Scarborough like you've never seen it: Why 2 cousins want you to go adventuring on bike
CBC
When was the last time you went on an adventure in your own city?
If your answer is "too long" and you have a bike with some reasonably wide tires, then two cousins have something to add to your summer bucket list: the Scarborough South Loop.
Jimmy Judgey and Gurinder Sandhu spent years linking together the 27.3-kilometre route that's almost 90 per cent off-road and takes you through 11 different parks, including the southern portion of the Rouge National Urban Park. Accessible by transit or car, it's a gem in a city that can be a hostile place to bike.
And here's the thing they want you to know: It's not for cyclists. It's for everyone.
"We live in such a diverse city and we want folks to feel like they have a place — a place in the cycling world, a place in outdoor adventures," Judgey told CBC Toronto.
This story could be about road safety, it could be about environmental protection in a growing city or it could be about the niche-but-growing culture of gravel cycling. But for Judgey and Sandhu, it always comes back to inclusion and their mission to get more people on bikes.
Judgey grew up without much money in Scarborough, piecing together bikes with parts others discarded as scrap. Those are the kind of bikes he wants to see on the loop. That dusty Supercycle would be just fine, Sandhu adds, and no need for Lycra kit either.
WATCH: Jimmy and Dwight ride the eastern portion of the loop — and yeah, we brought the drone:
The cousins also want to see more people of colour— who may not feel welcome when it comes to cycling or other outdoor pursuits— on two wheels.
"We believe that bikes are for everyone and cycling adventures are for everyone, too," Judgey said.
Sandhu points to the success other local groups, notably Mandem Cycling Club, have had with boosting diversity in Toronto's cycling community in recent years by organizing big, joyous group rides. "They have the biggest smiles," he said. There have been similar initiatives for everything from hiking to birding, and Sandhu says that visibility really matters.
"It's infectious. It really is."
Riding the eastern portion of the loop on a beautiful summer day, Jimmy was similarly all smiles as he shepherded this reporter and CBC's Dwight Drummond around part of the route. He's one of those people who is pure encouragement. The DriveSide, the website the duo launched as a pandemic project, is an extension of that.
The site's instructions exist to be a helping hand; Here's the route you can download to your phone, here's a simple first aid kit, oh and if you want, here's a guide to brewing coffee while you're out there.
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