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Glenn Sumi on breaking his Bixi cherry

I’m a born-again cyclist. When my crappy old Supercycle died last November, my faith in two-wheel transportation died with it. For months I walked and public-transitted across the city. I even wrote a column in this space about giving up pedalling altogether. Then I discovered bike-sharing program Bixi.

Of course, I’d seen the bike stations that had sprung up all over the city, but it took me a while to understand the system. Because of the way the program’s designed – you need to dock a bike within 30 minutes or you’re charged an extra fee – it’s good for errands or commuting, not so great for leisurely strolls or mountain-biking in the Don Valley.

For the price of a couple of TTC tokens ($5), you get unlimited access to the 1,000 Bixi bikes for a full 24 hours. For the price of a tune-up at a high-end bike shop ($95), you can get a membership and ride all year long.

It’s cheap and convenient, and I like the sharing aspect. Best thing? Because you have to check your bike into one of the 80 stations before disembarking, you don’t need to worry about broken U-locks, repairs or remembering where you parked the thing. You just have to find the next station.

Some things could be improved. Getting to Trinity Bellwoods, Liberty Village or even the Distillery District is a bit of a pain, since the western Bixi limit is Spadina and the eastern is Jarvis. (If the current project is successful, they’ll expand.)

At certain times, it can be tough finding stations that aren’t full or empty. (I call this being Bixi-blocked.) And then there’s the matter of the buttocks-bruising seat. Sturdy? Yes. Comfortable? No. (I call this Bixi bum.)

Still, there are way more pluses. You don’t have to worry about abandoning your bike if there’s a sudden storm or you feel like walking instead of cycling and if you log onto the Bixi site (toronto.bixi.com), you can see your usage stats, including the number of litres of gas you’ve saved by Bixi’ing.

Strangely enough, what I look forward to most on my Bixi trips is the electronic beep that sounds, accompanied by a solid green light that appears, after successfully docking my bike.

It’s worth the temporary Bixi bum.

glenns@nowtoronto.com

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