Tour de Markham
This past weekend, I was able to take part in Markham's Cycling day event. It was free, so I figured it would be a nice social ride to get some more mileage in before my sprint tri in August. I was right about having fun and it being social.
The event has various distances for all skill levels ranging from 5km to 60km. I signed up for the 25km ride because I already knew such a distance would be fine for me. I managed to convince Lizzie & friends to do the 15km, rather their initial plan to do 8km (they told me later that even 15km was too easy). Registration said there were free pizza vouchers for the first 2500 riders who checked in. I was shocked at this number, and wonder if we got close that many people.
The Mayor of Markham Frank Scarpitti was here for the event, and sent us off on our ride. Throughout the 25km, we got to see some of the most scenic parts of Markham. Berczy Village on the Bridle Path, bike lanes on Castlemore through Bur Oak to Cornell Community Centre, and then onto Rouge Valley trail straight through Milne Dam Conservation Park, before returning back to Main Street Unionville.
Markham is a special place for me, I have spent a lot of time and summers here - especially near main street unionville as a teenager. Festivities and events happen here for a good reason. It's beautiful, historical, and a geographically centre of Markham. There are even some unique shops here apart from your usual franchises.
The ride was a breeze for me. Mostly because today's ride is not a competitive one, but also because I have been riding more consistently on a weekly basis with a cycling group on a similar distance. It was impressive to see people come out with trikes, collapsible bikes that are keeping with the front of pack - at least for the first half of the ride. I now have more confidence and might attempt the 60km in the future... with better equipment.
I would imagine that in the future, this event would cost more money to run and organize. Especially if it gets big enough that they have to close down roads due to participation size. It certainly feels safer to ride with a group. I would still prefer to not have to share a lane with cars and potentially get run over by them, it's a fear that I have... and for good reason. Markham drivers are not known for being the greatest drivers in the GTA. I would know, because I used to be one :-)
According to their website, it's an event that's been running for nearly 20 years. I think this Markham Cycling group has done a lot of good work to promote cycling culture. Most cities in North America are built with cars in mind. and pedestrians and cyclists seem to be more of an after thought. Oh well, that's a rant for another day, there's already lots of discussion online about this.