Pedal Toronto

From the moment you arrive at Gears Bike Shop you will relax knowing that you are spending the day with locals who love cycling through their city. We will easily navigate the midtown bike lanes to show you some of our cultural/historical landmarks including Queen’s Park, the University of Toronto and Yorkville. As you ride through some of our diverse neighbourhoods, you will feel the pulse of the Regent Park urban neighbourhood, in it's new redevelopment phase and then move into the old-world charm of Cabbagetown with its collection of Victorian-era houses. We move through the stately, affluent Rosedale, a bedrock of Toronto society. The city landscape will quickly give way and you will find yourself rolling downhill through a forest alongside Mud Creek and the Don Valley as we descend into the Evergreen Brickworks. Stopping for a stroll through the grounds with refreshments and you can see how an industrial landmark has been repurposed to create a thriving community meeting place. It's famous Saturday morning Farmers Market is a feast for the senses. Finally we exit the Don Valley trail to visit the Distillery District, noted as one of the 10 best things to do in Toronto (Trip Advisor). This tour gives you a fantastic cross-section of life in Toronto and will appeal to both your urban cravings and love of nature.

Starting with the Waterfront Trail, there's a lot to see and we'll take it all in. From the harbour we'll take a short ferry ride to Toronto Island where you will immediately experience a change of pace and feel the gentle breeze off the lake. From charming cottage-like homes and indigenous plants overflowing from gardens, the island is easily one of Toronto’s most unique places to visit. We'll stop at the perfect photo-op spot where the tree line breaks offering spectacular views of the Toronto skyline. The island boardwalk gives you endless lake views, with a glimpse of a large bird sanctuary on the Leslie Street Spit, North America’s largest car-free community with it's quant lighthouse on the point. The ferry ride back across the harbour will ease you back to the energetic city, but we're not done yet. We'll take a stroll down memory lane through the historic Distillery District. Noted as one of the 10 best things to do in Toronto (Trip Advisor). The Distillery District is an internationally acclaimed village of brick-lined streets and dozens of vibrantly restored Victorian industrial buildings. Overall this tour offers a break from the big city bustle and gives you a taste Toronto’s small-town charm.

Reconnect with your inner child as you ride freely along the waterfront and away from the city and traffic. Beach visits and a ferry ride remind you that you are on vacation if only for a moment and you may find yourself skipping stones or ordering a triple scoop of ice cream.Time will slow down and the city will emerge from the other side of the harbour as you step back to take a look. Re-entry into the city will be made easier by way of Toronto’s second car free neighbourhood, the historic Distillery District. You will step back in time and learn a little more about Toronto and where we began.

We'll stray from the main roads to discover some of our historical landmarks hiding behind modern facades. As we safely navigate the urban jungle, you will start to uncover the many layers of Toronto, Canada's largest city. Our meeting place, Gears Bike Shop in the Canary District, was built in part to house the athletes of the 2015 PanAm Games and is now a thriving urban community. Taking a quick trip to the Underpass Playground, highlighting the creative use of space and taking in the Indigenous artistic graffiti mall, will have us on our way to exploring the core. The old Victorian-era industrial buildings of the Distillery District will give you a sense of Toronto’s early development and a peek into Union Station shows we are working hard to preserve our history. No trip would be complete without a stop at Old/New City Hall and a photo-op with the iconic Toronto Sign. As you settle into the ride you will start to notice the flow of the city, You'll see that Toronto is a very livable city with a thriving core. We know this ride will appeal to the city slicker in you.