Ode to Toronto (Comments: 2)

2 comments to “Ode to Toronto”

Gary, January 7th, 2008 at 12:37 pm:

• It’s good to hear that Toronto is such a cycling friendly city. Hopefully Rochester and other U.S. cities can follow suit. I know I’d like to see Cleveland become more cyclist & bike commuter friendly.

Jack, January 8th, 2008 at 12:18 am:

• The big T.O. is indeed a bike capital and destination. I’ve cycled there extensively, from the Harbour area trail system and the connected pathways thru the port lands, to marvelous Queen St. W, College, W. Bloor and the Annex, gay mecca Church St., etc., etc., plus trips (several solo and once with my son) from Rochester to Toronto along the Lake Ontario shore via Niagara Falls/Lewiston, the Niagara Peninsula wine country, Burlington ON, Oakville, etc. As I name these places, I start feeling nostalgic, because it’s been too long since I was up there! (As a native of Niagara Falls, I always have felt the cultural pull of Toronto – as a kid, I listened to T.O. radio day and night.) If you haven’t tasted the city’s biking delights, get yourself up there asap. And if you want a real pleasure, try Montreal, as well – starting next June with the annual Tour de l’ile, one of the world’s premier bike rallies (no exaggeration), with 40,000-45,000 people riding a dedicated ca.-70km route and making the Bicycle Culture a rolling reality. (The tour is also an affirmation of Francophone culture and is a must-do on the basis alone.) But as you do these things, don’t forget what we’ve got here in Rochester, which is substantial, even by Toronto standards, and which we’ve got to build upon with due speed and energy.