Biking in Toronto has its disadvantages. Thursday morning, three cars crashed into each other on King & University only a few hundred metres ahead of me. The damage surprised me. If I were involved in such an accident, the result would be life altering. Contact at 40 km/hr has an 85% probability of death (at 20km/hr, the likelihood is near zero http://www.economist.com/node/21528302). Toronto could do more to encourage biking. My daily commute from U of T to Brookfield Place takes 15 minutes, faster than a subway ride. A yearly pass to the subway costs over $1200. This is enough to cover the cost of a stolen bike every half a year. Add the fact that the TTC runs at a loss (and runs at a loss at all times other than rush hour), the cost of providing a the subway service is extremely high. In a progressive world, the government would simply give everyone bicycles. Health, environmental and economic residuals add to my preference for biking over other recreational activities. So I will have to deal with the safety concerns.
Today, I went on a bike ride though the Don Valley trail. I used to use this trail extensively to go from my home in Richmond Hill down to Toronto. From Woodsworth Residence, you have to go up on Broadview Ave. a little before being able to join in. From there, it's a good uninterrupted stretch of paved paths. It ends at he Distillery District, the location I began the Toronto-Kingston ride last year.
Balzac's in the Distillery district. The coffee is average but the homage to Hamlet is witty.