Now that the police have finally addressed the bike theft epidemic and it’s safe to ride again, enjoy our favourite routes.
Anal Timekeepers
During weekdays, the flat 5 km Tommy Thompson Park at the foot of Leslie (a.k.a. the Leslie Street Spit) is in fact a dump for rubble from construction sites. But on weekends and holidays it’s open to the public. A wide road allows full speed for extended periods. There’s even loop about two-thirds in.
Daredevils
The rail lands northeast of Moore Park Ravine are accessible from Bayview and Nesbitt, beside the tracks. Stay east of the river to find miles of paths, steep drops, and hazards.
Emos and Nature Lovers
Mount Pleasant Cemetery is an urban oasis. Enjoy speed and solitude in carefully disciplined nature, uninterrupted by traffic from Yonge to Bayview with a road beneath Mount Pleasant Avenue. Magnificent gardening and ghoulish tombs provide distraction. And unlike the Belt Line Trail you can access it from, its wide roads aren’t cluttered by graying Forest Hill speedwalkers packing utility belts full of fluorescent fluids and aspirins.
(Correction: There is in fact a 10 kph speed limit posted. Grieving mourners have been knocked over and staff assaulted by speeding “psychlists.” We condemn this behaviour, regret the error and suggest, instead, that you traverse the cemetery slowly. Instead, use the nearby Sunnybrook Park for speed, entering behind the hospital.)
Hill Speedfreaks
Mud Creek is accessible from Moore Avenue near the south exit of Mount Pleasant Cemetery. This long, steady hill zooms beneath Chorley Park, past the Brickworks and into the Don Valley. Go at night for heart-pounding thrills.
And at the foot of Brimley, the hill entering Bluffer’s Park guarantees a monster rush. You may not think you’re in the Pyrenées, but momentarily you’ll forget you’re in Scarborough.
(Photo courtesy of criana on Flickr)
