Thursday 24 May 2012

bicyclette

my one true bicycle love was my dahon d8 speed folding bike. ok, it let me down twice with near fatal accidents due to the parts not being tight enough and the bike falling into complete dissarray, but other than that. pure love. it was easy and light and beautiful. it could be stored in my miniature London flat without the constant worry of vandal or more likely theft by eleven year old.

but....
cycling to Leslie Spit on May 24

when i cycle in Toronto, on my piece of crap bike that i've already fallen off on in the minefield that it otherwise known as the streetcar tracks, i feel blissful. there are trees everywhere, the streets are paved and wide, other commuters give you a nod here and there (not an annoying real conversation on the way to work, let's be serious, that's plain hazardous), and there is a blistering inferno of a beautiful sacred sun on your back. 

when I biked to work in London i tried to take back roads for the most part but i always had to endure the six lane roundabouts of Blackfriars Bridge, and the tree free streets lining the Thames. but in Toronto, oh glorious Toronto..... trees galore abound at every turn. downtown is pretty much twenty min max from anyone living in town. okay the taxis are still deadly, but it's a city.

the one terrible detriment of Toronto cycling is the number of poorly paved roads just waiting to give you a little bounce. i would start on Ford here but i hate him and don't think such a wonderous description of my journey to work can handle the taint that is the one fat man mayor. 

i still miss London a lot for various things, but when i'm cycling in the city in the sun of Toronto, i do think how lucky I am. 

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