Cyclist Profile - Jeff (Tutor)


Name / Occupation / Age
Jeff Stanford/Clerk-Messenger and Tutor/54

What do you use your bike for?

Recreation/Exercise/Running errands

How often do you ride?
On weekends during good weather I’m on and off the bike all day. Not much during the week.

How long have you been commuting by bicycle and what made you decide to do it?
I would say that the main reason I don't commute by bike is because riding in city traffic can be a harrowing experience. In addition, if I have to pick up my daughter from day care, then I'd be riding with her on the back, which is a risk I would never be willing to take. If there were proper bike lanes throughout the city, as is the case in cities like Amsterdam, then I would consider going everywhere by bike, with or without my daughter.

What do you like about biking in Toronto?
And dislike?
I use the bike paths, primarily along the lake and up the Humber. I don’t like biking on city streets. I like the bike trails and have been on most of them across the city. Of course, there should be more of them.

Where is/are your favourite place(s) to bike in Toronto?
The Humber trail is my favourite, from the lake up to Raymore Park. I know it so well it’s like an old friend.

What's your favourite cycling street in Toronto?
My favourite street would have to be a street without cars. There aren’t any.

Scary bike stories?

I don’t ride enough on the streets to have had any life-threatening experiences. Or maybe I’ve just been lucky.

How could the City help you enjoy riding more?

By banning cars from streets.

How did you start biking?

I bought a bike when I was living in Montreal 25 years ago. I wanted to get to know the city. I was hooked from the get-go.

What sort of bike do you ride? A hybrid.
Helmet or no helmet?No helmet.
Bikelane or no bikelane?Either/both.
Anything else? Please feel free to rant and rave!

I love cycling. I never feel any better than when I’m riding. I’ve been taking my three-year-old daughter for rides (in a back-of-the-saddle bucket-seat), which is a particular delight. If the streets were safer, I’d ride more.

tammy : 18 years 1 month ago
Tags: profiles

Cyclist Profile - Shaun (designer)

Name / Occupation / Age

Shaun Moore/ Owner and partner of MADE, retail space dealing exclusively with Canadian designed and produced work. /34

What do you use your bike for?

Almost anything in town that doesn’t require a van. Commute, groceries, hardware, night out etc.

How often do you ride?

Every day (Except in winter or heavy rain. I’m a bit sucky in the cold and can’t be wet at work)

How long have you been commuting by bicycle and what made you decide to do it?

Since 1999, my first summer in Toronto.

Can you give a brief description of your route?

From Cabbagetown straight across Carlton/College , down Manning or through Kensington Market to Dundas. It takes me about 10-15 min.

What's the best thing about commuting by bicycle?
It's so fast! I’m very impatient and can’t stand waiting for the TTC. I can ride to work in less than half the time it takes by TTC.

Any advice for new riders?
Don’t ride on the sidewalk!

What would you say to convince someone who is considering commuting by bicycle to get on board their bike?

You can be totally independent. No TTC hassles, no parking tickets, car insurance or maintenance. Saves so much time and money and keeps you in shape.

What do you like about biking in Toronto?
And dislike?
I love being able to easily zip through side routes and passing through traffic congestion.

Oddly, I love having to search hard to find somewhere to lock up near the Gladstone Hotel in the summer. There are loads of lockups, but the fact that so many people are going by bike makes them scarce. I find that pleasing and encouraging.

I dislike that so many bike lanes are used as loading zones and that the police turn a blind eye. Of course smog days suck too. I dislike that David Miller promised heaps of new bike lanes yet there have been so few come to fruition. Taxis.
Where is/are your favourite place(s) to bike in Toronto?

The Rosedale Ravine in summer. Its several degrees cooler and I feel like I can slow down.Kensington market.

What's your favourite cycling street in Toronto? Least favourite?
I’m a bit of a side street rider. I prefer taking back routes when possible. I really like cutting down from College through Kensington. I try to stay off of much of Bloor street, Bathurst South of Queen, Richmond and Adelaide.

What's your favourite piece of cycling kit/clothing/gadget?
I’m not really an accessories kind of person.

Scary bike stories?

y only real accident was caused by a pedestrian stepping into the street without looking. My handle bar caught in her purse strap and I went over the bars. Hit my chin and head. Luckily I was wearing my helmet which was a rarity at the time. I don’t go without it since. It was a Friday evening of a long weekend and I ended up spending about 8 hours in St. Mike's emergency to get stitches that I needed but had nowhere else to get them. (St. Mikes emergency… Friday night…Long weekend… YIKES!)

How could the City help you enjoy riding more?

More bike lanes, keep cars and loading out of the bike lanes. Stricter enforcement of traffic laws on taxis (did any of these guys ever take a driving test??)

How about some cleaner air too?

How did you start biking?
I grew up in suburban Winnipeg. We had bikes from day one that we would ride in groups around the neighbourhood. Our bikes would come on family camping trips and day trips to the beach. My first two wheeler was flashy gold and super sporty looking (it was the 70’s of course). Stopped cycling for a while as an adult until moving to Toronto and realizing how much more efficient cycling was over driving or transit. Toronto was just a much friendlier cycling city than anywhere else I had lived.

What sort of bike do you ride?
Nishiki Expidition. It is the only bike I’ve owned as an adult. It’s now 12 years old and I replaced a tire for the first time last fall. I need one new brake this summer.

Helmet or no helmet?
Helmet. See scary bike stories above.

Bikelane or no bikelane?
Bikelane please! Its good to have a bit of space.

Anything else? Please feel free to rant and rave!
See David Miller's broken bike lane promises.

Crossposted to Spacing

tammy : 18 years 1 month ago
Tags: profiles

Long stretches of Toronto by bike

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.

The purpose of the Amazing Toronto Bike Tour is to show people that Toronto is accessible by bicycle and that it doesn't take much to bike a good chunk of it. The route has been designed to be almost entirely on trails and residential roads. This means there are a few fancy turns and carrying of bikes, but it makes for a peaceful, beautiful ride. Who knew you could get that in Toronto?

Not everyone might want to do an entire 100 km in one day or ride at a fast pace, so in the future we will likely split the tour into different ability levels, each led by a guide going at a different pace. We'll have the cafe latte group and the hardcore group, and the Goldilocks group (where the pace is just right).

I just see the older gentleman pushing his limits in the hardcore group.

herb : 18 years 1 month ago
Tags: bike tour, suburbs, traffic, trails