Don't push too hard out there for your ride home today. Your skin may enjoy this warm air, but your lungs will not.

The Ministry of the Environment has issued a Smog Advisory for Toronto and all surrounding regions, along with most of Ontario.

Tomorrow doesn't look like it will be any better.

It doesn't mean you can't ride, but you should definitely take it easy. Here are the official words from the Ministry:

During the smog episode, individuals may experience eye
irritation. Heavy outdoor exercise may cause respiratory
symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath. People
with heart or lung disease including asthma may experience
a worsening of their condition.

The other advice I would give is try to take roads that are low traffic. This helps you avoid the combination of poor air quality and lots of local air pollution from exhaust.

Bike Parking at Leiden University

Things work a little differently in some parts of Europe. The northern parts stand out for their efforts to put a special priority on the bicycle. The photo shown is one of the first things you see when you arrive in the city of Leiden by train.

Here in North America, most cities put little emphasis on bicycle infrastructure beyond a slightly wider right hand lane. Whether that's a good or bad thing is a debate that will continue among certain pockets of cyclists for years to come. At the same time, it's tough to ignore that cities with well designed bicycle-specific infrastructure simply have more cyclists.

An article in the Wall Street Journal looks at examples in Europe and the few examples in the US where cities are making changes to "launch a new attack on car culture". (That expression is used positively, by the way).

Ah, the suburbs. They're often misunderstood as cycling hell. The truth is, it's mostly idyllic. The streets are quiet, as long as you choose the right ones. Parallel parked cars are about as rare as pedestrians. The thing is, there are these short stretches of fire and bubbling lava that you eventually have to cross, known as the 400-series highways.

Yesterday, Andrew, on his Monkey Martian site, covered some of the biggest challenges we face in the suburbs. His advice is worth a read for someone starting out, or even an old pro, especially if you only venture out of the core once in a while. If you haven't read his site before, Andrew is one of the few people in York Region who chose to own a bike instead of a car.

On Expressway crossings:

I find it best to keep my cool, be very aware of where I’m positioned and take the lane where necessary. This isn’t always easy to do. It is sometime difficult to even position yourself out in the lane if the traffic is particularly heavy and fast moving. I use a helmet mounted mirror to look for gaps, and do lots and lots of shoulder checks.

On Trucks:

Olivia Chow's Bike

I just got back from a short trip to Ottawa. My first impressions:

• Not very pedestrian friendly. People don't jaywalk because the motor traffic is quite fast downtown. (I see jaywalking as a sign of how pedestrian-friendly a city is.) There are lots of signs to prevent pedestrians from crossing on one side of intersections, which just wastes time. Very annoying for a downtown Torontonian.
• Lots of bike paths with not so many pedestrians which makes for fast, long-distance cycling.
• On-road bike network is not well-connected.
• Car traffic is fast and the highways dump the cars right into downtown.
• Lots and lots of car parking downtown, including their so-called 'funky' By Ward Market

Despite all the hurraying by Ottawa people of their great bikeway network, my overall impression of sustainable transportation in Ottawa is ho-hum. Their main advantage is that they are still a relatively small city and they had lots of space to throw in some bike paths and busways. If Ottawa was as big as Toronto it would be a horrible place to live.

To get to the point of my title: politicians and planners need to experience what it is like to be a cyclist or a pedestrian. And be active commuters at that, otherwise they don't get it.

While I still have a bit of a bad taste in my mouth over the whole Bikeshare funding debacle last year, I intend to wash it away with juice, cookies and productive conversation at the CBN Townhall. I can't wait to hear what ideas might be in store for this dynamic organization!

As posted by the Community Bicycle Network:

CBN Town Hall Meeting – May 10th, 2007 - 6:30PM
CBN Intersection | 761 Queen Street West

With the unfortunate loss of funding for the popular Bikeshare program, the Community Bicycle Network hopes to modify programming in a way that will be enable us to continue to assist in making cycling accessible to low-income communities and to share our collective resources, while managing to be financially sustainable.

On May 10, 2007 at 6:30pm, CBN will host a Town Hall meeting to discuss the future direction of the organization. Now is your chance to speak your two cents, to participate in the cycling movement which continues to grow as a vibrant part of Toronto life!

Due space constraints please RSVP to: info@communitybicyclenetwork.org

Sorry to tell you after the fact, had you not known, but it felt real nice to ride right into the Direct Energy Center this weekend, get a hand stamp for free admission to the Green Living Show and pull up for a complimentary tune up and valet parking, courtesy of Butterfield & Robinson.

Though a bit out of my league, I was pleased to note that this high end bike tour company must be meeting great success. They had a gorgeously inspiring display, with images of some of the most ultimate bike tour locales in the world. Apparently B&R recruited local mechanics from Dukes and Sporting Life, in order to offer these greatly appreciated Green Living Show basic tune-ups, and they had all kinds of lovely ladies around, smiling and assisting wherever possible. I kinda wish I'd been on that volunteer team. Never mind all the cute bike mechanics to flirt with... they also seemed to have non-stop food, drink and plain old good times! Maybe next year.

3-Cheers to those who made the cycling VIP action happen at the Green Living Show. This kind of recognition only spreads good tidings. It would be nice if cyclists were always treated with such respect; after all, we each represent one less car.

A bunch of cycling bloggers got together on a cold 2007 winter over coffee to discuss how we could work together on a website. The I Bike TO website is a result of that inspiration.

We want it to be an avenue of celebrating cycling in Toronto as well as helping out cyclists to have an enjoyable and safe experience on our roads - no simple task. We will do this by being a hub of information, stories and discussion.

Update: Our launch is tomorrow, May 1st, 2007! Read up, contribute comments, discuss in the forum, and add rides. We'll keep on biking and blogging - bloking, bligging?

Name/age/occupation: Peggy Nash/56/Politician (MP, Parkdale-High Park)

When did you start cycling?

Do you mean to work or in general? I started cycling about 6 years old. My office is only about 15 minutes from my home, so when I can I take my bicycle. I don’t always commute.

I must confess I am more of a fair-weather biker. The reason is I think I probably just haven’t got myself into the year-round gear. Like anything else, if you suit up properly for it, you can deal with the elements.

My husband is year-round commuter by bicycle: all weather, all parts of the city. He is a community legal worker.

What is your favourite route to commute on?

My regular route is Parkside and Keele Street. But, my favourite commute route is Indian road.

Parkside Drive during rush hour is a dangerous place to ride. This is a real shame because it is right beside High Park and it seems to me to be a perfect place for a well-laid-out cycling route. Obviously, there are roads in the park [for cycling] but, for waterfront access I do see cyclists going down Parkside drive.