Why I love the Leslie Street Spit
One of the reasons I can’t wait for this long cold winter to end, is the joy I receive riding my bike along the Leslie Street Spit. My real estate business with my partner Ben Ferguson www.mattandben.ca can get very busy and hectic sometimes. At the end of a long day of conducting real estate transactions in the www.leslieville.com neighbourhood, it’s good to decompress.
Located at the foot of Leslie Street behind gates that are typically closed after 6pm, you can find one of Toronto’s greatest urban natural oasis, The Leslie Street Spit.
The Spit is a man made splinter of land that was created with land fill and jets out from the Lake Ontario shores. It shoots westward parallel to the shore and ends south of Toronto Island. If you have never been to the end of the Spit, you may not even realize that it is there. From the end you have clear views of the Marilyn Monroe towers in downtown Mississauga to the north west. Obviously, clear and close views of the downtown Toronto skyline to the north as well as Rochester, NY to the south.
The road on the spit travels right to the end where there is a large lighthouse. While cruising down this path there is a lot of wildlife and plants along the way. Thousands of birds ( including cranes, hawks, owls, hummingbirds, blackbirds, seagulls, ducks, geese, ducks, swans, etc…) hundreds of cute bunny rabbits, ground hogs and snakes ( nothing poisonous that I’ve seen).
One clear observation that I have made is that there are a lot of people fishing in the inlets of water that cross through the Spit. I regularly ask the fishermen if they’ve had any luck. I have yet to see anyone catch a fish other than the birds. I know they are in there, but I’ve been told that the birds are eating the majority of fish that are of a size they can deal with. I know there are large carp, pike and of course salmon and lake trout cruising around, but they seem to be evading everyone’s lines.
Before you ride, I recommend a little bug spray because on calm evenings the bugs are hungry. The sunset can be stunning and is definitely worth a look. Also, be mindful of other cyclists and pedestrians. You will have a mixture of Lance Armstrong speedsters, people who seemingly have never rode a bike before, walkers, large groups of bird watchers wearing their Tilley hats, some party people with six packs in hand and very old athletic marathon runners that never cease to impress.
Make sure to say hi if you see me passing you on the bike path this summer. I’m typically with my girlfriend Solina. We both have black bikes in case you are wondering. If I’m not riding I can also be found at the hot dog stand at the entrance of the Spit. The lady who operates the cart is a sweetheart and has the best street meat in town…. And of course if I’m not at either of those places, you can find me at my real estate office at RE/MAX Hallmark at 785 Queen Street East. www.mattandben.ca Office number is 416 465-7850. My email is matt@mattandben.ca.
