Ride, Baby, Ride

Wanna live life in the fast lane? Try a bike path or trail instead. You can let the kids go faster and all stay safe at the same time. Don’t ditch your bike just because summer is over; you still have a few good riding months before hibernation.
It’s like an underworld, actually. Any hip biker will know that the city is littered with great places to ride. So don’t get bored of going around the block—find a destination and get out there. Even the ones too small to pedal can go along for the ride and have fun too in a bike trailer.

Our favorite place to ride around with kids is Ward’s Island. It’s a great get-away-from-the-city destination complete with a ferry ride for the kids.

For some more ideas, we spoke to our local bike shop expert, Alan Chow from Sports Swap on Bayview Ave. He thinks that kids should stay in ravines and bike trails instead of on busy roads, so if you want to ride a distance, consult a map and find out where the paths connect.

His top recommendation for accessibility and safety in the city is the Beltline—a 4.5 km trail built as a commuter steam railway in 1890 and converted back to walking and bike trails in the 1970’s, connecting many parks and open spaces for safe riding. Most people know of the Beltline if they live close to it, but they might not know where it begins or ends. It actually starts at Yonge St and Merton and ends at Allen and Castlefield. (Note that there are a few points along the way where you do have to emerge into the real world and cross at traffic lights.)