Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country
I fly out of town for business approximately once every month. There are many different ways to get to the airport from my home downtown. I normally take public transit, but will occasionally take a taxi if I am running late or if I have an early morning flight.
I have been longing to ride my cargo bike to the airport every since I purchased it back in May. My luggage fits perfectly in the cargo box and I could certainly use some extra exercise since I have gained about 15 pounds since I returned from living in China in May.
I looked at a few different routes to the airport, and decided that safety and comfort would be my number one priority. I ended up choosing a route that added about 5 kilometres to the trip, resulting in a total distance of 27 kilometres.
My flight was scheduled to depart at 9:35PM, so I figured giving myself two hours for the trip would be plenty of time.
I left my house at 6:40PM and headed down the bike lane from my home towards Toronto’s waterfront bike path.
Leg 1 – Waterfront Trail (km 0 to 8)
As I pedalled along the waterfront, the sun was setting in a spectacular fashion, the rays of light sparkling on the lake, and the shapely clouds hovering just above the waterfront buildings with a bright orange backdrop.
The waterfront trail was extremely pleasant, smooth, and fast. Cars were nowhere near me, there wasn’t a single pothole, and there were no intersections that required me to stop for the entire first 8 kilometres.
Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country
Leg 2 – Traversing Residential Neighbourhoods (km 8 to 16)
After departing from the wonderful waterfront trail, I ended up riding in a bike lane on the wrong side of the road (The Queensway). There was no way I could have crossed to the right side of the road without backtracking a couple kilometres unfortunately, so I stuck with it for about a kilometre.
Luckily, it was one of the few bike lanes in Toronto that had a painted buffer between the bike lane and the cars.
I then ended up traversing through some neighbourhood in Etobicoke and then rode along a narrow bike lane on a generally comfortable street (Royal York) for about 5 or 6 kilometres.
This leg was generally fairly comfortable aside from having to ride the wrong way briefly at the beginning.
Leg 3 – Eglinton Dedicated Bike Path (km 16 to 24)
This next leg of the trip was extremely pleasant. I pedalled along the relatively new dedicated bike path along Eglinton Ave.
This path is completely separated from the suburban road with fast-moving cars and it provided another smooth and quick ride; not too unlike the wonderful ride along the lake.
Back in 2010 – before I become a father and had a bit more time on my hands – I posted a video featuring this path and how it was so close to being an example of a great suburban bike route.
The smooth, dedicated portion of the path eventually ended and it turned into a pedestrian/bicycle shared path for the remaining couple kilometres. Although this portion was a bit bumpier I still wasn’t forced to ride on the busy road or on the sidewalk.
Leg 4 – The Final Sprint (km 24 to 27)
The final 3 kilometres proved to be, as expected, an uncomfortable end to an otherwise pleasant journey.
I stuck to the sidewalk along the road that approached the airport. There wasn’t a lot of space, cars were moving fast, and the sidewalks were completely empty. It was dark outside and I assumed drivers wouldn’t be expecting to encounter a bicyclist near the airport, so I took this precaution to stay safe.
I could smell the jet fuel from the airplanes as they flew very low over my head as I became closer to the airport. I felt so close, but I knew I was still about three kilometres away from my terminal.
The sidewalk suddenly ended, and I was forced to ride in the right lane on a narrow two-lane road. When cars approached from behind I would pull over on to the soft gravel shoulder. I wasn’t about to take any chances.
The soft shoulder eventually turned into pavement which provided a comfortable ride, but the closer I got to the airport, the worse the traffic and roads became.
The problem with the roads near the airport is that cars are just getting off the highway, so I seemed to be the only one travelling less than 80km/h.
In order to get to my terminal I had to cross four lanes of fast-moving cars. I felt like I was playing a game of Frogger, but fortunately I wasn’t in a hurry so I waited long enough until there was enough of a gap for me to cross.
Then as I was approaching my terminal something bad happened. I was riding on the right shoulder when all of the sudden the road I was on merged with another two-lane road to my right.
I was now stuck in between two roads with dozens of cars racing past each side of me. I now had a choice: Stop and back up, shit my pants, or take control.
I opted not to shit my pants. That wouldn’t make for a very pleasant flight. So I stuck my right arm out as far and as assertively as I could, and forced two lanes of cars to stop for me. Fortunately the drivers were very polite and applied their brakes and then flashed their lights for me to proceed.
So I crossed those two lanes of traffic and got over to the right shoulder where I continued to ride right up to my terminal while shaking my head at the airport for providing such a terrible experience for bicyclists. Shame on them, I thought to myself.
I couldn’t help but think about the bike lane that I saw leading to the Vancouver airport and wished Toronto had the forethought to provide this as well. If not for passengers, then at least it may encourage the thousands of employees to ride to the airport.
I found a quiet corner near the entrance of the terminal and parked my bike there, locking the rear wheel and using a cable lock to tie it to a railing.
The bike of course drew some attention so after having a conversation with a security officer about the bike, I asked him to take a photo of me.
I made it through security in less than 10 minutes and ate some food before proceeding to my gate.
Aside from the incident near the end of the trip, I very much enjoyed the trip and will happily do it all over again in the future.
Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country
The numbers:
Total time: 1 hour and 48 minutes
Total distance: 27.07 kilometres
Average speed: 15.04km/h
James D. Schwartz is a Transportation Pragmatist and the Editor of The Urban Country. You can contact James at james.schwartz@theurbancountry.com or follow him on Twitter.
Related Articles:
- My Ideal World (Aug 2012)
- The World Has Changed. So Can You. (April 2011)
- Human Power Around The World (April 2012)
- No Cars. No Traffic Signals. No Deaths. (June 2011)
- We Are Addicted To Automobiles (May 2011)
It looks like there’s a safer alternative for the last leg that lets you make one lane change at a time. Instead of turning left onto the first access ramp off Silver Dart, you can continue straight, turn right onto Jetliner, turn left onto Airport, then take the access ramp signed for Terminal 3, keeping to the right lane. After going through Terminal 3 there’s a ramp that goes to the top floor of Terminal 1. And when leaving Terminal 1 you can exit from the ground floor, where there’s a ramp that spits you out at Silver Dart and Jetliner.
Thanks for the tip! Will check out the alternative route on my way home…
This is exactly the route I took to exit terminal 3. It was much smoother. Although the road allows cars to leave terminal 3, it technically doesn’t allow cars to enter terminal 3 using that route (“authorized vehicles only”). But next time I ride to the airport I will gladly take the “authorized vehicles only” route, and I am more than happy to ride the wrong way briefly to access the terminal safely.
It looks like there’s a safer alternative for the last leg that lets you make one lane change at a time. Instead of turning left onto the first access ramp off Silver Dart, you can continue straight, turn right onto Jetliner, turn left onto Airport, then take the access ramp signed for Terminal 3, keeping to the right lane. After going through Terminal 3 there’s a ramp that goes to the top floor of Terminal 1. And when leaving Terminal 1 you can exit from the ground floor, where there’s a ramp that spits you out at Silver Dart and Jetliner.
I seem to recall reading about someone who tried to ride his bike to or from a US airport, and ended up in some conflict with the police for this unorthodox behavior. I’m not sure there’s a way to get to Boston Logan airport that does not involve use of a freeway. On-the-other-hand, transit service is acceptable, though not great.
That was in Minneapolis a few years ago. http://www.informationliberation.com/index.php?id=22621&comments=20
@David – that was STeve Orsak at Minneapolis (as mentioned by @erikgriswold:disqus above.
Sheesh, he was NOT arrested simply for riding a bike from the airport. I’m a cyclist, and a cycling advocate, but it does no one any favours when stories are distorted into simplistic talking points.
See this explanation here: http://duoquartuncia.blogspot.ca/search?q=orsak
I seem to recall reading about someone who tried to ride his bike to or from a US airport, and ended up in some conflict with the police for this unorthodox behavior. I’m not sure there’s a way to get to Boston Logan airport that does not involve use of a freeway. On-the-other-hand, transit service is acceptable, though not great.
Wow, I’m impressed. The last part along would have been intimidating enough to start me off of the whole attempt. Well done.
Sidenote, where’d you get your cargo bike? I may be in the market soon.
Looks like there are some other options for the last leg. Will try out the alternative options on the way home on Friday.
I picked up that cargo bike from Curbside Cycle. They have a couple different brands to choose from too, but I like the two-wheeled cargo bikes instead of the trikes…
Wow, I’m impressed. The last part along would have been intimidating enough to start me off of the whole attempt. Well done.
Sidenote, where’d you get your cargo bike? I may be in the market soon.
What about the return trip? How was leaving the airport on a bike?
Will find out this Friday when I return 🙂
The return trip was much smoother. No crossing multiple lanes of traffic, and it was downhill all the way home. Took me 1 hour and 8 minutes. More details to follow in an upcoming article. Cheers!
What about the return trip? How was leaving the airport on a bike?
Leaving terminal 1 by bike couldn’t be easier. You just ride out , hugging the right side. If Pearson administrators cared, the ride in could be just as easy through the Terminal 2 access road.
Will find out this Friday when I return 🙂
Looks like there are some other options for the last leg. Will try out the alternative options on the way home on Friday.
I picked up that cargo bike from Curbside Cycle. They have a couple different brands to choose from too, but I like the two-wheeled cargo bikes instead of the trikes…
Thanks for the tip! Will check out the alternative route on my way home…
Hope you don’t try this at MSP:
http://eyeteeth.blogspot.com/2007/07/cyclist-tasered-for-riding-bike-at-msp.html
Hope you don’t try this at MSP:
http://eyeteeth.blogspot.com/2007/07/cyclist-tasered-for-riding-bike-at-msp.html
That was in Minneapolis a few years ago. http://www.informationliberation.com/index.php?id=22621&comments=20
@David – that was STeve Orsak at Minneapolis (as mentioned by @erikgriswold:disqus above.
I’ve bike from / to DIA and SJC. SFO, LAX, LAS and PDX I’ve brought a bike but used transit for travel to / from the airport.
SJC is by far the easiest airport I’ve biked to and from. The airport is directly on a nice bike path with plenty of bike parking available in the parking garage directly across from the terminal.
@LadyFleur writes about her experience biking to the airport for business trips http://ladyfleur.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/bike-commute-diaries-flying-with-first-class-parking/
Awesome! The only other airport I have biked to is DCA. It’s so close to everything. I have also walked to the Toronto island airport from home. It’s an easy 20 minute walk.
I’ve bike from / to DIA and SJC. SFO, LAX, LAS and PDX I’ve brought a bike but used transit for travel to / from the airport.
SJC is by far the easiest airport I’ve biked to and from. The airport is directly on a nice bike path with plenty of bike parking available in the parking garage directly across from the terminal.
@LadyFleur writes about her experience biking to the airport for business trips http://ladyfleur.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/bike-commute-diaries-flying-with-first-class-parking/
Good article, best of luck getting home again. I would really hope that at some point in the future the last 3 km will get sorted…it otherwise sounds like a pleasant enough ride. There’s a route involving rural back roads that I’ve been meaning to attempt to get to the Edmonton airport, but I go so infrequently, and the distant – 32.8km from my house – is a bit further than I really want to go before a flight. Also, annoyingly enough, the MUT that leads most of the distance out of the city switches sides of the road every couple of kilometres.
Thanks Ed. I hope to draw some attention to the airport authority to try to get them to commit to making improvements. And speaking of Edmonton, I am in Edmonton right now about 30km away from the airport too. I of course wasn’t able to ride a bike from the airport to my hotel, but I suppose that wouldn’t have been fun at 2AM anyway 😉
Good article, best of luck getting home again. I would really hope that at some point in the future the last 3 km will get sorted…it otherwise sounds like a pleasant enough ride. There’s a route involving rural back roads that I’ve been meaning to attempt to get to the Edmonton airport, but I go so infrequently, and the distant – 32.8km from my house – is a bit further than I really want to go before a flight. Also, annoyingly enough, the MUT that leads most of the distance out of the city switches sides of the road every couple of kilometres.
Thanks Ed. I hope to draw some attention to the airport authority to try to get them to commit to making improvements. And speaking of Edmonton, I am in Edmonton right now about 30km away from the airport too. I of course wasn’t able to ride a bike from the airport to my hotel, but I suppose that wouldn’t have been fun at 2AM anyway 😉
Awesome! The only other airport I have biked to is DCA. It’s so close to everything. I have also walked to the Toronto island airport from home. It’s an easy 20 minute walk.
Hello James:
I love your blog a lot and always look forward to new posts. Particularly, I love your posts about your lovely Dutch cargo bike. I am a new father of a two month old and am looking to maybe get a cargo bike so as to be able to put a child’s car seat in the cargo hold like I believe you have done for your daughter. Can you give me some advice on finding a Dutch cargo bike? I live in the USA, in a college town in Iowa. Did you get your bike direct from a bike shop in Toronto? Or did you have to special order it? Thanks for any info or advice you can provide.
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy, I picked up my bike from a shop here in Toronto called Curbside Cycle. It might not be easy to find one near where you live, but you could always get one shipped in from the Netherlands and bring it to a local shop to get it assembled (or you could assemble it yourself). Last I checked it was going to cost about $750 to ship in a bike from Amsterdam. I can put you in touch with a guy from a company in Amsterdam that makes high quality cargo bikes if you are willing to pay the shipping fee to bring one of these in.
Another option would be to find a dealer near you. I found a store in Minneapolis that carries the Babboe bikes (same brand as mine). The store is called “Varsity Bike & Transit”. There’s also a store in Chicago called “JC Lind Bike Co” that sells WorkCycles bicycles. Might be a good idea to compare the costs of buying directly from the Netherlands versus buying from a dealer in America.
If you’d like more details, feel free to send me an email: james.schwartz@theurbancountry.com
Cheers,
James
Hello James:
I love your blog a lot and always look forward to new posts. Particularly, I love your posts about your lovely Dutch cargo bike. I am a new father of a two month old and am looking to maybe get a cargo bike so as to be able to put a child’s car seat in the cargo hold like I believe you have done for your daughter. Can you give me some advice on finding a Dutch cargo bike? I live in the USA, in a college town in Iowa. Did you get your bike direct from a bike shop in Toronto? Or did you have to special order it? Thanks for any info or advice you can provide.
Jeremy
So you just left that expensive argo bike at the airport with nothing more then a wheel lock and a cable lock??
So you just left that expensive argo bike at the airport with nothing more then a wheel lock and a cable lock??
Yup, sure did.
It’s a very heavy bike to lift, and there isn’t exactly a huge market for stolen Dutch cargo bikes here. The bike stands out like a sore thumb, so it wouldn’t exactly be inconspicuous to steal the bike or to use it afterwards. Plus, there’s a lot of cars at the airport that are worth far more than my bike and are parked in less conspicuous areas.
Yup, sure did.
It’s a very heavy bike to lift, and there isn’t exactly a huge market for stolen Dutch cargo bikes here. The bike stands out like a sore thumb, so it wouldn’t exactly be inconspicuous to steal the bike or to use it afterwards. Plus, there’s a lot of cars at the airport that are worth far more than my bike and are parked in less conspicuous areas.
Hi Jeremy, I picked up my bike from a shop here in Toronto called Curbside Cycle. It might not be easy to find one near where you live, but you could always get one shipped in from the Netherlands and bring it to a local shop to get it assembled (or you could assemble it yourself). Last I checked it was going to cost about $750 to ship in a bike from Amsterdam. I can put you in touch with a guy from a company in Amsterdam that makes high quality cargo bikes if you are willing to pay the shipping fee to bring one of these in.
Another option would be to find a dealer near you. I found a store in Minneapolis that carries the Babboe bikes (same brand as mine). The store is called “Varsity Bike & Transit”. There’s also a store in Chicago called “JC Lind Bike Co” that sells WorkCycles bicycles. Might be a good idea to compare the costs of buying directly from the Netherlands versus buying from a dealer in America.
If you’d like more details, feel free to send me an email: james.schwartz@theurbancountry.com
Cheers,
James
The return trip was much smoother. No crossing multiple lanes of traffic, and it was downhill all the way home. Took me 1 hour and 8 minutes. More details to follow in an upcoming article. Cheers!
This is exactly the route I took to exit terminal 3. It was much smoother. Although the road allows cars to leave terminal 3, it technically doesn’t allow cars to enter terminal 3 using that route (“authorized vehicles only”). But next time I ride to the airport I will gladly take the “authorized vehicles only” route, and I am more than happy to ride the wrong way briefly to access the terminal safely.
What’s interesting is that air travel results in a far larger carbon footprint and is worse for the environment than automobile travel. Giving up air travel but continuing to drive a car is far and away preferable to giving up driving a car but flying. Of course, the best solution is to ride your bike all the time and never go anywhere on a plane.
Right. I thought that went without saying. My choice wasn’t between flying or driving. I was flying for work either way, and I had a choice between taking a taxi, public transit, or bicycling to the airport. I try to do what I can. I try to bike instead of driving when possible. I try to take trains instead of flying when possible. I try to take turbo prop planes instead of jets when possible. And of course, I try to avoid flying/driving/trains whenever I can.
You can always look at the negative side of things. I mean, you could say that the carbon emissions generated by my body while pedalling to the airport has a negative impact on the environment. Lying in bed 24 hours a day would of course have the least impact on the environment, but we still need to live our lives, and some of us try to do what we can to minimize our impact on the environment.
I try to see the positive side of things when I can instead of always pointing out the negative.
I’m just putting it out there that you don’t get to talk about reducing carbon emissions by riding a bicycle when you fly in airplanes. It’s hypocrisy of the highest order.
You can argue that you need to fly for work. But then, soccer mom can argue that she needs to take an SUV-load of kids to swimming lessons and soccer practices five days a week.
i wish we in North America lived in towns and cities where soccer mom could walk, bike or take public transport to activities that weren’t 20 km away. I wish we had Netherlands-style cycling infrastructure. As you advocate very well on your blog, the positive benefits of walking and biking go well beyond carbon emissions to improved health and less congestion. No question. But in the final analysis, the jet airplanes are exponentially worse for the environment than the SUVs.
I wish someone was working on some kind of alternative to jet fuel.
Sorry, you must have read a different article than the one I posted above, because I don’t see a single word that mentions anything about reducing carbon emissions in this article except in your comment.
Yes, I did read a different article than this one. Numerous ones, in fact. All on your blog.
Take it easy now, and try to view it from the “glass being half full” angle. I don’t know where James was flying to, but another alternative may not have been feasible. For instance, if a Canadian employer was sending an employee to Mexico, it’s “possible” for him/her to bike there, but then they better not expect the employee to be able to make it there within a week or two, or three. And good luck trying to find a rail or bus alternative that’s going to get there in only double the time as flying. And even if you had all the time and energy available, you wouldn’t be able to bike or take a train from N. America to Europe, for instance.
Your SUV analogy isn’t really comparable here, because you’re speaking of much shorter distances, often within a city or suburb. True, the current road infrastructure would make it very dangerous and/or difficult for people to bike anywhere, but physically it could be done by most people (assuming there’s no disability, etc.). Many of these trips aren’t likely over 10 miles one way. No, most people couldn’t do 10-15 miles on their first ride. But if they rode regularly (which most North Americans don’t) this would not be an issue.
I know exactly where your coming from with the criticisms because I see it aimed at environmentalists and vegans/vegetarians all the time, for example. No, none of these groups are perfect and certainly the extremists deserve some of the criticism. But in the grand scheme of things, at least some of them are making an effort to REDUCE their footprint. The only way to have no footprint is to not exist on this planet. And heck, even dying is going to generate a carbon footprint unless you’re okay being tossed right into the backyard to rot.
What’s interesting is that air travel results in a far large carbon footprint and is worse for the environment than automobile travel. Giving up air travel while driving a car is far and away preferable to giving up driving a car but flying. Of course, the best solution is to ride your bike all the time and never go anywhere on a plane.
Sheesh, he was NOT arrested simply for riding a bike from the airport. I’m a cyclist, and a cycling advocate, but it does no one any favours when stories are distorted into simplistic talking points.
See this explanation here: http://duoquartuncia.blogspot.ca/search?q=orsak
Right. I thought that went without saying. My choice wasn’t between flying or driving. I was flying for work either way, and I had a choice between taking a taxi, public transit, or bicycling to the airport. I try to do what I can. I try to bike instead of driving when possible. I try to take trains instead of flying when possible. I try to take turbo prop planes instead of jets when possible. And of course, I try to avoid flying/driving/trains whenever I can.
You can always look at the negative side of things. I mean, you could say that the carbon emissions generated by my body while pedalling to the airport has a negative impact on the environment. Lying in bed 24 hours a day would of course have the least impact on the environment, but we still need to live our lives, and some of us try to do what we can to minimize our impact on the environment.
I try to see the positive side of things when I can instead of always pointing out the negative.
I’m just putting it out there that you don’t get to talk about reducing carbon emissions by riding a bicycle when you fly in airplanes. It’s hypocrisy of the highest order.
You can argue that you need to fly for work. But then, soccer mom can argue that she needs to take an SUV-load of kids to swimming lessons and soccer practices five days a week.
i wish we in North America lived in towns and cities where soccer mom could walk, bike or take public transport to activities that weren’t 20 km away. I wish we had Netherlands-style cycling infrastructure. As you advocate very well on your blog, the positive benefits of walking and biking go well beyond carbon emissions to improved health and less congestion. No question. But in the final analysis, the jet airplanes are exponentially worse for the environment than the SUVs.
I wish someone was working on some kind of alternative to jet fuel.
Sorry, you must have read a different article than the one I posted above, because I don’t see a single word that mentions anything about reducing carbon emissions in this article except in your comment.
Yes, I did read a different article than this one. Numerous ones, in fact. All on your blog.
Take it easy now, and try to view it from the “glass being half full” angle. I don’t know where James was flying to, but another alternative may not have been feasible. For instance, if a Canadian employer was sending an employee to Mexico, it’s “possible” for him/her to bike there, but then they better not expect the employee to be able to make it there within a week or two, or three. And good luck trying to find a rail or bus alternative that’s going to get there in only double the time as flying. And even if you had all the time and energy available, you wouldn’t be able to bike or take a train from N. America to Europe, for instance.
Your SUV analogy isn’t really comparable here, because you’re speaking of much shorter distances, often within a city or suburb. True, the current road infrastructure would make it very dangerous and/or difficult for people to bike anywhere, but physically it could be done by most people (assuming there’s no disability, etc.). Many of these trips aren’t likely over 10 miles one way. No, most people couldn’t do 10-15 miles on their first ride. But if they rode regularly (which most North Americans don’t) this would not be an issue.
I know exactly where your coming from with the criticisms because I see it aimed at environmentalists and vegans/vegetarians all the time, for example. No, none of these groups are perfect and certainly the extremists deserve some of the criticism. But in the grand scheme of things, at least some of them are making an effort to REDUCE their footprint. The only way to have no footprint is to not exist on this planet. And heck, even dying is going to generate a carbon footprint unless you’re okay being tossed right into the backyard to rot.
Any idea if there’s an official policy on bike parking at Pearson? They had a “Bike To Work Day” and there’s a mention on their website about some employees who regularly bike to work. http://www.torontopearson.com/en/aboutpearson/environment/initiatives/
Any idea if there’s an official policy on bike parking at Pearson? They had a “Bike To Work Day” and there’s a mention on their website about some employees who regularly bike to work. http://www.torontopearson.com/en/aboutpearson/environment/initiatives/
I used to bike to LAX all the time. I did not have to park my bike overnight, only for a few hours. Loved riding into the airport.
I used to bike to LAX all the time. I did not have to park my bike overnight, only for a few hours. Loved riding into the airport.
That bike looks like it is the beginnings of an awesome new airport taxi service. That might be a lot faster especially in urban areas.
That bike looks like it is the beginnings of an awesome new airport taxi service. That might be a lot faster especially in urban areas.
Pingback: Paying Employees To Bike To Work ← The Urban Country
Sky Bar: labelled joined of L.A.’s hottest
cabaret spots since the day it opened, Sky Bar is open, ethereal and causes you
to want you are floating up at intervals the clouds atop the abstractionist
building (located at 8440 Sunset Blvd.). act type of the foremost stunning
views altogether of L.A
If you’re coming up with a business trip to L.A., initial verify wherever you will
be attending conferences or visiting with shoppers. Downtown l. a. may even be a frequent destination for
business travelers, as a results of the Convention Center and money District
unit placed there
Great article as always James. This one is superb and also I like the photo that you’ve shown above just like airport parking in Illinois