Ride for Jarvis, Ride for Toronto

The Toronto Bike Union organized a mass ride today to show the Toronto City Council that voted to remove the bike lanes on Jarvis St that people really want them and don’t want to see them removed.

The ride went really smoothly and we even had a strong group of bike cops corking traffic to keep the ride together. The mass of riders were comprised of all sorts of cyclists which seemed to grow as we winded our way along the downtown streets.

We cycled slowly but steadily up Jarvis, across Wellesly to Yonge (ops Church!), then across Bloor down Jarvis to Queen St. The ride ended at City Hall where we were greeted with an awesome sight of cyclists take over the building. There were people all across the ramp and in a humongous group at the entrance of City Hall.

It was so nice to bump into so many of my friends on the ride including a few Wenches!

A few cyclists were wondering out loud if today’s ride would make a difference to the bike lane situation. It probably will not, but I joined the ride as a salute and a thank you to the councillors who did vote to keep the lanes. Also in an extremely divisive political climate where it feels like my values and ideals are overlooked, it was nice to be a part of a huge group that came together to support a cause we all believe in.

Thank you Toronto Bike Union for organizing the ride and to the Toronto Police Service bike officers for helping keep the ride smooth and mostly conflict free.