Green Daily

Bicycle enthusiasts in Toronto took a leaf from the book of their radical brethren and sistren in LA and went for a ride down a major highway yesterday.

More than 200 cyclists from Critical Mass, the group ride that takes place around the world on the last Friday of each month, abandoned the relative safety of city streets to hit the Gardiner Expressway early yesterday evening. According to participants, the decision to move onto the highway was apparently spontaneous, and motivated less by a desire to make a political statement than by simple locational opportunity.

Police shut down westbound traffic on the road and allowed the group to pedal about 7 km (4.3 miles) before diverting them off at an exit ramp. By all accounts, the ride was "civilized", although one rider was arrested and two others ticketed.

Opinions differ on whether highway rides are a good way to raise awareness about cycling, or dangerous stunts that just piss off motorists to no particular advantage. Still, if gas prices keep going up, permanent bike lanes on freeways might start looking like a pretty good idea.