As I mentioned on Sunday, I did my first "recreational" ride of 2006 on Saturday, doing the Lower Don and Taylor Creek Park Trails in a small circuit, covering 17 kilometres.
Here's the map again to refresh your memory:
Here's the lovely Don Valley Parkway from the Riverdale Pedestrian Bridge. There are rumours (and signs) that the Lower Don Trail is closed south of Queen St., so I accessed the Trail from the bridge. There are steps.
The Lower Don Trail had a few joggers and bikers out on it ...
The Trail takes you under the Prince Edward Viaduct (known to Torontonians as the Bloor Viaduct). Subway trains run across it. Before the ugly suicide-barrier they put on it, it was the 2nd most popular spot in North America to jump to your death, behind the Golden Gate Bridge.
At this point you're between the Don Valley Expressway and the Bayview extension, both heavy with traffic and traffic noise. The valley at this point is a bit wider, and marshland has been "reclaimed". I could almost not hear the traffic over the chirping of hundreds of birds. I know in the summertime the traffic noise is pretty well gone because of the sound dampening effects of leaves on the trees.
Up at the turn-off to Taylor Creek Park (near Don Mills Road), you get to what I affectionately call "The Broken Elephant Statues", which are actually "elevated marshland" made with plastics. That is my bike leaning against the pole. This pole contained most of the signs I saw for the trails... there really needs to be more signs for where to go or how to get back up to street level for those unfamiliar with the ravines of Toronto.
I thought this was an interesting shot... broken elephant, old bridge, the buildings of Don Mills and Eglinton.
Here's a shot from Taylor Creek Park, before I went under the O'Connor Drive Bridge in East York.
This is just a sampling of the photos I took. See these in larger sizes, plus a lot more over on Flickr. I've described them all so you know what you're looking at.
I highly recommend exploring the trails and paths of Toronto's Ravine System. It's an often forgotten part of our city... this network of semi-wild parkland all throughout the city, always closer than we think, yet a totally different world. It's easy to forget that you're in a big city of millions of people while you're down there.
You can learn how to access the Ravines using the Toronto Bike Map, available online and at Bike Shops.
Discuss this topic and a lot more on the BikingToronto Forum
