January Cycling in Toronto

On a couple of recent bike rides, I was pleased to note that there seemed to be noticeably more cyclists braving the January cold than I remember from previous Januaries. I counted perhaps a dozen people on bikes during both of my 12 km round trips, downtown and back. I guess this still isn’t a large number, considering all the cars on the roads, but it strikes me that more cyclists are continuing to use their bikes through the winter this year.

This is a hopeful sign. After all, it has been pushing -10 degrees Celsius these days, and yesterday there was a stiff wind in my face for the downtownward part of my journey. Enough cold and wind to ensure in other years that the roads would be almost completely cyclist free. Perhaps cycling in the winter is becoming more normalized?

Still, a nurse at the hospital where I was visiting a patient exclaimed, “You’re brave to be out riding today!” A commonly voiced sentiment still these days. I always explain that the secret to staying warm is wearing extra layers of clothing—double socks, t-shirt under winter shirt and sweater, long johns, etc. Ideally, cycling in the winter would be considered no more unusual than skiing is in the winter.

While I was glad to see an increase in the number of cyclists out this January, I was disheartened today to see an example of cyclist behaviour that I hope is going away: I watched a man ride straight through a red light, this after only briefly slowing down to check for cross traffic. I can only imagine how irritated the drivers stopped at the intersection must have been. Certainly I was irritated. Why must these selfish cyclists continue to give cycling in the city a bad name?

During my trips downtown, I have been stopping off at the apartment complex where the patient I am visiting lives. This complex is huge: it comprises three large buildings, each of about thirty stories. As far as I can tell, there are no bike racks provided at all for the entire complex. I recognize that many tenants would prefer to keep their bikes in their apartments, to avoid having their bikes stolen, but surely such a large number of tenants should be provided with at least a few bike racks.