Ride The City

I know many of you out there are avid cyclists and like me are concerned with safety. Ride the City is a cycling site that has now added Toronto to the list of cities where you can map our your route and get a 'direct' route, a 'safe' route and a 'safer' route to your destination. These designations may be a bit confusing. Keep in mind the 'safer' route is the safest level and the 'direct' is the most direct, though not necessarily unsafe.
I just signed up today and did have a small issue. When you create a new user ID you are instructed to check your email for a link. Standard procedure, however, when I checked my email.... nothing, waited.... nothing. Went out for several hours and finally had  the link when I got back. Perhaps this was a minor glitch, but it has been my experience that when people sign up for something like this on the internet, they expect to receive the link immediately.

The site is nicely laid out and simple to use. You simply enter your starting address and your destination and your route will be mapped and colour coded to show you what parts are on bike paths or bike lanes and what is on regular city streets.

I tested the system by entering my address and an address that I know is a bit difficult to get to by bike. 388 Bloor to 5 Concorde Place. Ride The City worked beautifully. This is the 'safer' route information I was given on the left of the screen.


Another great idea is to show local bike shops and rental locations. Other cities that benefit from this service are Austin, New York, San Diego, Chicago, Seattle, Washington DC and more. They also offer users the option to embed the service into their own websites like this:




Check out the site and get cycling!!!