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Riding and living in Toronto

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I used to live in Front and Spadina for a coupe years and I actually quiet enjoyed it.

When bored I could go for a quick ride to my favorite park
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Or go to L&L for a coffee, there is always someone on a bike to chat with.
Or take a quick ride to the DVP and do some ramps

Or when need it to go for a long ride just get the hell out down to PA.

Plus it snows a lot less and allowed me to extend my ride season even if it was for short rides to get the winter blues out.
 
ReSTored said:
This is a good option, but from Mississauga to border and then through NF or Buffalo to good roads your're looking at about 2.5 - 3 hours minimum one way. Don't want to go to the US? Then you have a 1.5 to 2 hour ride to better roads West or North of Toronto or a 2 - 3 hour ride to Kawarthas / Haliburton where there are some good roads. Face it, if you live in or near the GTA you're screwed. Some seasons I just leave the bike at the cottage and avoid all GTA type traffic. When I'm there, I'm 30m to the 507 area and have several 3 - 4 hour loops that always put a smile on my face.
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BBQ run and sleep over at your place ...lol
 
ZX600 said:
Plus it snows a lot less and allowed me to extend my ride season even if it was for short rides to get the winter blues out.
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I miss living so close to the lake downtown - it seemed like true winter was everywhere else but along the lake.
 
So it's been awhile since I started this thread and asked my questions about riding downtown.

Since then I got in my very first motorcycle accident, and more close calls then I can count.

I've been living in the area of Queen/Gladstone since then....and I just recently moved to North York ish area (401/Weston area).

Yeah, I'm not out of the traffic, but I'm away from downtown and all the streetcars and insane peds, and cyclists.

To answer my original post, from future self to past self, I will say that moving downtown was the worst thing that ever happened to my motorcycling experience/hobby/season...whatever you wanna call it.

Riding is really important to me and moving downtown turned it into a chore, and after the accident it turned it into a nerve-racking chore.

Live and learn I guess
 
ZX600 said:
I used to live in Front and Spadina for a coupe years and I actually quiet enjoyed it.

When bored I could go for a quick ride to my favorite park
12687949_10153122827816191_5785273054873191199_n.jpg


Or go to L&L for a coffee, there is always someone on a bike to chat with.
Or take a quick ride to the DVP and do some ramps

Or when need it to go for a long ride just get the hell out down to PA.

Plus it snows a lot less and allowed me to extend my ride season even if it was for short rides to get the winter blues out.
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shanekingsley said:
I miss living so close to the lake downtown - it seemed like true winter was everywhere else but along the lake.
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Why'd you two move out? I really can't see myself living in the burbs or the country with this stupid traffic. (Plus the wife and I's jobs don't really exist outside of large urban centres.)
 
Old Suzy said:
The key to riding in Toronto, Don't!
Cross the border to PA, West Virginia or North Carolina. Two states down, don't have to worry about speeding tickets being reported to your Canadian Insurance Company. Great roads with lots of twists, turns and elevation changes. Generally a population that wants motorcyclists as they bring money into their communities. Drivers of cages that are familiar with motorcycles.
I hate riding in Toronto. Spend my weekends across the border and do some serious riding.
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So much this^

riding is a leisure activity, if i dont enjoy driving in toronto, why on earth would i go there on my bike?
 
Matt Rain said:
Why'd you two move out? I really can't see myself living in the burbs or the country with this stupid traffic. (Plus the wife and I's jobs don't really exist outside of large urban centres.)
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cuz lung cancer sucks
cuz they don't want to be shredded by falling glass :(
cuz it's constant construction

just my guess:D
 
Matt Rain said:
Why'd you two move out? I really can't see myself living in the burbs or the country with this stupid traffic. (Plus the wife and I's jobs don't really exist outside of large urban centres.)
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We liked many things about living in a condo, but there were some things we also wanted that a condo couldn't give us. I wanted a garage to keep my bike, a front and back yard to grow lots of plants, and a basement to blast my music. She is an osteopath and massage therapist, so we also wanted to be able to set up a place where she could see clients in the house a few days a week. She wanted to be closer to her Mom (10 minutes away) and her work clinic (5 minutes away), because the winter commute sucks and the traffic gets worse each year. Even though I work in the city, since I commute by bike and start and finish work every early, I don't suffer traffic too much.

In 2013, we owned 2 condos and I wanted to buy a house because the house market was appreciating faster than the condo market which is still pretty saturated. So we sold one condo to buy the house and currently rent out the other. In the 3yrs we have owned our house, it seems like it's appreciated by about 30%, and our remaining condo has gained almost no appreciation. Closer to retirement, we will sell the house and probably move back downtown to a condo. We loved living by the lake, eating at so many interesting places and did really like having an awesome gym in the building, a games room, and most importantly - the ability to just lock the door and leave on short notice for long periods of time. We like to travel and loved living downtown, so I imagine we will be back in 10-20 years. I don't miss it because I work downtown every day. She misses it a lot.

Make no mistake, the burbs sucks on many levels, but it's also great on many other levels. I guess it's about what is important to you at a particular point in your life.
 
shanekingsley said:
We liked many things about living in a condo, but there were some things we also wanted that a condo couldn't give us. I wanted a garage to keep my bike, a front and back yard to grow lots of plants, and a basement to blast my music. She is an osteopath and massage therapist, so we also wanted to be able to set up a place where she could see clients in the house a few days a week. She wanted to be closer to her Mom (10 minutes away) and her work clinic (5 minutes away), because the winter commute sucks and the traffic gets worse each year. Even though I work in the city, since I commute by bike and start and finish work every early, I don't suffer traffic too much.

In 2013, we owned 2 condos and I wanted to buy a house because the house market was appreciating faster than the condo market which is still pretty saturated. So we sold one condo to buy the house and currently rent out the other. In the 3yrs we have owned our house, it seems like it's appreciated by about 30%, and our remaining condo has gained almost no appreciation. Closer to retirement, we will sell the house and probably move back downtown to a condo. We loved living by the lake, eating at so many interesting places and did really like having an awesome gym in the building, a games room, and most importantly - the ability to just lock the door and leave on short notice for long periods of time. We like to travel and loved living downtown, so I imagine we will be back in 10-20 years. I don't miss it because I work downtown every day. She misses it a lot.

Make no mistake, the burbs sucks on many levels, but it's also great on many other levels. I guess it's about what is important to you at a particular point in your life.
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Thanks for letting me pick your brain. We love it here. The only thing I'm missing is a frickin' garage.
 
Matt Rain said:
Why'd you two move out? I really can't see myself living in the burbs or the country with this stupid traffic. (Plus the wife and I's jobs don't really exist outside of large urban centres.)
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Backyard, fence, pool, more than 800 square feet of living space, good community for kids to grow on and yes a double garage.
 
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Used to ride along Lakeshore and cut through the Ex. Fort York Blvd. Do a loop up South Kingsway and Riverside Drive, past the rich houses. East end I'd take something North like McCowan until you hit less traffic. Didn't mind living in the City, 5 minute walk to the lake, and 10 to some nice Cafes and Restaurants, decent schools, low crime, not a lot of crazy drivers. Lots of people out for a stroll at night. I miss the hustle and bustle sometimes. Although I did trade up to a two car garage from a one, a pool, and a short trip to some awesome riding. Need more Tim Horton's here. Get the place gentrified, and then some better cafes and restaurants. Hospital in Toronto was 8 minutes away, not sure how far the nearest one is from here. North York General was awesome last I was there.
 
i commute downtown (king/spadina) every day (about 20km total) from the west end (bloor/lansdowne area) on my little 150cc bike and its been a blast so far. prior to getting a bike i rode the TTC which nearly made me leave this damn city cause it was so god damn depressing having to subway and then get on the worst streetcar route in the world (spadina).

NOT looking forward to when they finally get rid of free motorcycle parking on camden street (and the rest of the city). but knowing toronto, that wont be till 2060.
 
iblastoff said:
i commute downtown (king/spadina) every day (about 20km total) from the west end (bloor/lansdowne area) on my little 150cc bike and its been a blast so far. prior to getting a bike i rode the TTC which nearly made me leave this damn city cause it was so god damn depressing having to subway and then get on the worst streetcar route in the world (spadina).

NOT looking forward to when they finally get rid of free motorcycle parking on camden street (and the rest of the city). but knowing toronto, that wont be till 2060.
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Wth!
I thought the TTC is the better way.
 
iblastoff said:
i commute downtown (king/spadina) every day (about 20km total) from the west end (bloor/lansdowne area) on my little 150cc bike and its been a blast so far. prior to getting a bike i rode the TTC which nearly made me leave this damn city cause it was so god damn depressing having to subway and then get on the worst streetcar route in the world (spadina).

NOT looking forward to when they finally get rid of free motorcycle parking on camden street (and the rest of the city). but knowing toronto, that wont be till 2060.
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You must be taking the long, long way because it's five and a half kilometres.

I always found the TTC to be the sloooooower way.
12 minute drive, 40 minutes by bike, or an hour by walk/TTC/walk.

A bus driver once told me that his groupies loved it, because it Takes Time to Come.
 
TTC is awful. I used to live in the Annex, working at King/Bathurst. The Bathurst streetcar is unusable during rush hour. On the bright side, I lost 15lbs in 2 months just by walking to and from work.
 
Baggsy said:
You must be taking the long, long way because it's five and a half kilometres.

I always found the TTC to be the sloooooower way.
12 minute drive, 40 minutes by bike, or an hour by walk/TTC/walk.

A bus driver once told me that his groupies loved it, because it Takes Time to Come.
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i definitely take a longer way. i scoot up to dupont and ride that all the way down till i get to spadina. same on the way home. theres no way im going to ride on king or queen street, or even college for that matter. way too many bicycles!
 
iblastoff said:
i definitely take a longer way. i scoot up to dupont and ride that all the way down till i get to spadina. same on the way home. theres no way im going to ride on king or queen street, or even college for that matter. way too many bicycles!
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When they put the streetcar right-of-way along Front, they really hurt the Martin Goodman Trail. When they changed the North/South lanes at Bay and Yonge, that killed bicycling for me. It got downright dangerous after that. Dundas used to be not bad, by car or motorcycle. But I tended to take Lakeshore, since I worked at King or Front.
 
Baggsy said:
When they put the streetcar right-of-way along Front, they really hurt the Martin Goodman Trail. When they changed the North/South lanes at Bay and Yonge, that killed bicycling for me. It got downright dangerous after that. Dundas used to be not bad, by car or motorcycle. But I tended to take Lakeshore, since I worked at King or Front.
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sometimes i just go down dundas too, but i have small tires on my little bike and the streetcar tracks are annoying to have to constantly watch out for.
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