How To Get Involved In Cycling In the Great City of Toronto
For anyone who loves to ride a bicycle, few cities have more to offer than Toronto.
This is a biker town, in the best possible sense. The City of Toronto works to ensure that bike paths are safe and abundant, and the robust community offers many opportunities to bike for pleasure, sport, and volunteerism.
Whether you are a serious cyclist looking for a work-out partner and challenging rides, or you’re just looking for ways to engage with your neighbours and friends through riding, Toronto has plenty of options for you.
Cycle Toronto
First, you should consider joining Cycle Toronto, a member-supported charity advocating for a safe and vibrant cycling city for everyone.
The cost of joining is $30 ($20 if you're a student or senior), but the city offers a barter-for-membership program to people who identify as low income. It’s possible to pay a lower fee in exchange for volunteer hours.
If your financial situation makes joining at $30 per year prohibitive to becoming a member, please mention this to The Cycle Toronto team to work out a membership in exchange for volunteer hours.
Bike Brigade
If you’re looking for ways to combine your love of cycling with volunteerism, this is a great organization to help you get started.
The Toronto Bike Brigade pairs volunteer cyclists with local nonprofits caring for members of isolated and vulnerable communities in need of essentials. The organization also provides free delivery service for organizations and individuals in need.
“It is our goal to safely serve our communities during a time of crisis and beyond,” their website says “Everyone could use some support sometimes; Toronto cyclists are here to help.”
City of Toronto
If you’re already an active cyclist and member of your community, and you would like to make your voice heard on important issues surrounding cycling, the City of Toronto has two great options, Bikewatch and Ward Advocacy.
Bikewatch volunteers perform community outreach during Bike Month and at Get Lit stations and help out at special events like Bikewatch Pizza Nights and Cycle Toronto's Annual General Meeting.
If you join your local Ward Group and become a Ward Advocate, you will meet with other cycling advocates and work together on community biking issues, including: reviewing city designs for bike lanes and submitting comments, providing feedback on new city infrastructure, perform community outreach on cycling projects, and support Cycle Toronto campaigns. Learn more here.
Cycling clubs
Not interested in volunteering? No problem. All of Ontario, not just Toronto, has a rich and supportive community of cyclists. There are literally dozens of cycling clubs throughout the province, all of which welcome new members and offer many opportunities for connecting with other cyclists and learning about new places to take your bike.
This website, for example, has a wonderful and easy-to-peruse catalog of all the bike clubs in Ontario, organized by region.
It even has a handy map that shows the locations of bike-friendly businesses, making it easy for cyclists to plan their trips with reliable information about bicycle lock-up areas, food options, rest areas, water availability and bike repair.
Toronto is full of possibilities for cyclists of all ages, abilities and sensibilities. Whether you choose one of these options or none of them, I wish you happy cycling in this beautiful City and Province!