Been reading lots on here and it’s my first post.
Does anyone from Toronto know of some good rides to go on? I live downtown so I’ll usually go along lakeshore and weave my way to Oakville but traffic on the way back is always brutal in the mornings.
I wouldn’t mind driving a little North of the city if there are some good spots to do 50km + rides with relatively little traffic.
any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Donut ride can be a great ride. Can also be a little crazy. Definitely worth checking out.
http://www.donutride-toronto.ca
I live in Woodbridge and there are lots great roads to the North West of us
I’ve discovered over the past 2-3 seasons that the good riding is out of the city. There are some good routes in the city as well but nothing like the surrounding areas. Here are the suggestions I’ll make
Oakville Go Station - This is great for weekend rides and it offers a fast and mostly flat terrain. I depart from Oakville Go and head up 6th Line and then I do a circuit of 45km 2-4x depending on the demands of the day. Check out this link for the course details: OAKVILLE GO ROUTE
Lemonville Loop - This one is up in the north part of the city just beyond Markham. It’s a rolling 50km circuit with lots of quite roads and good amount of cycle traffic. I usually park at the Canadian Tire at Major Mackenzie and 404. Check out this link for the course details: LEMONVILLE LOOP
**Escarpment Country **(aka Killer Hiller Milton) - This is the toughest of the routes as I’ve worked in some serious climbing on steep gradients. This one you can get on the Go Train on the weekends and do a solid 80KM of riding or double up for a tough 160km century ride. Check out this link for the course details: KILLER HILLER MILTON
Lakeshore Loop - This one is for those days where you just have to get in a good ride and then get home. It’s anchored around the same area you mentioned (Lakeshore BLVD W) but with the fast 20KM loop you can push yourself for faster times each time around. Check out this link for the course details: LAKESHORE LOOP
Clarkson Go Out & Back - Here is the last one I ride regularly. This is the one I usually use my TT bike on as it’s fast, flat, and lots of bike lane along this route. It also allows to stop into many bike shops if that suites you. Wheels of Oakville, Gears and Racer Sportif are all within arm-shot of the route. Check out this link for the course details: CLARKSON GO
Hope this helps you out! If you’re interested in joining an informal group in the Spring>Fall feel free to reach out and I’d be happy to give you some details. Most of my routes revolve around the Go Train as I’m without a vehicle but others in the group do regularly offer rides.
Awesome stuff. I’ll check out those five suggestions and will check back in with you in the spring for the group rides.
Many thanks
Ride up Warden Ave to Lake Simcoe and back. Start at Angus Glen Community Centre.
Drive up the DVP and 404 to Elgin Mills, park in a far-away corner of the home depot lot at Elgin Mills and Leslie, and then head north and east up to the bakery at Goodwood. Have a snack and a coffee, come back by different roads. A straight out and back is 55 km - add distance as desired!
I’ve done a couple of the rides that Chris suggested. They’re pretty solid routes but more if you’re looking for weekday group rides I’d recommend Morning Glory. They have a couple routes around the city. It gets a bit boring, but I’m fortunate enough to live midtown so I can ride both in Leaside and High Park. My personal favourite is the Ellis Park loop (https://www.strava.com/segments/7342279?filter=overall) but Edenbridge (https://www.strava.com/segments/1512796?filter=overall) and Bridle (https://www.strava.com/segments/4266918?filter=overall) are ok too. Typically we/I go there and drill it for 4-5 laps which usually ends up being 40-55km from my apartment but YMMV.
Weekends we usually ride up Leslie out to Markham and do this loop https://www.strava.com/segments/1231042?filter=overall.
I’m not sure I’d recommend the Donut. I’ve personally never done it but the most common words I’ve heard used to describe it is “complete gongshow”. I have an interest in self preservation so I avoid it, but I’d be pretty surprised if its much/any harder than the Morning Glory weekend A group, but if anyone has experience with both and can confirm otherwise then feel free.
hey this is really great info but i can’t see the links … it seems like there is some privacy setting in maymyride … can you change it? it would be great if we could all see those routes.
I drive up to 16th and Warden, park Mt car at Coffee Time, then there is a couple of routes I can do from there.
The other place I will go is I will park at 27 just south of hwy 9, Tim Horton ’ s parking lot, and ride some of the roads towards Bolton. You get some amazing rolling hills on that circuit
this is all great stuff. Much appreciated.
I’ve ran the High Park/Ellis loop a number of times. It’s a pretty quiet one with a good hill for repeats.
Thanks for all the input
Hey I just changed my settings. All routes should be public now. Sorry about that guys/girls! I only use that to map them before I download the courses to my Garmin. Always something to learn!!
Enjoy and let me know if the links still aren’t working.
Hey I just changed my settings. All routes should be public now. Sorry about that guys/girls! I only use that to map them before I download the courses to my Garmin. Always something to learn!!
Enjoy and let me know if the links still aren’t working.
Thanks Chris
Drive up the DVP and 404 to Elgin Mills, park in a far-away corner of the home depot lot at Elgin Mills and Leslie, and then head north and east up to the bakery at Goodwood. Have a snack and a coffee, come back by different roads. A straight out and back is 55 km - add distance as desired!
There’s a 40k loop that you can do from this bakery that only has 5 turns and 6-7 stop signs. It’s rolling hills, I did all my outdoor rides for Whistler there. Head north on Concession 3 to Ashworth. Turn right on Ashworth (head east) to Concession 4. Turn left on Concession 4 (north) to Zephyr Road. U turn at Zephyr Road (south) to Wagg Road. Turn right onto Wagg (west) to Concession 3. Then either turn left at Concession 3 to head back to the bakery (about 1k south) or turn right to do another loop.
Just north of the bakery there is a school where I’ve parked, and seen other cyclists do the same. And definitely get a snack at the bakery, I recommend the butter tarts.
There is a dead straight section of Kennedy Road that starts at Mt Albert and the first stop sign is 10K at Ravenshoe. If you are prepping for a Sprint or Olympic it’s perfect. (for IM it might get a little boring). One of the bike groups has marked the start line. I used it for timed practices before Chicago.
Welcome to the forum.
When I first got into cycling and triathlons in the early 1980’s I lived in the Yonge & Eglington area. At that time there were a couple of downtown loops I would do if pressed for time. For longer rides, I know it;s hard to believe now, but the city more or less ended at Steeles Ave. North of Steeles on most of the main roads, with the exception of Yonge St., it was farmer’s fields! That was only 15 minutes away from where I lived. That’s DEFINITELY not the case now.
There are some good choices and tips on here already. Two great reasorces for you would be:
The Morning Glory Cycling Club - http://www.mgridetoronto.com/ at over 800 members it is the largest cycling club in Canada! They have riders of all levels, from beginners right on up to National Masters Champions, and MANY triathletes.
The Toronto Triathlon Club - http://www.torontotriathlonclub.org/ Largest triathlon club in Canada, with many living and training downtown.
If you like country riding, as some others have suggested you’ll need to drive out of the city and park somewhere and ride.
I live in caledon. About 30-40mins from downtown - clear traffic days. Prime riding roads. We actually have some good climbs too. Roads are smooth. Look into it. I often run into cycling and tri clubs training. Look up forks of the credit …nice scenery.
I live in caledon. About 30-40mins from downtown - clear traffic days. Prime riding roads. We actually have some good climbs too. Roads are smooth. Look into it. I often run into cycling and tri clubs training. Look up forks of the credit …nice scenery.
If you live on the suburban fringe of the GTA, in most directions you have reasonably good access to great cycling. I live in Aurora, and within 10 - 15 minutes of riding I can get to reasonably to very quiet roads for some great riding.
Now, because of housing costs in Toronto proper, areas like Aurora have literally exploded in growth recently. Sadly, the sprawl just keeps going on and on and on. There was talk starting up 15 years ago that we needed to put a stop to this, but like with most things, the $$ wins out over commonsense and what truly is the right thing to do.
I live in caledon. About 30-40mins from downtown - clear traffic days. Prime riding roads. We actually have some good climbs too. Roads are smooth. Look into it. I often run into cycling and tri clubs training. Look up forks of the credit …nice scenery.
This is one of my favourite areas to ride. I live in downtown Toronto and the group I ride with does a ride out there – the Forks, Terra Cotta, nice little coffee stop in Belfountain. From where I live it’s about 150k in the end, about half of which is getting out of the city and coming back in. But the half that’s in the country is nice.
Lots of great country roads and hills north of Oakville/Burlington. The Milton velodrome is a good central spot with plenty of country roads and hills nearby (including the Milton Tri course). If you just want to avoid the traffic on the way home you can take a go-train from Oakvile/Bronte/Appleby or Milton
Also during the summer there’s the Niagara falls go-train. You could ride out to the falls and take the train home. I’ve ridden out to Sherkston shores from Oakville a few times and its a nice ride.