bike tour

Charlie's Freewheels (CFW), a non-profit that provides bike skills workshops to youth, is hosting a bike tour through Regent Park, where many of the participants live. According to CFW,

Youth tenants of Regent Park who are participants of Charlie’s Freewheels will lead Torontonians in a bicycle tour of their community, sharing their stories and experience of the neighbourhood. The ride, which will wind through Regent and surrounding areas, will begin at the centre of Allan Gardens and close with a BBQ and Q and A with the youth.

The ride starts at Allen Gardens at 3pm (east side of the Greenhouse - map).

CityTV covered CFW, and Charlie Prinsep, the man for whom the organization is called:

Prinsep was just 23-years-old when his ambitious and free-spirited life came to a tragic end while in the midst of a summer-long cycling journey from Vancouver to Toronto. He meticulously planned and documented his experiences on his blog 'The Double Cross' and geo-tagged his locations along the way.

Fueled by roadside strawberries and burgers, Charlie rode almost 2,000km in the first few weeks of his odyssey, which was scheduled to conclude at the end of August, after which he would head to France to earn his Master's in urban planning.

If only I will age quite as gracefully. At about kilometre 60 into the 100 km "Amazing Toronto Bike Tour" an older gentleman on his Canadian Tire road bike tells me that only last year he was hospital-bound with a broken hip from a cycling accident. And now he's biking 100 km in one day. Amazing.

Last Sunday I hosted the second 100 km ride, the "Amazing Toronto Bike Tour" (photos). We had about 25 people of various levels of ability. I was surprised that most of the participants were willing to tackle the daunting 100 km, and quite a few either biked the 100 km, or biked a lot more than what they were normally used to.

I commute a lot by bike but rarely do I bike that much in one day. It was a good way to work off some winter fat since it's so hard to take long bike rides in the frigid weather. I'm just lucky that I started commuting to Mississauga so I had some training coming into the ride.

Amazing Toronto Bike Tour

It's only a few hours away. I've got some guides and I'm going to be printing off some more because I found out that it appeared in the Saturday's Globe and Mail! Who knows how many will show up! Could be 10 or 100.

You can now download the turn booklet (attached to this blog), and do the route whenever you want. It goes into the details of distances and turns.

If you are planning to show up. Come at 9am. We'll be leaving soon after. Make sure you show up prepared, bring:

The ride will be long but it won't be too fast or strenuous. I want people to enjoy themselves. Plus there are options for people who can only do part of the tour. And if you get tired you can always take your bike on the bus, subway or streetcar on weekends.

Read the full event details.