Trees Across Toronto - Sun Valley / Lower Don Valley Tree Planting

Photo © Tony Bursey

It was a rather overcast day for a couple of hours of tree planting Saturday, April 28th, 2007. There was a good turnout resulting in 800 trees being planted in record time (in under 2 hours).

Photo © Tony Bursey

The gloves they had for kids were cool-looking.

Photo © Tony Bursey

This is the result of planting 800 trees: lots of empty plant pots of various sizes. The city also provided the white buckets for filling with mulch to pile around each one (they said 4-buckets worth but come on... that would be about as big as what we planted!). I think we put two on each.

Photo © Tony Bursey

The City of Toronto provided the shovels and gloves, for good reason... there were various pieces of rusted metal of all shapes and sizes that were dug up. As a result, we piled them in a few places so that they could be safely removed. Behind the pile is a very small section of the trees that were planted.

All in all, it was a very successful event. So much so, that they are having another one next Saturday! If you are in the area, stop by. You can get there off Beechwood north of O'Connor. Go down the hill and under the Don Valley Parkway and past the Metro Police K-9 Training Centre. There is parking along both sides of the road. Of course, you can always ride the trails and stop by to plant a tree or two as you pass.

DropMachine Don Trail Ride

Photo © Tony Bursey

It was a beautiful day for a ride in The Don Trails yesterday. The trails were bone dry and it felt like the middle of summer. Not a drop of rain in sight and tons of sun.

Photo © Tony Bursey

There was some serious air going on in the jumps section of the trails between the train tracks and the river. There has been alot of work done here over the last year or so.

Photo © Tony Bursey

Overall it was a great ride. There was quite a crowd at the jumps. Finally nice to just kick back, relax and partake in some good conversation, but most of all to witness the range of talent that was present.

Photo © Tony Bursey

I wish I had taken a picture. There was a younger kid named Elliot that was just starting out on the jumps. He could not have been more than 10 or 11 years old. When I first arrived, he was only doing the first two. By the time I left, about 2 hours later, he was doing the entire run including the banked turn at the end. It was inspiring, to say the least. This kid just kept riding them, over and over and over again.

Photo © Tony Bursey

The day was not without its mishaps. There were a few crashes. Nothing serious, perhaps a slightly bruised ego. The great thing was the riders just picked themselves back up and kept riding. No harm done.

Definitely looking forward to the next one. This time I will show up prepared with more Flash Memory for the camera!

Getting Ready!!!

If you have not yet done so, you might want to consider taking your bike into a reputable bike shop and have a tune-up done. Most bike shops are around the $35-$45 range. Be sure to ask what that includes so you know ahead of time.

I had not taken mine in for a few years, and needed to replace a few things. $200 later, and my ride is ready to go. The transformation has been like night and day. Shifting is so much smoother and my bottom bracket doesn't flop around when I pedal.

Perhaps the most basic thing is to make sure that your chain has not stretched out of spec because your chain rings and rear cassette will suffer. An unhealthy drive-train means you won't be going anywhere.

Also remember that at this time of year, if the trails are too wet, stay off them until they dry out a little. This preserves the trails so that we continue to have somewhere to ride. Trails degrade too quickly if they are ridden when wet.

GO!!!

GO!!!
Originally uploaded by Tony Bursey.

Start of a 24 hrs of adrenalin mountain bike race at Kelso Conservation Area in Milton, Ontario, Canada. Our team placed 28th out of 60 in our category.
This was shot with a Nikon N4004s with a Sigma 70-210mm zoom. Thanks to Gary Wood for the use of his film scanner.