The Meadoway
Jul 22, 2021
I biked for about 2 hrs recently, and here are some things I remember about it.
Michelle on the walk
Biking on the sidewalk just past McDonald's near my house, I met Michelle Chen (my friend's aunt). I waved at her as I passed her. It took a few seconds for her to complete the facial recognition (I don't think she has ever seen me on a bike with a helmet), but she did wave back.
Michelle is our travel inspiration. Before the pandemic, she would show us videos of her world travel over Thanksgiving dinner at her place and tell us stories. The last time we had such a gathering, she mentioned they were going to Las Vegas for the week before Christmas. So before the dinner was over, I had booked our first Las Vegas trip to join her group. There is magic in her turkeys.
New Kennedy Station
On the downside of the bridge near Rainbow Village (twin red 17 storey buildings where I used to live), I saw the nearly finished new Kennedy Station for the upcoming Light Rail Transit(LRT). It is a modern see-through glass-walled structure that will open to the public in 2022. This station is the first stop in the subway for Scarborough. It also connects to local buses, inter-city trains (GO Transit), and the ageing but special Scarborough-only overhead trains. I like train rides. I have gone on streetcars just for the journey.
Chan Chey
At the beginning of the bike trail, just past the silly walk section1, a group of people were walking ahead of me. The little girl in the group was the first to notice me on the bike as I got close. She yelled out Chan Chey (bike in Cantonese) to her family and quickly got everyone to move to the right side of the trail.
Father, daughter roller skate
As I got to Jack Goodlad park, a girl was learning to roller skate with his father next to her. She lost her balance and fell, and the father started to pull her up. She said "No No No" loudly, clearly not quite ready yet. Both father and daughter were laughing throughout this awkward situation.
Community Garden
Crossing Kennedy Road and into The Meadoway, the first thing I see is Givendale Allotment Garden. It is a city-managed community garden where people get a small section to grow whatever people tend to grow in their backyard, except this is in a public space.
There are many like this along The Meadoway. When I bike past them, I slow down or stop to observe what goes on in there. I once saw a man carrying a large squash from one of these community gardens to his apartment nearby.
Father, son both in bikes
Further along, I stopped next to a father and son both on bikes at the Warden Avenue crossing. The son's helmet had a pointy thing on top like a shark fin. After crossing the street, he started accelerating and told his father to race me! race me!.
Cricket
The Meadoway is mostly a bike/walking trail with not many people around but it gets more lively at Wexford Park.
With the hydro tower as a backdrop, a group of boys played cricket with a tennis ball. They had a proper pitch and wickets. I stopped to watch an over of live-action. I was expecting slower than medium-pace bowling and less than athletic fielding given the casual game setting, but I was pleasantly surprised.
The bowling was faster than I expected, and there was only one wide ball in that over. The batting was good (no one got out), but the biggest surprise was the fielding.
The fielders (some with grey hair) got to the balls in time, didn't fumble, and made very accurate throws back to the wickets. What was even more impressive was the fielders covering behind the bowler or wicket-keeper when the throws came in. These weren't street cricketers like me. They were good.
Adele lookalike (younger version)
After crossing Victoria Park Avenue, I rode past a young lady walking her dog. She looked like a young Adele (the singer). Shortly after that, the bike trail ended at Eglinton Avenue, and I turned around to back. Yes, I did see the young Adele lookalike again.
Shred Here Now
On the way back, the last thing I remember was a delivery truck container permanently parked in a commercial area with the words Shred Here Now2 and a phone number on the side. I have no idea what it was trying to advertise to people walking or biking along the trail. My first thoughts went towards the crime/drama themes.
