Sharing my cycling experiences north of Toronto (in York Region and beyond, aka the 905), from bike commuting, to family leisure rides, to road touring, to mountain biking, and everything in between. Opinions are my own. Ride on!
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?!
On the morning of Saturday, May 2nd, I did my first ride with the Toronto Bicycling Network. It was one of their morning cruiser rides, this one through "Ontario's vegetable patch", the agricultural and wetland area known as Holland Marsh. I was late for the start, but did manage to catch up to some TBN members during the 75 km ride. Starting at King City Arena, I headed north on Keele along rolling hills and scenic countryside. North of Highway 9, I entered the Holland Marsh area where there were endless farms with rich organic soil. One of the first attractions I came across was Holland Marsh Wineries. If I had more time, I would have stopped. I'll have to come back! The sights and smells of the Marsh gave me a deeper connection to where my food comes from, and it seemed fitting to experience it by bike.
King Road
Some roadside chickens
Canal Road. There was a race on the canal called the Marsh Mash, and it was a treat to watch over a hundred people in kayaks, canoes, and standup paddleboards go by me while I rode alongside the canal.
Farmers market and garden centre along Hwy 9, east of Rupke Road.
Historic Plaque of Toronto Carrying Place
Here's the route. Holland Marsh is really a unique and fascinating place, and very bike-friendly!
Vaughan Mills Mall, located in Vaughan at Highway 400 and Rutherford Road, is a shopping and entertainment complex of colossal proportions. With over 1.2 million square feet (110,000 m²) of retail space, all on a single floor, it is the 11th largest mall in Canada and 6th largest in the GTA.
It's often a stressful drive to get there, particulary during the evening rush or on weekends. This is the result of car-centric planning, which has consequently made every other mode seem difficult and uninviting.
I rode my bike there last week. My route was mostly on minor roads (except a short segment on Jane on the sidewalk), it was quick (quicker than a car during rush hour), and relatively easy. The most challenging part of the ride was crossing the 4-lane ring road that surrounds Vaughan Mills. The intersection circled in red below is a controlled by stop signs, which ends up being really unconfortable to cross by bike or two feet. It's not often that you see such a big intersection controlled by stop signs. The crosswalk doesn't even have curb cuts.
The second issue I have is with the bike parking. Their website clearly says 16 bike racks at each main entrance (in addition to 6300 free parking spaces for cars). I biked around the mall and found a total of 6 bike parking spots for the entire mall (2 spots at entrance #2, and 4 spots at entrance #4). Entrances #1, 3, 5, and 6 had no bike parking, unless you count the light poles.
For what is such a significant urban centre, and traffic generator, I expected better.
Entry 1
Entry 3
I didn't see any bike parking at the Transit terminal at Vaughan Mills either.
One ring and post at Entry 2
Two ring and posts at Entry 4
Here's my bike route from Vaughan City Hall to Vaughan Mills Mall.
If you ask most people, they'd think it is crazy to ride your bike to Vaughan Mills. I would say they are crazy not to. Have you seen the traffic on Rutherford Road at 5pm? You can by-pass that traffic on a bike, and arrive with a smile on your face.
Today was a glorious day for riding, so I took my bike to the grocery store to pick up a couple of items, instead of driving. Here's the entrance to Fortinos in Maple. It does have a bike rack (arrow on the left), but it's the bad bike parking type.
The middle arrow points to a bike leaning against some grocery carts, and the right arrow points to a bike (mine) locked to a sign. I've opted not to use the wheelbender bike rack on the left. See next photo.
One gentle push and these tire rims are a mangled mess! The owner of the blue bike on the right chose to lay theirs down to avoid the risk of damage. Also note that the rack is too close to the wall, so bikes can only be parked from one side.
Businesses need some guidelines on what bike parking is acceptable and not. People in Vaughan do bike places. Quality bike parking is a small measure, but it's good for business and sends the message that "we care about cyclists and we care about our City".
The festivities included a energy conservation expo.
Here's the Vaughan BUG table. The group encourage residents to give cycling a try for commuting and recreation.
People were asked to fill in the blank. "My Bike is My..." escape; fresh air; keeping fit; fun, etc. A bike is many different things to many people, and all of it makes life better.
The 7 km bike ride offered a the opportunity for a group ride through the community, to socialize with other cyclists, and communicate that people in Vaughan do cycle. It showed that a night ride in March can be quite enjoyable, and is very commonplace in many cities. Cycling can be a year-round activity, even in our climate.
Here's the route, which started at Vaughan City Hall, went south on Peter Rupert (edge lines added in Fall 2014), west on Rutherford (paved shoulders), and north on a "Block 18" multi-use trail from Rutherford to Lealands Rd.
Here's the route from a cyclist's perspective... part 1 is from Vaughan City Hall, to Peter Rupert & Rutherford.
Here's part 2, from Peter Rupert & Rutherford, north on the trail along the CN/GO train corridor, and through the local neighbourhood back to City Hall.
I hope the ride continues to grow, and that more Vaughan residents discover that cycling is a fun, easy, healthy, inexpensive way to get around and reduce their environmental footprint.
Last week, I biked the new multi-use path on Warden Avenue from Major Mackenzie to 16th Avenue in Markham, about 2km in length. It's a 3m wide concrete path plus a 1m wide strip between the path and the curb, providing ample space in the boulevard. Here's a project news release.
There's currently no signage or pavement markings indicating that cyclists are welcome in the boulevard here. It looks like a wide sidewalk, particularly since it is concrete.
There's a debate in Markham about whether asphalt or concrete is a better surface for cycletracks and multi-use paths. I rode the asphalt path on Major Mackenzie from Angus Glen Community Centre, and then connected to the concrete MUP on Warden. I found the asphalt had a smoother ride (no joints to ride over). The condition of the asphalt path has held up nicely since it was build a few years ago, though concrete is expected to last longer.
Here's a short video showing segments of both the asphalt (Major Mackenzie) and concrete (Warden). Sorry it's a bit shakey, my helmet cam wasn't on tight enough. 0 - 1:10 is Major Mackenzie, 1:10 - 2:08 is Warden.
My verdict: I don't think concrete is worth the extra cost. If it is built properly, an asphalt path will serve the cyclists needs. I'd rather have more kilometres of usable paths. However, time will tell on the full life cycle costs and maintenance requirements. The paths on Warden and Major Mackenzie offer a good opportunity to study how the two different surfaces hold up over time.
I checked out the Toronto Bike Show on March 6, 2015 for a look at all things bicycling. I was curious to see what all the hype was about.
Here are a few of my highlights:
I picked up the new map for the Greenbelt Route launching this summer
I joined the Toronto Bicycle Network, the largest recreational cycling club in the GTA. I look forward to some group rides this season, many through York Region
Got some great cycling resources on the Laurentians and Eastern Townships of Quebec, for when I visit there this summer
Picked up some handy cycling maps from Transportation Options for various municipalities around the GTA and beyond, as well as the Cycling in Ontario 2015 publication
Grabbed some reading material: Pedal magazine, Get Out there Magazing, Canadian Cyclist magazine
Vaughan Mills Mall, located in Vaughan at Highway 400 and Rutherford Road, is a shopping and entertainment complex of colossal proportions. With over 1.2 million square feet (110,000 m²) of retail space, all on a single floor, it is the 11th largest mall in Canada and 6th largest in the GTA.
The second issue I have is with the bike parking. Their website clearly says 16 bike racks at each main entrance (in addition to 6300 free parking spaces for cars). I biked around the mall and found a total of 6 bike parking spots for the entire mall (2 spots at entrance #2, and 4 spots at entrance #4). Entrances #1, 3, 5, and 6 had no bike parking, unless you count the light poles. 
