Toronto: A Bike Ride to the Distillery District(1)

Monday, August 4, 2008, was another absolutely gorgeous day and a holiday, so this was the perfect opportunity to take my European visitors on another bike ride to explore Toronto. We headed south on the Don Valley bicycle path, and my guests remarked that there is an astounding amount of green space in this big metropolitan city. There are even opportunities for off-road mountain biking in this city.

We exited the bicycle path and rode through Corktown into the Distillery District, North America’s largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture and a National historic site. Formerly the Gooderham and Worts Distillery, this area has undergone major changes since its inception in 1832. It went from being the largest distillery in the world in the 1860s to becoming a derelict post-industrial eyesore in the late 20th century until it was lovingly brought back to life between 2001 and 2003. Today the Distillery District houses numerous boutiques, art galleries, a variety of restaurants and cafes, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts as well as the Mill Street Brewery. During our mid-morning visit the area was slowly starting to come alive, and dozens of people were enjoying their morning coffees on the cobble-stoned plaza in the centre of the district.

Our ride back along Toronto’s eastern waterfront and the Beaches boardwalk allowed us to enjoy the sun until we had to climb up the steep roads from Lake Ontario towards Kingston Road. In the afternoon I had a chance to explain the intricacies of baseball to my European friends as we watched the Brampton Astros win their regular season-ending game. Distributed by Tubemogul.