Toronto Bent Cycling News

The Bent Expressions eNewspaper since 1996 A Social Enterprise of QueerWest.org (Formerly The Inside Story). Your complete resource guide to Queer West Village, Toronto ON: Accommondations, Businesses, and Restaurants, Bars and Night Clubs. Gaybourhoods (Street Map ) We cover: Music - Art - Films - Festivals - Politics - Community Events. Our goal is out to delight, amuse and educate you and to stir up fresh ideas So, whether you're visiting, new to town or an insider who wants more access, there's a little bit of everything, here for you! Copyrighted 2009. All Rights Reserved. Masthead Listings Editor bentexpressions@gmail.com Try Our Free 2x monthly Bent eBlast

2010 Icycle - Ice Race @ Dufferin Groove Park

Saturday February 13 - Family Fun Icycle 2010 Ice Race @ Dufferin Groove Park. This winter classic promises thrills, spills, studded tires and costumed competitors. Bundle up and cheer for your favorite bicycle rider. Thanks to the City staff at Dufferin Grove park who are supporting this event. After Party will take place a the Bike Pirates on Bloor Street. All proceeds from this event will go to Charlies Freewheels. www.charlesprinsep.org/home.html. Party Location: The Bike Pirates 1292 Bloor Street West, Bloor Street West & Lansdowne Avenue

Ice Race Details. Runs 7 pm to 10 pm Phone: 416-532-6392 Dufferin Grove Park Ice Rinks, 875 Dufferin Street, Dufferin and Bloor Street West. TTC: Exit Dufferin subway station, walk south on Dufferin to the park.www.bikepirates.com

Niagara boasts some of the prettiest cycling routes in Ontario

Hi my name is Michelle Duval and I am one of the Restaurant Managers for Inn On the Twenty Restaurant associated with Cave Spring Cellars in Jordan, Ontario. We are contacting cycling clubs to introduce ourselves and to highlight the wonderful opportunities that Niagara has to offer to cyclists. As you are probably aware, Niagara boasts some of the prettiest cycling routes in Ontario. As a small town in the midst of this activity, Jordan and particularly Inn On the Twenty has much to offer cyclists while keeping in mind budgets, time constraints and food requirements.

Some suggestions are:
Picnic lunches in our vineyards, equipped with indoor washrooms and a magnificent view of the Toronto across the lake
Patio or indoor dining at the Jordan House - affordable meals in a casual setting with a secure bike locking area
Patio or indoor dining at Inn On the Twenty - group meals to meet your budget either in a private dining room or on our patio (also with a secure bike locking area)
Cave Spring Cellars tour - included in your group lunch or on it's own as a stop in you itinerary
Affordable Overnight Accommodations allowing you two days of cycling in Niagara with a secure indoor bike locking area

We hope that this information may be of use to you and if so, we look forward to providing you more detailed information.
Sincerely, Michelle Duval innonthetwenty.com |jordanhouse.ca (905) 562-7313

Tips from Winter Cyclists

Saturday December 12, 2009. Getting your bicycle ready for Toronto winter cycling. The main problem with winter is not snow, but salt. Slush gets street grime and salt in your parts, which can cause rust and wear and tear.

Here are some tips for maintaining your bike in the winter:

Use fenders. These will keep you and your bike clean.

1. Lube your chain and moving parts once a week. The dampness and the salt can dry out the existing lubrication in the chain, causing the chain and the cogs to wear out much faster. If you keep the chain lubricated, then the chain is much less likely to suddenly break.
2. If conditions are icy, lowering your seat may help. That way, you can drop your feet down to help maintain balance or to have your feet act as brakes.

Brakes:

1. Check your brakes. You might get 11 months out of a pair during fair weather, but wear them down in one month of slush. If you let them go too long, they will wear down to expose metal, which will gouge your rim.
2. Wipe off your wheel rims if they have obvious gunk on them. The gunk will reduce the effectiveness of your brakes and possibly cause them to wear out more quickly.
3. If possible, keep the keyholes of your bike locks covered, or keep them pointed away from the direction of downpouring sleet/snow. Having the lock freeze shut is no fun. Lock de-icer used for cars can help unfreeze a frozen keyhole, but this stuff can dry out your lock more rapidly. If you use de-icer, put some lube or oil in the keyhole later.

Tires and Inner Tubes:

1. Knobby mountain-bike tires provide better traction when there's snow accumulation that hasn't been ploughed, but these same knobby tires will slow you down when there's no snow on the street.
2. Even if you normally patch your flats, carry a spare inner tube with you. When it's sleeting out, it's much easier to just change an inner tube than to try to use the patch kit.

Consider using a beater bike in the winter. You might consider an older model that has fenders and fewer parts. Bikes with many gears require thinner chains which tend to wear faster. A three or single speed might be better for this season.

Cleaning your bike regularly is especially important in the salt and grime-soaked days of winter. However, cleaning can lead to problems:

Make sure that when washing your bike, you don't spray high- pressure water horizontally into the cassette (gears) area on your rear wheel. This can cause water to enter the cassette or freewheel mechanism, making it freeze up or slip and throwing you from the bike in the process.

When washing, make sure the section of cable housing that meets the back of the rear derailluer is dry on the inside. If water is trapped there, it can cause the cable to freeze and prevent shifting. A good way to do this is by shifting the chain onto the smallest gear in back and lifting it by hand onto the largest gear. This should add enough play to the cable so that the housing can be removed from the back of the derailleur. Dry the cable with a rag, lube it thouroughly with chain lube, and replace it. Ask a mechanic to do this for you if you have trouble.

Make sure that no water remains on the bike before riding it in freezing temperatures. Water can cause parts to freeze to each other. Example: after cleaning my drivetrain some water remained on the rear derailleur. One of the jockey wheels froze to the cage of the derailleur, causing the chain to skip violently and shift poorly -- and in the process damaging the derailleur.

The type of problems caused by freezing water are especially vexing. They manifest themselves only outdoors in freezing weather and may quickly vanish as soon as you being your bike inside to "repair" the problem

6th ANNUAL TORONTO PRIDE RIDE 2010 - Queers on Gears having fun. Critical Mass Bike Ride.

Sunday June 27, 2010 - 6th Annual 54K QWF Toronto Pride Ride, Hosted by the Gay West Bicycle Club Leisurely tour along Toronto's waterfront from Sunnyside to Port Credit with today's ride leader Michel Paré. We meet at Colborne Lodge Drive and Queensway at 12 Noon. Cycle across to Martin Goodman Trail and head West along the Waterfront Trail through Colonel Sam Smith Park over to Marie Curtis Park to Port Credit avoiding Highway Two except for slight jog at Long Branch. A 54K excursion exploring the parks and river banks of western Toronto (Stopping for libations, lunch and gossip before heading home) About a 3 hour trip. Dress up. Decorated your bike win a prize. We are the largest Gay and Lesbian cycling club in Eastern Canada. Now in it's eight year.

Write: torontodigitalq@yahoo.ca 416-879-7954 There are 60 LGBTQ members all ages, in our cycling club. Helmets are recommended for all rides. Mandatory for those under 18. Out of town visitors, welcome to cycle in this event. This is a FREE event, no membership fees to cycle with us today.

The 2009 Bike Train season was once again a big success.

This summer saw the addition of two new routes, with more to follow next spring.

Thursday November 12, 2009. The new routes included a pilot trip to North Bay to explore Ontario's Near North. The results of the weekend were overwhelmingly positive and the community welcomed the Bike Train with open arms. North Bay cyclists were excited to show Bike Train passengers around town, and local attractions kept the visitors busy between their rides. There was even a Bike Train cocktail party with valet bike parking!

In the East, the Montreal - Toronto Pilot service was launched with daily service and two trains in each direction on every weekday, one each day of the weekend. The pilot project provided valuable insight into station and route logistics and we hope this service expands next summer.

Ontario Southwest Bike Train Pilot
Region filled with history, wineries, birds and Carolinean forests

The Southwest Bike Train pilot is coming closer to reality following an exploratory trip by the Bike Train scouts. Windsor, Essex and Pelee Island make for beautiful cycling with trails and paths crisscrossing the rural and urban landscapes. For more information, visit www.biketrain.ca

A Small story about Gay West Bicycle Club in Dandyhorse Cycle Magazine in "PDF format" issue No. 3, Summer 2009

Sunday Sept 13, 2009

There was eight riders on the Gay West Bicycle Club ride today (A short run about 15K, from Noon to 4 pm with a few rest stops, sightseeing and munchies), 5 guys, three women were on the tour lead by Michael. Peter a new guy joined us at the docks. Lots of camaradiere between the genders and some teasing when two of the boys decided to do nude beach at Hanlans Point. The feedback I got was, everyone had a wonder afternoon. Looking forward to next several trips. Two guys just saw announcement on QW website, others that came belong to our Facebook groups; Darin and Myself are from yahoo group. We did High Park to docks, Wards to Hanlans then back to Centre island for bit to eat then home, one flat tire reported (Michael F. Paré)

Gay West Bicycle Club in collaboration talks

On Wednesday September 16 - Gay West Bicycle Club ride leader, Michael F. Paré, is meeting Tony Farebrother from Out and Out sports club at the Second Cup at Yonge and Alexander St. 7 pm. Tony has been the coordinator for Out and Out cycling division, for last seven years. The talks will centre on collaborating events, for the balance of this year and next year starting in April. Our season ends October 31st.

They will also be talking about the new LGBT Toronto Sports Alliance (possible new name OutSports Toronto) presently there are 24 gay and lesbian sports organizations in the alliance:

Synopsis of meeting between Out and Out/cycling & the Gay West Bicycle Club... 9 pm

Out & Out Sport Club holds cycling events every Thursday May to September. These are weekly Meet-ups at 519 for three hour ride, though city, ride leader Tony Farebrother. The last one of Season is September 17, 2009. Possible in early October and close to Thanksgiving for 50k ride 3 and half hours. Co-coordinator (Tony Farebrothers, one of our Yahoo group members) Says he will be able to team up with GWBC on a few rides. Stay tuned.. www.outandout.on.ca/

The LGBT Toronto Sports Alliance appears to have died after one or two meetings. Last meeting April, 2009. There is a Toronto Sports Alliance – Team Toronto the web site hasn’t been update since 2006. Team Toronto is into Out Games and Gay Games events.

Friends For Life ( Bike Rally group) holds training rides during August & September, if you enjoy long distance cycling example: Kipling / Belfountain; Kennedy / Musselman Lake. Last one of season is Sunday Sep 20th (11:00 am), lead: Peter S, route: Kennedy / Rouge Valley. http://bikerally.org/

MONDAY OCTOBER 12 - GAY WEST BICYCLE CLUB - FALL COLOUR TOUR - LAST RIDE OF THE SEASON

Come out and enjoy a final ride for the season. It will be about 2 1/2 hours plus breaks. We will ride through Rosedale, across the City, down the Humber and back along the Waterfront. Ride starts and ends at the 519 Community Centre on Church St..

We meet at 11:00 am and should be back by 2:30 to 3:00 pm.

Bring water and lunch, wear suitable clothes and a helmut. Ride duration and tempo not suitable for beginners. No cost. We should be able to enjoy the fall colours. Date Monday October 12.

There were 5 of us for the fall colour cycle October 12 and it took about 3 1/4 hours, it was rather cold and rainy day to chilly for an outdoor lunch break. No one brought a camera, so no pictures to share. We did see some wonderful colours though many trees had not changed yet and we saw people fishing for salmon in the Humber River and we saw one that was caught that weighed at least 25 pounds.

About Gay West Bicycle club, One of the fastest growing Ontario LGBTQ sports club in 2009 and the only gay and lesbian cycling club in Eastern Canada. (Gay West Bicycle Club on Facebook) www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7366448476

Thursday Evening September 24 - Gay West Bicycle Club Guided Spin Tour of six Art Galleries in West Toronto

We met at Trinity Bellwoods Park by the Queen St. West gate (@ Strachan) between 6:30 - 7 pm. The tour started at 7 pm, the whole thing wrapped up by around 9:30 pm. It was chilly last night on Art gallery bike tour, a competely different route this time, too short between stops for distance riders, a few left the tour.

I skipped after party. 5 gay guys (3 of us and two new guys) on tour and a total 52 general city riders. We may be doing a long distance colour season tour 30/50k with Tony F. ride leader Out and Out, around Oct 11th, before our season ends. I have a few picture to post in our album - Michael P.

The Details: All our events are free, there might be small charge of $5 if we cycle with Out & Out club. . www.QueerWest.org/bikeclub.php More Information call Michael @ homo bike central 416-879-7954

Saturday September 26 - Former Bike Messenger Darcy Allan Sheppard Fundraiser.@ Sneaky Dee's Wake, Memorial fundraiser and Karoke Party. This is a fundraiser to help pay for the burial costs and to raise money for the children of Darcy Allan Sheppard who was tragically killed on his bicycle Monday August 31, 2009 at Bloor St West and Avenue Road. Please come out. If you wish to donate before the event, you can use paypal on the (TOBMA-Toronto Bike Messenger Association) www.tobma.com website. Or, you can go to any TD Bank and deposit in account, 06906676860 transit number, 10202. Sneaky Dee's, 439 College St. at Bathurst. $10 or PWYC. (Note) Darcy was not gay, we are posting this as a public service announcement.

Gay West Bicycle Club - Season Opening in Sunday April 25, 2010. The Don Valley Bike Tour - 26K.

For you Eastenders a Tour starting out somewhere on the Lakeshore and then cycling through Don Valley Parklands. Sunnybrook/Don Valley - Almost all of the route is paved. Some street riding, but two-thirds of the route is on bike paths and half is in ravines. The trails are in the section of the Don Valley Ravine that stretches from the Don Valley Brickworks in the south to Thornhill Park in the north. There are some good sections of single track and the sides of the ravine offer some interesting climbs and descents. Some north shore style elements have been built in some areas, some are pretty good and some suck. Don't ride these trails when it's wet. (Trail Rules) 26km. Then we headed back, down through the park trail, to some queer bar or cafe for the usual munchies and liquids. Michael (Team Leader torontodigitalq@yahoo.ca 416-879-7954) is still working on the details. Other riders are welcome to suggest a different ride less strenous, say up the Humber Trail or to Port Credit..Join our Yahoo Club, to get on mailing list ( currently 25 members)

Don Valley Bike Path - Map www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Don-Valley-Gardiner-to-Steeles

Cyclist Stretching Exercises

Next Step Cycling presents four easy stretches, to improve your speed and flexibility.