Cyclist Profiles are a regular feature on I Bike TO.
Name / Occupation / Age
Kirsten Heyerdahl, Administrator, General Counsel at Legal Aid Ontario, 27
What do you use your bike for?
Commuting to work, getting groceries, getting to my ultimate frisbee games.
How often do you ride?
Almost everyday, but I am still mostly a fairweather biker.
How long have you been commuting by bicycle and what made you decide to do it?
Since April, 2007. I got sick of standing in lines for the streetcar, and seeing the bikers whiz.
Can you give a brief description of your route?
I take the College Street bike lane from Bathurst to University, and then go south along University to Dundas Avenue. The lanes are well paved, though the traffic is heavy — both on the street and the bikes in the lane! I use my bell often.
What’s the best thing about commuting by bicycle?
Not feeling like a sardine on the streetcar.
Any advice for new riders?
Get a bell! It is a great way to communicate with fellow bikers to warn them when you’re passing and an empowering tool when cars are inconsiderately stopped in the bike lane.
What would you say to convince someone who is considering commuting by bicycle to get on board their bike?
It’s a greener way to commute: more green in your pocket and less polluting from commuting.
What do you like about biking in Toronto?
That not only does it get me around quickly, I feel part of a sacred subculture banding against cars!
And dislike?
There are not enough bike lanes, even on major routes! Many cars are not used to sharing the road and some bikers are road hogs too.
What’s your favourite piece of cycling kit/clothing/gadget?
My giant sunglasses, so that I block out the sun as well as the grit and dust kicked up by cars.
How could the City help you enjoy riding more?
Increase the number of bike lanes! Create bike lanes in a separate part of the street so that bikes don’t have to share the road with cars.
How did you start biking?
I’ve had a bike since I was a child. I grew up in High Park, so I biked in the park with my family and around the Humber river when I was a teen.
What sort of bike do you ride?
It’s purple 18-speed mountain bike. I got it when I was 13 because I loved the colour. I still love it.
Helmet or no helmet?
Helmet!!! It saves me time on doing my hair too.
Bikelane or no bikelane?
Either, depends on whether it exists or not.
Note on the picture: Kirsten caught my eye as I rode by U of T’s Convocation Hall and saw what I thought was someone picking up their degree with their bike on the red carpet! In fact, Kirsten was picking up tickets for her sister’s convocation. Her sister has just graduated with a Master’s of Art History.
Crossposted to I Bike TO
One comment
This red carpet treatment is what cyclists deserve: and it brings up the ? of why can’t we have coloured concrete or painted asphalt to mark off our bike lanes or bike travel through some intersections?
The TAC folks are apparently thinking of working on this, but it all seems stalled, and we’re likely at risk of losing an opportunity to expand our thinking to more European designs/road treatments.
THe old Metro said we couldn’t use coloured concrete for any bike lanes because it was too costly, but they had their Metro Marker program which used rose-colour concrete all along their carterials in the splash zones which could essentially identify the Metro roads from the traffic helicoptors.
One tries to be positive, but why can’t we get this type of effective colour.
And thanks to Kirsten’s sister for the art history degree to perhaps cue a discussion on using coloured pavement markings.