Thursday, August 4th was another bathtub laundry day and most everything dried very quickly because it was a hot day. I didn’t realize how hot it was though until I set out for my bike ride. I was glad that I’d had the forethought to drink two large glasses of water before leaving.
I rode west
along Bloor Street and at the Castlefrank stoplight a group of young men and
women were approaching cyclists to inform us about the Open Streets Toronto
event that would be taking place along Bloor Street on August 21st.
Bloor Street would be closed to cars along Bloor from Dufferin to Parliament
and on Yonge from Queen to Bloor, except at certain cross points along the way.
The city would be effectively turning those stretches of road into concrete
parks for the day with lots of planned activities.
After
crossing over to the Danforth, I stopped at a light and a guy on an electric
scooter came up from behind. He asked rhetorically if it could get any hotter,
then said, “It must be worse for you cause you’re pedaling!” I looked at his
full helmet and his t-shirt and commented that he was wearing more than me. He
lit a cigarette and told me that he used to ride a bike but “I had to get this
thing because I couldn’t breathe!” He went ahead of me but I caught up to him
and his second hand smoke at other lights a couple of times along the way. Even
when he was a block ahead of me I could smell the trail he’d left behind him.
My bike and
I had the right of way, and yet a crow jay-flew across the street in front of
me.
It was good
to be back exploring the Danforth, especially the alley between Greenwood and
Linnsmore. I rode between those two streets up to Glebholme and then took
another peek at the alley, where a young Somali man was just sitting on a fire
escape. As I got closer to Greenwood a pretty and colourfully dressed young
Somali woman came walking down the alley, I assume to meet the young Somali
man.
I had
just enough money to buy a few grapes on the way home.
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