"NYRides" wrote in message v.net...
I've been doing a decent amount of business in Toronto lately and recently
noticed that there's a cool-looking bike path along the water, adjacent to
Lake Shore Drive. It looks like a perfect place to take my wife, a purely
"casual" bicyclist at best, this summer.
My questions:
1. Where would you suggest starting if we stay at a hotel along Lake Shore?
Is the Four Pointes Hotel near the beginning of the path?
I don't know the Four Points, but the path goes all the way across
Toronto (with a few gaps.) The Harbour Castle hotel is nice - on
Queen's Quay, where the trail actually goes across the core (Lakeshore
is almost a highway, there, under the shadow of another hightway. Not
at all nice.)
2. Is there a place to rent bikes, as we'll probably fly into Buffalo from
Long Island, NY, and drive to Toronto?
In the summer, I've noticed cruiser rentals near Harbourfront
(downtown.) If you're at one end or the other, that might not be
useful. Check the links below for lists of bike shops - some of them
might do rentals.
3. How far into the city does the path go? Does it maintain its integrity
all the way, or am I correct in noticing that it seems to fall apart as you
get close to the city?
It disappears for a while when you're due south of the financial
district but the road there is very ridable. It also has gaps in
Etobicoke, but the car traffic there is much slower so it's not a big
deal.
4. How many miles would you say we can get out of it? She can do about
15-20, tops, in a day.
No problem. There are several other trails that more-or-less connect
to the Martin Goodman/Lakeshore trail, notably up the banks of the
Humber River (in the west) and the Don River (in the east.)
5. Can you suggest points of interest along the way? The Exposition Center
looks like a definite stop. What else is there in the summertime?
The Ex actually causes a problem in the summer, as does the Molson
Indy, as they cause the trail to be closed in spots. Harbourfront has
lots of antiques and such. The Beach area in the east end is fun, with
cafes and, well, the beach. From the foot of Bay Street, you can catch
a ferry to the islands - very nice on a bike.
6. Any websites, newsgroups, bike clubs to check with on this?
Try he Toronto Bicycling Network
http://tbn.on.ca/
and here (big PDF map of the trails, etc.)
http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/cyclingmap_2003.htm