Do many of you take the GO Train to start your rides?

Yep, I do. The train is great...there are lots of riding destinations on the train lines.

Also, recently, ALL the GO buses have added front bike-racks, which opens up a lot more routes and trails.

I was looking at some point-to-point options earlier today. Great to not have to deal with shuttling cars around...I'm thinking I could ride trail between stations.

 

One thing I forgot to point out was that the car I'd be getting on was half empty & there were lots of seats elsewhere for these people to sit.

I guess this is what "limited mobility" or aged (whatever the PC terms are) people have to deal w/ when idgits sit where they're not supposed to sit.

 

Yeah, people have blocked the bike area on my train too. I just took another seat and stuffed my bike somewhere else. At one point the GO staff came walking through the car and completely saw and ignored the fact that I was in the wrong place. I think they didn't care at all -- I wasn't in anybody's way.

The designated seats are drafty and loud anyway. I prefer to sit elsewhere.

If it bothers you when that happens, in my opinion you should politely request that the people blocking the seats move elsewhere. Explain that the area is reserved for bikes. Just point out the little sign that shows the bikes and ask them to find a different place to sit! No worries!

 

There are specific seats for bikes???

 

There are specific seats for bikes???

Hehe. My bike doesn't mind standing, but the rider likes to get a seat.

Erm...kinda. It's hard to explain the layout of the train car in words, but here goes my attempt. On the lower-level, the centre of the train car has an aisle up the middle. Doors are at immediately beyond at either end of that aisle, on both sides of the car, and there's an open area around there. There's also a single bank of seats right across the "dead-end" of the car at the very end on the opposite side of the open area.

Here's my diorama, X's are seats, dashes are the doorways, and this is horribly inaccurate but may help get the idea across:

X ~ ~ ~ X X X X X X~~~~~X
X bike========== bike X
X______X X X X X X_____X

Riders are supposed to get these "end of the car" seats, they are reserved for cyclists so that you can sit beside your cycle. The only real space for bikes is the open space immediately near the doors. There's no real bikerack or anything...but there's a way to kind of lean the bike against the poles or seats, but it usually means sitting there to hold the bike in place under acceleration or braking forces.

Some cars have a differetn layout and only have space at one end and have other junk (washroom etc.) at the other.

Given the tight spacing, it's annoying when people are hogging these seats without having bikes.

The train service is amazing if you've never tried it...no traffic and lots of convenient station stops.

The only real snag with the trains is that there are certain hours for bikes (off-peak times). But you can take your bike on the bus at any time of day.

 

the go bike bus racks up here in bolton seem to be the same ones as the ttc. though i rarely see a bike on the rack...

 

The GO buses running thru Oshawa have the racks as well. I've never used them but am curious. How difficult is it to load your bike on them? There's a stop just around the corner from my place. I could catch the bus & transfer to the GO Train & leave my truck @ home (avoiding the $%^&ing hassle @ the parking lot).

 

http://www.gotransit.com/public/en/station/bicycles/bicycles.htm#bikeracksonbuses

http://www.gotransit.com/public/en/station/bicycles/bicycles.htm#bikesontrains

the brochure shows how to load the bikes on the bus. I have never used it as I don't really us Go but happened to be surfing there site one day.

 

The GO buses running thru Oshawa have the racks as well. I've never used them but am curious. How difficult is it to load your bike on them? There's a stop just around the corner from my place. I could catch the bus & transfer to the GO Train & leave my truck @ home (avoiding the $%^&ing hassle @ the parking lot).

It's a piece of cake to load your bike...takes about 10 seconds, and the driver will help you out if you haven't used the rack before.

I've managed to fit 2.6" knobby tires into the rack. You'll need to have the pressure a bit squishy to get it into the bars. They don't allow any pannier bags on the bike while it's on the rack.

 

go train

I've never really rode outside of Toronto. What are some stops with good mountain or road biking in the area? (I live downtown, closest to Union station)

Hehe. My bike doesn't mind standing, but the rider likes to get a seat.

Erm...kinda. It's hard to explain the layout of the train car in words, but here goes my attempt. On the lower-level, the centre of the train car has an aisle up the middle. Doors are at immediately beyond at either end of that aisle, on both sides of the car, and there's an open area around there. There's also a single bank of seats right across the "dead-end" of the car at the very end on the opposite side of the open area.

Here's my diorama, X's are seats, dashes are the doorways, and this is horribly inaccurate but may help get the idea across:

X ~ ~ ~ X X X X X X~~~~~X
X bike========== bike X
X______X X X X X X_____X

Riders are supposed to get these "end of the car" seats, they are reserved for cyclists so that you can sit beside your cycle. The only real space for bikes is the open space immediately near the doors. There's no real bikerack or anything...but there's a way to kind of lean the bike against the poles or seats, but it usually means sitting there to hold the bike in place under acceleration or braking forces.

Some cars have a differetn layout and only have space at one end and have other junk (washroom etc.) at the other.

Given the tight spacing, it's annoying when people are hogging these seats without having bikes.

The train service is amazing if you've never tried it...no traffic and lots of convenient station stops.

The only real snag with the trains is that there are certain hours for bikes (off-peak times). But you can take your bike on the bus at any time of day.

 

I've never really rode outside of Toronto. What are some stops with good mountain or road biking in the area? (I live downtown, closest to Union station)

You have my sympaties. Most of the really grate riding in the GTA is OUTSIDE of toronto!!!

Durham forest, Garanaska, Kelso, South/North Shore Ravenshoe

There's not really much in the way of riding in Toronto aside from the Don Valley

Durham is a trek you need to get a GO bus up to Uxbridge and then ride down 6th concession to the forest entrance

Ravenshoe is up by Keswick, for that you'll need to take the GO train to East Gwillembury and then take the bus up to Keswick.

North/southshore are out in Hamilton again a trip on the Go to Dundas

Garanaska you'll need a car to get to as it's out by peterborough

 

Don't forget about the riding in Milton. There are now GO buses to Milton and once there you can ride Kelso, Hilton Falls, and the Agreement Forest.

 

Garanaska you'll need a car to get to as it's out by peterborough

Actually it's closer to Newcastle, which is where the Lakeshore East route ends. I guess you could take the train & bus there & ride north. I checked w/ my GPS software & it's 16.5 miles (1 way) from Newcastle to the Ganny Forest Centre.

 

You have my sympaties. Most of the really grate riding in the GTA is OUTSIDE of toronto!!!

Durham forest, Garanaska, Kelso, South/North Shore Ravenshoe

Garanaska you'll need a car to get to as it's out by peterborough

Actually, you can take the GO Train to Oshawa and get the #90 Bus to Newcastle, then head north-east to Concession 7.. Which is 25km of road riding, mostly up hill.

Do a quick 50km loop and head home. For a total of 100km or riding!

Seriously, I'd say head to Orono Crown Lands for a few loops of single track if you're in Newcastle.

 

Actually it's closer to Newcastle, which is where the Lakeshore East route ends. I guess you could take the train & baus there & ride north. I checked w/ my GPS software & it's 16.5 miles (1 way) from Newcastle to the Ganny Forest Centre.

Ah beat me to it..
If you're riding from Newcastle to the Ganny expect a lot of uphill riding.. There is quite the elevation gain as you head north, with a lot of ups and downs.

 

I've never really rode outside of Toronto. What are some stops with good mountain or road biking in the area? (I live downtown, closest to Union station)

There's tons of riding near the Caledon stop: Belfountain, Inglewood, Forks of Credit, Erin, etc. There's lots more along the stretch between Caledon and Georgetown.

Near Bolton: Palgrave, Glen Haffy and Albion Hills.

Between Goergetown and MIlton: Hilton, Kelso

Basically, all the above are linked (or only slightly seperated) with railtrails and singletrack, or short road intervals, so everything is "attached" together..if you want it to be. Easy to link together into a ride.

The main problem with some of the super-close bus stops is that the GO schedule is really limited. Only a few buses per day. Huge gaps between times. Some have no weekend service at all. Awkwardly timed connections, weird trip times, etc.

Luckily, there are a few really good hubs, like Milton and Georgetown. It's pretty easy to "self-shuttle" into a major hub from a more seldom-serviced area. Just take the appropriate route or railtrail to work along the system to the end-point.

For example, the bus out to Caledon only runs a couple of times a day. Take the morning bus out, ride around, then eventually get to Georgetown to catch a ride back. You can hit 40km of singletrack and a bit of gravel railtrail in a long point-to-point and you're not doing laps!

Basically, this ultimately means a longer ride. But no loops or laps, no shuttles, no hassles. That's good, no?

 

I've never really rode outside of Toronto. What are some stops with good mountain or road biking in the area? (I live downtown, closest to Union station)

Oh, silly me...you're in Toronto.

All my personal "local rides" are in Hamilton/Dundas area...and all these qualify as a GO bus away from you. There's at least 2-300km of singletrack and trail accessible directly from the Hamilton GO Centre or the McMaster GO.

Dundas, Waterdown, Escarpment trails east and west, Burlington etc etc.

Stoney Creek has a GO stop too, and there are some cool trails out that way also.

 

Here's my diorama, X's are seats, dashes are the doorways, and this is horribly inaccurate but may help get the idea across:

X ~ ~ ~ X X X X X X~~~~~X
X bike========== bike X
X______X X X X X X_____X

Riders are supposed to get these "end of the car" seats, they are reserved for cyclists so that you can sit beside your cycle. Given the tight spacing, it's annoying when people are hogging these seats without having bikes..

I take the GO train all the time to TFC, Blue Jays games and stuff like that. I have never once seen a sign that says those seats are 'reserved for bikers'. I see people with strollers and bikes using them all the time, yeah, but nothing to indicate they are specifically there for those people only. Now I know - I will spread the word!

 

I take the GO train all the time to TFC, Blue Jays games and stuff like that. I have never once seen a sign that says those seats are 'reserved for bikers'. I see people with strollers and bikes using them all the time, yeah, but nothing to indicate they are specifically there for those people only. Now I know - I will spread the word!

No, the small sign doesn't say that these seats are exclusively for cyclists. However it would be nice if something was added asking riders to give them up for those of us travelling w/ a bike.

Some people would say common sense & decency would help, but in the real world, both of those are in short supply. A segment of the population that probably doesn't read English (today's Markham carjacking "incident", Police say a language barrier could have played a role in the confusion, as the woman's first language is Mandarin. No charges have been laid.) may also add to the seats being taken by non-cyclists.

 

Hmm. Can't just sit on your bike and wheel up and down the aisle?

 

does GO train charge extra money for riders bringing bike on board?

is there off limit time for cyclist to use GO train such as rush hour?

 

No extra cost. You can't bring bikes into Union Station from what I know, but I think you can take the bike on any time. If I take the train into the city with my bike, I just get off at Exhibition and ride into the downtown core from there.

 

You can take your bike into Union Station, just not during the hours quoted below:

When can I take a bicycle onto a GO Train?

You may take a bicycle on any GO Train on a Saturday, Sunday, or statutory holiday.

On weekdays, due to rush-hour crowding, you may not take them on trains scheduled to arrive at Union Station between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. or that leave Union Station between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. Bicycles are also prohibited inside Union Station during those times.

Bicycles are permitted on all other trains, including weekday off-peak, and those travelling opposite to peak direction.

For example, you may bring your bicycle on trains travelling away from Union Station in the morning peak period as long as you do not board at Union Station. Similarly, you can bring your bicycle on trains traveling towards Union Station in the afternoon peak period as long as you get off the train before it arrives at Union.

What if, for example, I got on at Whitby GO Station during the morning rush but got off at Rouge Hill station. Can I bring my bike then?

No. During the morning rush, if you are travelling on a train towards Union Station, you cannot bring your bicycle on any part of the trip. The same applies if you are on a train that leaves Union Station during the afternoon rush, regardless of where you get on.

I wonder if the point about travelling opposite the peak direction is new? A couple of years ago the ticket seller in Oshawa told me @ 2:30 PM that I really shouldn't be on the train (I was getting off @ Pickering) since it was a train passing thru Union Station after 3:30 PM.