Hello From Toronto: A Bike Tour Through The Don Valley, Leaside,
Salsa On St. Clair And Sunnyside Beach
by Susanne Pacher
My summery biking adventures through Toronto continue. This
morning I packed my backpack and as usual I entered the Taylor
Creek Park system. Heading down into the lush green river valley
that is fully closed in by trees and bushes on both sides is
always such a great feeling, as if the big city was miles away.
A few kilometers west my trail joined up with the Don Valley
biking trail and I started to ride south. But instead of heading
all the way down to Toronto's lakefront, I saw an old road
branching off to the right north of Pottery Road and I thought I
would just ride in there and see what I could discover. I had
never before left the main trail and was curious to explore this
new area. Actually, I thought I would arrive at the Don Valley
Brickworks, the leftovers of an industrial brick making complex
dating back to the late 1880s that was closed down some time
ago. The bricks from this quarry were used on many famous
Toronto landmarks, including Casa Loma, Osgoode Hall and Queens
Park (the Ontario Legislature building). The green space
surrounding the empty buildings has been turned into a public
park by the city.
But as I continued the road turned into a narrow pathway that
crossed a field and the path started taking me in a
northwesterly direction, away from the Brickworks. Now I was
really wondering where this path was going to lead. After
crossing some more meadows the path took me into a forested area
where the narrow trail continued, sometimes over roots and
stones, sometimes beside some railway tracks. Now you might
think that it could be quite dangerous for a woman by herself
riding these trails, but I actually felt quite safe. The only
people I encountered were a father and daughter team who were
enjoying their own little mountain bike adventure.
I kept riding through the forest, up and down and at some point
I saw a road just above the embankment that I was cycling
beside, but my suspense grew as to where I would actually end
up. Finally I saw an opening in a fence at the edge of the
forest and I realized I had popped up at the southeastern end of
the Loblaws Supermarket in Leaside. This was quite a bit further
north than I had anticipated.
So back on city streets I decided to ride through the
residential area of Leaside, one of the most popular residential
areas in Toronto. Settled as early as the beginning of the 19th
century by the Lea family, the Town of Leaside came into being
in 1913. Today many houses from the early 20th century remain
and are being renovated or expanded. Leaside has become
particularly popular with real estate investors who buy some of
the small single story bungalows and convert them into two or
three story mansions.
Bayview Avenue marks the western boundary of Leaside and is a
popular entertainment area with lots of retail stores, cafes and
restaurants. I cycled south on Bayview to the Intersection of
Moore Avenue where there is a local landmark: a concrete moose
that is located in front of a company called IntegraCare, a
private nursing company.
From April to October of 2000, the City of Toronto was graced by
172 moose sculptures that were located all over the city and
painted and decorated by local artists. The event was called
"Moose in the City" and similar in idea to other animal
sculpture campaigns in places such as Chicago, Mexico City etc.
After the completion of the campaign the moose were auctioned
off for charitable purposes and more than 75 local charities
benefit from this unique fundraising idea. Events like
"Toronto's Running of the Moose!" and "Moose Jam on City
Streets" enlivened the campaign and entertained the public.
I figured Integracare must have purchased one of these moose
sculptures and after doing some research on the Internet I found
out that the moose's name is "Florence Moosengale, RM
(Registered Moose)", her name obviously inspired by Florence
Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Three Integracare
employees regularly create new costumes for the moose which has
been dressed up as Santa Clause, a witch for Halloween, a pink
Easter Bunny, a prison inmate, a lady bug, and in many other
outfits. Currently Florence is dressed up as a rider in the Tour
de France, complete with a yellow jersey and an oversized
bicycle.
Well, this moose always makes me chuckle and I truly applaud the
efforts of the three ladies at Integracare in brightening up the
intersection of Bayview and Moore Avenue. From here I rode into
the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto's largest cemetery which
stretches from Bayview Avenue in the east to Yonge Street in the
west. Originally conceived in 1873, the cemetery opening in late
1876 and became the final resting place for more than 160,000
Toronto citizens.
The cemetery holds many local celebrities, including Frederick
Banting - the co-discoverer of insulin, Timothy Eaton - a
Canadian department store magnate, Hart Massey - a 19th century
tycoon in the farm equipment business, Robert Simpson - another
Canadian department store magnate, pianist Glenn Gould and W.
Garfield Weston, a business magnate and member of one of
Canada's most wealthy families. By accident I came across the
grave of William Lyon Mackenzie King, one of Canada's
longest-serving and most influential prime ministers.
Although inline-skating is prohibited it is possible to ride a
bicycle in the cemetery and many people also use this beautiful
environment to go walking or jogging. The gravestones in the
western, older section of the cemetery are particularly
beautiful, and its large tree collection makes it one of North
America's finest arboretums.
I then crossed Yonge Street and rode west along Heath Street in
order to avoid the busy traffic along St. Clair Avenue. The
surrounding Forest Hill neighbourhood is one of Toronto's most
affluent areas. Today many huge mansions grace the neighbourhood
and two elite private schools, Upper Canada College for boys,
and the Bishop Strachan School, a prestigious day and boarding
school for girls, are also located here.
Underneath the canopy of leafy trees I turned onto a street
called Lower Village Gate and unexpectedly found myself in
Toronto's Ravine system. One of the most distinctive features of
Toronto's topography is a multitude of deep ravines that
criss-cross the city, have remained largely untouched by
development and provide a natural oasis in this densely
populated metropolis. These ravines were formed when rivers and
creeks cut deep gouges into the glacial deposits that were left
over after the last ice age about 12,000 years ago. Due to the
danger of flooding these ravines are largely uninhabitable and
have remained virtually completely in their natural state.
Today, Toronto's ravine lands are protected by municipal bylaws.
Cedarvale Park is located in one of those ravines and riding
westwards I looked up to admire the structure of the Bathurst
Street Bridge. I arrived at the western end of Cedarvale Park
where a cricket match was in full swing. Back on city streets I
cycled south into a St. Clair West neighbourhood called
Hillcrest Village which was just celebrating Latin culture with
its big annual festival: Salsa on St. Clair.
First launched in 2005 Salsa on St. Clair has become a popular
street festival that features all sorts of Latin music
performances, street vendors, Latin American delicacies and
special events. Salsa lessons, jumping castles, children's
soccer competitions and all sorts of free samples and giveaways
enchanted the crowds.
From here I cycled south on Christie Street and then headed over
to Ossington and south to Queen Street. In a small neighbourhood
park I ran across a large group of teenagers dressed up as
medieval knights who were practicing their jousting skills.
Sometimes Toronto is truly like a box of chocolates: you never
know what you're gonna get...Once on Queen Street I cycled past
recently renovated landmarks like the Drake Hotel and the
Gladstone Hotel into the Parkdale neighbourhood, one of the most
colourful areas in Toronto.
The neighbourhood underwent a serious decline and today features
a large aIn the late 1800 Parkdale was an upscale residential
suburb of Toronto that featured great Victorian mansions and
superb views of Lake Ontario.
Today the neighbourhood is being revitalized due to its
beautiful architecture, established trees and favourable
location close to downtown and Lake Ontario. Signs of
gentrification are noticeable everywhere.
The Victorian mansions on Cowan Avenue impressed me and as I got
closer to the Lake I can only imagine what a beautiful
residential district this must have been in its heyday. I
crossed the railway tracks and the Gardener Expressway near
Jameson Avenue and arrived at the multi-purpose trail in Marilyn
Bell Park on Toronto's lakefront.
Close to a century ago this was one of the most popular areas in
Toronto and featured a large amusement park from 1922 onwards.
The area was drastically changed in the 1950s with the
construction of the Gardiner Expressway which essentially
reduced the parkland in half and led to the destruction of the
amusement park. Today, the only original buildings remaining
from this era are the Palais Royale (a recently restored
ballroom and banquet facility), and the Sunnyside Bathing
Pavilion which houses a popular waterfront café.
Despite these changes, Toronto's western waterfront in Humber
Bay is hugely popular with people. Walkers, picnickers, inline
skaters and bikers make extensive use of the Waterfront Trail.
Three beach volleyball nets grace the narrow strip of sand in
front of the café and a boardwalk made from recycled plastic
invites for a walk on the waterfront. I grabbed myself a slice
of pizza and relaxed a bit on bench, watching the comings and
goings in a beautiful sunny spot by the water.
I then started heading eastwards along the Waterfront Trail past
Ontario Place, a multi-purpose entertainment and seasonal
amusement park. Opened in 1971 Ontario Place consists of three
artificial islands that feature walking trails, food and drink
concessions, an IMAX theatre located in a geodesic dome-shaped
structure, an amusement park for children and an outdoor concert
facility, the Molson Amphitheatre.
Immediately adjacent to Ontario Place is Coronation Park, a park
centered around a royal oak tree that was planted in tribute to
King George VI. Right in front of the park is a marina that
houses hundreds of sailboats. Cycling further east I passed by
the recently renovated Tip Top Tailor Building, a historic
property built in 1929 in true Art Deco style.
From here I snaked onto Queen's Quay and made a stop at the
Toronto Music Garden, a waterfront garden that was inspired by
Bach's First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello and designed by
internationally renowned cellist Yo Yo Ma and landscape designer
Julie Moir Messervy. The Toronto Music Garden features
spiral-shaped walkways surrounded by lush shrubs and flowers and
is highlighted by an outdoor amphitheatre that offers free
concerts to the public.
My ride continued to Harbourfront, a popular entertainment area
at Toronto's waterfront. Harbourfront Centre, a former
warehouse, today holds a high-end shopping centre, commercial
office spaces and condominiums. The bottom level also features
restaurants and outdoor patios that look out on the docking
facilities for the many tourist boats that depart from here for
harbour tours.
Free concerts are held every weekend at Harbourfront on the
Concert Stage while the World Café and the International
Marketplace feature foods and merchandise from around the world.
Additional cultural offerings are provided by the Power Plant
Gallery, the Premiere Dance Theatre, the Enwave Theatre and the
York Quay Centre. A Cuban music group was enchanting the crowd
at the Concert Stage.
Finally, after an action-packed day full of explorations and
almost 60 km of riding I got on my iron horse one last time to
make the 45 minute trek home along Toronto's lakefront. Summer
in Toronto is amazing; I had cycled from secluded nature areas,
through a Victorian-era cemetery to a Latin festival, enjoyed
the waterfront and caught two more free concerts in or near
Harbourfront. There is so much going on in this city in the
summer and the bicycle is the ideal way to explore it.
About the author:
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of <a
href="http://www.travelandtransitions.com">http://www.travelandtr
ansitions.com</a>, a web portal for unconventional travel &
cross-cultural connections. Check out our brand new <a
href=http://www.travelandtransitions.com/ebooks.html">FREE
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