climate change activist and science communicator; event photographer; amateur mapmaker — advocate for a stable global climate, reduced nuclear weapon risks, and safe human-AI interaction
I had to stop going because I kept bruising my ribs and injuring my joints, but the Hart House Judo Club is pretty great — especially when you consider that all the senseis work for free and donate the mandatory class fees for club social events.
I was heartened to see that senseis Jorge, Bernard, and Izidor were granted the U of T Arbor Award for their exemplary volunteerism.
There was a giant turnout for the group ride to protest the Ford government’s bike lane removals. It was nice to be back on a bike after taking a break since the Temagami camp to let my ankle heal, and to see friends from Neon Riders, the Toronto Cruisers, and elsewhere.
A few months ago, I photographed the stained glass, interiors, and vestements at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in Toronto. It’s a gig which arose — improbably enough — from a conversation at Peter Russell’s funeral.
Later this month, the book featuring them is to be released: Household of God Volume 2, 1994-2024.
Our provincial Premier — head of a government which is effectively the political wing of the property development industry — now hopes to get rid of both bike lanes which I use every day: down Yonge Street and along Bloor.
Today was unusually draining.
I rode in through the rain, skipping breakfast to give myself more time to sleep / cycle a little slower; then didn’t feel the allure of BBQ food so skipped lunch; then got caught up in a too-long task which became overly too long because of the hunger and tiredness.
I also keep seeing event notifications for ghost rides for newly slain cyclists — sometimes with the galling euphemism/evasion “bicycle accident”, when crashes involving just bicycles are seldom fatal and what is generally being left unsaid for politeness in these notices is “killed by a car”.
Still, I rode home safely, made a nice meal, and am progressing toward feeling capable of handling life’s affronts.
A friend from the Toronto group bike ride community directed me to Jeff Allen’s intringuing and beautiful cartographic work.
One especially striking map – which supports my view that bicycling has become the best and fastest form of transport in Toronto – shows which areas it is faster to reach from Yonge-Bloor by bike than by transit during rush hour:
You can get a long way! Straight north to York Mills. Southwest past the mouth of the Humber. Southeast past Tommy Thomson Park and into Scarborough.
The map is from 2016, but I would imagine things are worse now with transit underfunding and all the slowdown zones, plus all the streets blocked up by summer construction.
Photo by Ed Ng