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!
The Regional Municipality of York invites you to enter the first ever cycling photo contest. Share your favourite cycling snapshots highlighting York Region’s natural beauty, diversity, infrastructure and many tourist attractions.
We are looking for cycling related photos that include you and your bike in varied settings:
Cycling with friends and family
Cycling clubs
On-road bike lanes and off-road paths
Rural and urban scenes
Places to visit
Upload your best photos of cycling in York Region for a chance to WIN a bike shop gift card and have your photo featured in the 2017 York Region Cycling Calendar.
The climb north or south on Weston Road
to Strawberry Hill Trail. A beautiful view of Toronto from the top of the Moraine.
Nashville Rdup to Islington into Kleinburg.
Kettleby climbing out of the village to Keele Street
Lake Wilcox
Park in Richmond Hill. There is a dedicated path going around the one end of
the lake. It is multi-use, but it is free of cars and quite pretty.
Ninth Line and
Lakeshore Road around Musselman's Lake.
The York Region Cycling Tour Map (New in 2016) provides ideas for exploring York Region by bike, from ten tour routes to mountain biking, BMX and family cycling options.
I intend on biking all ten routes this year, and decided to start with the 25 km Markham Town and Trail.
Start your ride amidst the exotic sights, sounds and aromas of Pacific Mall, the largest Chinese indoor mall in North America. Nearby is the gorgeous and quaint village of Unionville. At the eastern end of the loop is the Milne Dam Conservation Park. The water dam and mill attracted mass settlement creating the Village (now City) of Markham. This stretch of lush parkland along the Rouge River Valley offers great migratory bird watching. Or if BMX or MTB riding excites you, take a short detour to Joyride 150, Canada's first indoor bike park.
Ride Rating: Recreational cyclist – mix of trails and quiet streets with mixed traffic on a few busier streets (Family/leisure option – ride the Rouge Valley Trail from Main Street Unionville (Victoria Street) to Milne Dam Conservation Area)
Approaching Markham Centre, Birchmount at Entreprise Dr
Markham PanAm Centre (site of badminton, table tennis, water polo)
Main Street Unionville
Rouge Valley Trail
New trail crossing at McCowan to Milne Dam Conservation Park
Milne Dam Conservation Area
Main Street Markham
Carlton St
Toogood Pond
Village Parkway
Pacific Mall
It was a pleasant ride with a good variety to see along trail and streets. Could use some better wayfinding along the trail sections. I need to go back and spend more time along those Main Streets to sample some culinary treats!
On May 4th, 2016, about 100 high school students, teachers, and decision-makers came together at the Markham Pan Am Centre for the first York Region Youth Bike Summit to talk about the future of cycling. The theme was "your vision, your future". Justin Jones from the Share the Road Cycling Coalition opened the day by challenging participants to make a difference in their school and community.
Participants were asked....
The Environmental Club at St. Robert CHS were won the cycling video contest for this submission:
The following were recognized for their contributions to cycling in York Region
Cycling Leader Award - Nelson Mahmoudi, Newmarket High School
Cycling Group Award - York Mountain Biking Association
Bike-friendly High School - St. Robert Catholic High School
Olympian Isabelle Turcotte Baird gave an inspirational talk about the power of goal setting and perseverance.
Several interactive workshops were held throughout the day
School Bike Clubs and More
Design Your Dream Street
Advocacy 101
Cycling Jeopardy
Cycling Skills Training
Exhibitors
Rock the Bike
York Region Public Health
York Region Transit / Viva
Real Deal Racing
York Mountain Biking Association
Summit Cycle Bike Shop
For me, the Youth Bike Summit was a chance to hear perspectives from high school students. It was refreshing to meet teens interested in building bike racks at their school, or starting a bike club, or asking for protected bike lanes on Highway 7. They get that cycling can be transformational! I left the conference with a renewed sense of optimism that this generation of youth will help to shape a brighter future.
