which is a busy unsignalized crossing, so use extra caution.

West side of Fairy Lake.  There are plans to pave it in the future.  The route on the east side of the Lake is already paved.

Newmarket Riverwalk Commons - there's a great farmer's market here on Saturdays and many events throughout the year

We found that the trail had hills that were too steep for my 6 year old, so we put his bike away and pulled our kids on our trail-a-bike and chariot.

I found this trail flyer that covers the entire route:
https://icreate.newmarket.ca/230515_TownOfNewmarket/en/resourcesGeneral/NokiidaaTrailFlyer.pdf