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| - Bixi Bikes are the best!
Toronto has an excellent system of making bicycles accessible for public transportation. For $5/day (or less, if you get a monthly or yearly pass), you get permission to take a bike from any of the racks, which are placed all over the downtown area, and use it. If you return it to any other rack within 30 minutes, there is no additional fee. Be careful: The system is designed to encourage short trips, so there is a hefty fee if you ride the bike all day. We timed ourselves, returned the bikes every 25 minutes, and got new bikes.
We rode all over the downtown, along the waterfront, to Chinatown, to the Kensington Market. It was a wonderful way to explore the city.
The bikes are big and clunky, but that's OK for slow touring through a city. No complaints here. They are cool-looking,and lots of people greeted us and shouted "Bixi Bikes!" as we peddled along. Seats are easily adjustable for height (I am very tall), and there are three speeds, plenty for riding in urban Toronto. There's a blinking red light in the back that is powered by a generator run by the pedals.
We found plenty of Bixi stations, located pretty much anywhere we wanted to go. Each station had a detailed map, so we could easily figure out where we would go next and where we would find the next Bixi station. Some reviews say that it can be hard to find an open spot in the racks to return your bike when you are done, but we didn't have any problems at all.
Altogether, this is a great way for a city to make itself accessible, reduce pollution, and promote fitness. Good job, Toronto!
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