With a new baby in the house, I’m trying to avoid my usual long ride routine of driving 30-45min outside of town, parking, then riding, then returning home. I’d rather use that 1-1.5h driving time as riding time. Problem is, it takes ~1h of riding in any direction to get to decent, quiet roads from home (Mt. Pl & Davisville).
So - any suggestions on good routes starting from mid-town? I believe the donut ride goes straight up Bayview, which isn’t too bad. I’ve also gone east at Bayview and John past Markham to the Durham line, which was pretty good, too. Other thoughts? I’d love to go west or northwest to get to some hills (e.g. Bolton), but not sure of the best, quiet way to go.
I am in the same boat (Mt. Pleasant & Eglinton)… it really is a cycling wasteland out there. The only decent thing to do is start at Sunnybrook, do some hills, and then down the Don Valley trail to lakeshore.
“I believe the donut ride goes straight up Bayview,”
Anybody know what/where the Donut Ride is all about? I’ve heard it starts at Eglington/Laird area which is exactly where I used to live when I was a chiropractic student many years ago. I don’t remember this ride going on back then. Where do they ride to? Who/how many show up?
That is my routine during the week. When I’ve got ~90min or less, it’s the mountain bike with slicks. Great for a quick ride and the weight of the bike and the hills are great for strength riding. I’d rather get some real distance on the weekends, though.
I’ve never done the ride, but here’s the deal, as far as I know: Every Sat and Sun, all year, roadies(and brave triathletes, sans aerobars) gather at the Great Canadian Bagel at Laird/Eglinton at 9am. They roll comfortably up Bayview (ignoring all traffic signals, and picking up cyclists along the way), then somewhere north of Major Mac, some gun goes off and it’s a total hammerfest to the donut shop at Yonge and King Road (I think). I’m not sure of the exact route up there, but they do a loop, then head back to the city.
Other Toronto folks may know better than me, though.
Nope, you’ve got it exactly. Key word there is “sans aerobars”. You might get away with shorties, but definitely leave the cowhorns and bar end shifter machines at home.
Regarding riding routes, I used to live in Yonge/Davisville area, and it is really difficult to get a good ride in on a road bike. You could hit some limited trails in the Don Valley on a mountain bike, but even that isn’t great.
You can do some hill repeats on Bayview down into the valley on about a 2k loop, but that’s about it in town. I moved north of the city last year, and will never, ever go back.
I’ve never done the ride, but here’s the deal, as far as I know: Every Sat and Sun, all year, roadies(and brave triathletes, sans aerobars) gather at the Great Canadian Bagel at Laird/Eglinton at 9am. They roll comfortably up Bayview (ignoring all traffic signals, and picking up cyclists along the way), then somewhere north of Major Mac, some gun goes off and it’s a total hammerfest to the donut shop at Yonge and King Road (I think). I’m not sure of the exact route up there, but they do a loop, then head back to the city.
Other Toronto folks may know better than me, though.
I hear you. I’ve heard there are a couple of decent loops in town: (1) Unwin/Docks loop, ~5k; and (2) Bayview south to Rosedale Valley road, up through Rosedale to Mt. Pleasant, up Mt Pl to Moore, east on Moore to Bayview (I think ~10k and some good hills). Not fun with traffic, though.
I’d love to live north, but it’s hard to justify the commute 5/7 days for 2 days of riding (and then only a few months of the year).
I think I’ll go up Bayview, across King Road to Weston, then up to Schomberg or so…
Well, at some point you decide if you’re a condo person, or a house person. I couldn’t afford a house anywhere south of Steeles, so the great biking north of the city is a happy byproduct.
If you see a big guy sweating his way up the Weston Wall tomorrow morning, that’d be me.
I’d love to live north, but it’s hard to justify the commute 5/7 days for 2 days of riding (and then only a few months of the year).
I think I’ll go up Bayview, across King Road to Weston, then up to Schomberg or so…
I missed you on Weston on Saturday. I did the following route, which was great:
Bayview north to Stouffville; West on stouffville to Yonge; North to King road; West on King to Keele; North on Keele, west through Kingscross estates to Jane; North on Jane to 16th sideroad; West on 16th to Weston; North on Weston to Aurora Rd; West through Pottageville and Schomberg; West on 19th SR to 11th Conc; South to Castlederg; West on Castlederg to Innis Lake Rd (lots of Shepley athletes training here!); North to Old Church Rd through Caledon East; North on Mountainview to The Grange; West on the Grange to McLaughlin; South to Old BAse Line; West to Mississauga Rd and South via Terra Cotta and Heritage Rd. (Point to point ride, where I met the wife and baby, who drove to a friend’s place.) Lots of rolling climbs and some decent wind in parts. Highly recommended.
East on Commissioners to South on Leslie to West on Unwin to North on Cherry. You’ll find legitimate cyclists there during the week doing loops (I think it’s ~5k). Be careful of the road surface, though, it is pretty rough in parts.
