A boulevard called horseshoe

So I biked today. It's not an uncommon thing to do in Toronto; but it is pretty uncommon for me to bike just for the sake of biking. Most of the time, I use my road bike to commute to and from school; sometimes to go to yoga studios, and other times to go to community centres to play badminton.

When you're biking and you don't have a set destination, the city opens up to you. You get to an intersection, and you have choices to make: "Do I turn right? Left? Keep going forward? Maybe I should do a U-Turn and find a street with fewer potholes". And the good thing about having to make these choices is that it makes the brain work; you're also not wasting gas whilst going for a joy ride.

So after my meeting at Accessibility Services (bless them!) @ UofT, I took it upon myself to head towards High Park to infuse myself with some nature. No, not literally. I mean, if I could shoot up some oak trees or some heron eggs, I probably... wouldn't. No, my intention was to bike in the sun all the way to High Park and de-stress after being caught up in the cycle of concrete that is the city Corporation of Toronto.

Instead of ending up in High Park, I took a twist at Dunda W. and biked along the West Toronto Railpath (which has been altered by the construction of a GO train service. Not a bad idea!). I got cut off at Ossington/Davenport by an impatient driver who thought it wise to dash behind the car in front of them, carelessly driving through the bike line to make a right. Totally illegal. Normally, I'm used to this, but it's about damn time I publicprivately say something about this. There have been far too many bikers injured by car drivers who think that their little shell of metal armour entitles them to break road laws.

I admit. I often dash past stop signs and I'm technically breaking the law as well. But I check who's behind me, who's coming in, and whether there are any children/idiot squirrels around. This makes me a good bicyclist.

Actually, I am a great bicyclist. I can't remember the last time I got into an accident, nor the last time I rode without a helmet, nor the last time I didn't have a light after sunset. By the way, starting today, cops in Toronto (maybe Ontario as well?) can ticket you if you don't have a light on in front (and a red one in back) 30 minutes before sunset till 30 minutes before sunrise. This is probably a good thing, if not slightly annoying in cases where you forget your light or someone steals it.

Oh, but... much, much better: something like a $300+ fine and 2 demerit points for dooring a bicyclist (i.e. opening a car door without checking if a bicycle is coming in). Good. It's happened to me once before and it is NOT fun. Thankfully, I'm a lucky guy, and hopefully people wake up and are more careful on the streets of this metropolis I call home.

To celebrate being able to write somewhat lucidly again, here's a bunch of pictures I took over the past couple months:

I finally figured out both how to avoid this problem and the way to fix it

There are sooo many of these fockockted things everywhere in Toronto. Amend, amend, amen.

Uh, the birthday breakfast I made. I really love mustard now. Healthier than ketchup and all.

English ivy! One of my top 5 favourite plants to see.

Let food be thy medicine. This guy had it right all along.