If you’re looking for a good run across Toronto, here’s one I did last Sunday that should function as our “Welcome to Toronto” invitation for the fit and visiting. It’s a loop run but start it wherever you want, I put pedal to pavement beginning at the foot of Queen and Roncesvalles.

In running across the nearly 14km, I count upwards to  17  different attractions/districts of Toronto west of Yonge mentioned blow and pictured above and even though I’ve lived here my whole life felt enriched by the amount of new stuff I noticed:

- starting over the Pedestrian bridge over the Gardiner, stop for a few brief seconds and peer at the cityscape and the speeding cars coming toward you below

- manage to get over the bridge, and you’ll see the famous Palais Royale - a refurbished dance hall and music house since 1932

- continue past the Boulevard Club and Argonaut Rowing Club on the somewhat improved Martin Goodman portion of the Waterfront Trail

- keep following past Ontario Place, the Molson Amphitheatre, The Exhibition and Windshare’s 91 metre high windmill

- continue to Battery Park past the 50 tonne granite Inukshuk dedicated by Pope John Paul II

- watch the slumbering ducks and boats in summer around Coronation Park and HMCS York

- sniff out for signs of civilization as you see some Porter airplanes take off from the controversial Island airport and the houses bordering Little Norway Park

- now you’re on Queen’s Quay - a beehive of activity in Summer (not so much in winter)  - peer out onto Lake Ontario sihouetted by Toronto’s Music Garden, HTO park, Power Plant, Harbourfront Centre and Queen Quay terminal - we’re finally getting this part of the city developed, beautified and people living down here

- make a sharp left turn at the foot of Bay St. at the west side of the Westin Harbour Castle and where the ferries shuttle passengers and tourists over to Ward Island, Centre Island and Hanlon’s Point

- continue up Bay under the Gardiner past the Air Canada Centre - home to professional sports teams - the Maple Leafs, Raptors and Rock  since 1999, a building framed by our previous post office art deco facades

- up Bay, you will find more money per square foot than anywhere else in Canada, for the narcissist like myself - watch your jogging stride in the gold plated windows of the Royal Bank plaza, take in the history of Union Station and continue up Wellington

- make a left and lumber down Wellington Street and stroll past our glassed in music hall - The Roy Thomson Centre and the back of CBC’s massive building

- glimpse a quick left down John St. and peek at the Rogers Centre (formerly Skydome) then veer right and head up John St. to spot the centre of Toronto’s night life and music culture at Queen - personified by the CityTV building at Queen St.

- make a left and feel like you’re doing an aerobic shopping trip through the chains and occasional independents of Queen West - as well as my favourite musci venue The Horseshoe and The Rivoli

- keep moving along Queen to the gentrifying artsy part Queen West West and stride past the magnificently renovated Drake and Gladstone hotels as well as fitness outposts Downward Dog Yoga, fresh for Life, the CAMH sprawling grounds and Trinity Bellwoods park

- keep pushing it under the Queen and Dufferin bridge to a more earthy crustier Parkdale - and spot the occasional new gallery, household/art studio and antique place that dots itself along the improving strip

- finish up at what once the southern outpost of the heartland of Polish and Ukrainian Toronto at Queen & Roncesvalles - take your choice of brunch/coffee meccas of the west end - Mitzi’s, Easy or Cherry Bomb and relax in the small parkette Beaty park overlooking Sunnyside Beach and across from the TTC stockyards…you deserve it.

Here’s  a mapped out description of the run - best to complete over the weekend and off peak season (summer days) - given the fight with pedestrians for space across half the run, enjoy:

Now that another successful NHL Outdoor Classic is in the books, our thoughts turn to where else could this game be played? More than the Stanley Cup or All-Star game - nothing galvanizes interest in hockey across North America on a one-day basis like this game (my lord, it was even trending well on twitter yesterday).

Let’s take inventory - they’ve done Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo in Rich Stadium, Montreal vs. Edmonton in Commonwealth Stadium, Detroit vs. Chicago in Wrigley Field and now Philadelphia vs. Boston in Fenway Park.   So where to next? Here’s are our top 9 suggestions:

1. The Big Apple Game - Central Park, New York City - The Rangers vs. The Islanders

Forget Yankee Stadium and its $30 hot dogs, why not have a game in the freshest air of New York smack dab in Central Park. If  1.7 million people are willing to see a Garth Brooks concert here, surely hockey could establish a similarly large beachhead on the media capital of the world.

2. Old Time Pond Hockey - The Rideau Canal, Ottawa - The Senators vs. The Leafs

The Battle of Ontario is back on and this time on the world’s longest ice rink and UNESCO Heritage Site. Ottawa is also the historical home to Lord Stanley - whose donated cup from 1892 is the most recognizable trophy in sports and given to the NHL champions each year.

3. The Cheesehead Legends Game - Lambeau Field, Green Bay - The Wild vs. The Black Hawks

If you are going to have something called the Heritage Classic each year, don’t you have to doff a cap to your football cousins and host a game at Bart Lombardi’s shrine. Imagine the same guys going shirtless at wintry Packer games coming out for hockey - pure tailgating magic.

4. The Michigan/Ohio Grudge Match - Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor - The Red Wings vs. The Columbus Blue Jackets

9 years ago, the Michigan State Spartans hosted the largest outdoor hockey match ever played until then with their cross-state rivals - the dreaded Michigan Wolverines. Result -  they overfilled the stadium with over 74,000 puckheads for a college hockey game . This time, we would bring back the ghosts of Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler and have Ohio square off against Michigan in the much bigger 107,000 seat “Big Hosue” Michigan Stadium.

5. The Hammer & Sickle Game - Red Square, Moscow - Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals vs. Kovalchuk’s Atlanta Thrashers

What better way to provide international detente then to host a game in the middle of Moscow with two of NHL’s most exciting players. Check out the sitelines here too. Plus, you know Putin would want to put on a good show.

6. The Olympic Game - Whistler Village, British Columbia - Vancouver Canucks vs.Calgary Flames

1988 Olympic host meet 2010 Olympic host in one of the most idyllic winter settings on the planet.

7. The Obama Game - Washington Monument, D.C. - Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers

The pool in front of Washington Mounment is a perfect venue for the ice classic - having Lincoln preside over the game provide a distinctive US stamp of approval on the game south of the border.

8. Hockey Goes Hollywood -  L.A. Coliseum, Los Angeles - Los Angeles Kings vs. The Anaheim Ducks

Believe or not, there was an outdoor exhibition game held between the Kings and Rangers back in1991 at Caesar’s Palace in Vegas. Have a read on the hijinx they had to overcome.  Where there is a will there is a way-plus with 18 years of additional technology- there has to be a way to do it.  Just imagine Hollywood’s reigning elite (Nicholson, the Baldwins, Cruise, Denzel, and that annoying cast from Twilight) coming out to watch a game of shinny in LA Kings classic colours.

9. The Roch Carrier Home and Home Rivalry - Rogers Centre, Toronto  and Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens

The cradle of hockey in the civilized world  - these two have been sparring for the last 80 + years against each other with a very popular NFB cartoon “The Sweater” speaking about hockey as religion in these parts. It’s shame that the sheen off the “Heritage” idea is taken off by holding these in semi-domed stadiums - but imagine a Friday night game in one city followed by a Sunday afternoon game in the other. The most patriotic Canadian event since our new flag in 1967.

Photo courtesy Rick Bogasz

Get your mid-winter swim gear on and prepare to watch all your parts shrink and puff up as you ring in the new year by a “dash of insanity”.

For the brave of heart, here’s where to ring in no, rather take the plunge into a new decade just a little bit differently:

The Polar Bear Swim Club (in support of Habitat for Humanity) Sunnyside Park - 11:30am registration and 12:00pm dip - free blanket for all participants

Polar Bear Dip (in support of World Visions) Coronation Park, Oakville - 12:30pm-3pm - dip at 2pm sharp - the 25th anniversary of Canada’s biggest

Clarington Polar Bear Swim (in support of Sick Kids) - Newcastle Waterfront - 2pm dip - 10th anniversary - first 80 pledgers get a prize pack

If you start to like this a lot, there is a slightly insane group who likes to do this winter round too.

Forecast calls for scattered flurries and -2 degrees Celsius, although with a slight wind and few clothes on, who knows what that will really feel like.

Some smart advice ahead of time:

• Footwear you can wear in the water
• Towel(s)
• Blanket(s)
• Warm clothes to wear before and after the dip
• A friend to help should you require assistance
• A good place to shower and scrub off Lake Ontario afterwards
• if any medical condition puts you in doubt, consult a doctor or merely gawk and donate

Every 4 years, it’s a ritual rite of passage for every Canadian to second guess the Olympic Canadian brass for their picks of the Olympic men’s hockey team.

When the baseline expectation is that Canada will win the gold medal - it does leave a glass empty feeling about who should have made the team and who should have been left off.

Well, at Generation GO - we have not only complied the stats and stated our thoughts on the Yzerman’s first team but also that of our own second and third.

Seeting some of the intangibles aside, the real misses I see are not tapping Washington’s Mike Green vs. the chosen Brent Seabrook,  Brad Richards or Mike Cammalleri vs. the chosen Patrice Bergeron and Dustin Penner vs. Brendan Morrow. However, it’s splitting hairs and even if you did choose differently, at most these players are going to see 12-14 minutes per game if not just sit in the press box.

Based on our rosters below, Canada could easily field three gold medal teams in the Olympics, here are there cumulative year-to-date stats and rosters:

Canada’s Players. G…. A ..PTS..+/-..Shots..GW..Ave Minutes Per Game
Team Canada #1 246 422 668 110 2107 36 22:18
Team Canada #2 199 362 561 94 2063 31 20:55
Team Canada #3 181 309 480 17 1503 20 20:00

Canada’s Goalies W Save% GAA SO
Team Canada #1 66 0.917 2.28 6
Team Canada #2 28 0.900 3.00 4
Team Canada #3 35 0.910 2.74 0

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A misty Christmas day and suffering from some cabin fever between two Christmas parties - what better time for a run.

Thank goodness for John Howard, Toronto’s first city planner, who protected High Park, Toronto’s 400 acre urban green oasis from the developer’s crane rising up around the city’s west end- it’s full of scenic and undiscovered spots. And it’s also one of my fave runs. Even on a damp miserable Christmas day, I was accompanied by more than a few, cheery joggers, itinerant walkers, adventuresome dog walkers, shinny players and families sneaking out for a fresh air break.

In an attempt to retrace the Harry’s Spring Run (scheduled for Saturday, April 3rd, 2010) , we trailblazed our own quick jaunt into High Park that we’ll now break up into 9 parts for your convenience:

The Downhill Start - start at the top of Spring Road hill near the main north entrance to High Park - enjoy the road that snakes through the east side of the park, plenty of dog lovers here just don’t jog alone here late at night

The Deerpen Climb - thighs aching, breath getting short…this is one of two big climbs you’ll be making today - admire the yaks, bison,llamas, goats and sheep as they watch with idle amusement - it smells like a farm too - weird I know, but I love that hay-tinged dung smell

The Loop East Side - catch a breath and travel along High Park’s main artery road and wonder about the hordes of people that descend on the park’s theatre, baseball diamonds, swimming pool, concessions stands and tennis courts and chuckle as parents take their kids out for their very first skate

The Loop West Side - this one is a quickie downhill, just watch for cars who zoom into the park not realizing the 20km per hour speed limit, in summer, be prepared to be gawked at as the park tram guides tourists, families and more sedentary people

Grenadier Pond - easily the most scenic part of the park - admire the biggest floral Maple Leaf this side of Ottawa, the grizzled fishers casting lines from the outcropping deck and romantic strollers, oblivious to the history and the nature conservancy of this beautiful area

The Southern Queensway Bend - listen to the din of cars from the Gardiner Expressway and Lakeshore Boulevard to the south as Canada Geese fly overhead, dutifully obey or astutely ignore your only traffic light on this entire run and proceed back onto a path that brings you back into the bucolic charm of the park

The Playground Garden Trail - travel along the winding path as its enveloped on both sides by big trees, spot the ducks in the reclaimed pools to the right and ponder the usually busy Adventure Playground and it’s gothic turrets, swings, slides and apparati. Note, in a pinch - grab a water from the hot dog vendor that usually birddogs outside of the playground entrance

The Sprng Road Climb - a gradually undulating climb followed by a mean hill to finish off. This is usually the ending of most organized runs in the park and usually espouses cheers. This time, only chriping dogs greet me. Oh well, I know I accompished somethingf.

The Sprint Bloor West Finale - you may be breathless from the hill or surrounding, but civilization and Bloor West awaits only a couple of hundred metres ahead, say hi to the police cars that usually perch at the front entrance of the park , usually waiting their next emergency call and feel guilt-free about the fresh air and scenery you’ve just stolen from the Toronto’s top park.

And for the Apres Run - here are our top 5 choices for after-run fun…

- two Starbucks situate just 5-10 minute walk or a 1-2 minute drive west of the park. Latte it up! or this time of year, a hot chocolate or cider might do!

- Bloor West is filled with great neighbourhood bars, grab a pint at the Swan and Firkin, a burger and ale at the English Griffin or a lager and chat at Mackenzies. Sure it’s two steps forwards, 1 step back fitness wise - but you have to have fun sometime.

- Shoes are down to a threadbare sole? Need a gear pick me up? Both Running Room and New Balance are along Bloor West as well..thankfully, Running Room also has outlined 38 runs that their club treks through year round

- Cross training is your thing - stroll past Wheels of Bloor for the sick looking Cervelos in the window, or RPM Spinning and Gravity Studio for a boutique gym and community of Bloor West activities.

- The refurbished Grenadier Cafe offers up good breakfast, lunch and snack fare situated right in the middle of the park (on the southern loop of the main road), to the west of the park - Sunset Grill offers up a hearty breakfast, Cobb’s Bread and Bread and Roses have great pastries and Dr. Generosity and Villa have a great dinner menu for the showered up and redressed - grab a book from the theatre-now-turned local Chapters and settle back for the rest of the day west end style.

From time-to-time, we’ll be documenting our runs, rides, paddles, hikes and urban adventures, let us know if you’d be interested in submitted your own traipses through the city at chiefsherpa@gengo.ca

Courtesy of www.insidesocal.com

Olympic Torch Relay: This is an event you do not want to miss! Come by Nathan Phillips Square this Thursday and see the Olympic torch make its way through Toronto. The event is free and occurs at 6 pm.

Holiday Jam: Is a benefit for Sick Kids. Here you will see performances by Kathleen Edwards, Sarah Harmer, Sam Roberts and others. Show begins at 8 pm and ticket prices are $39.50.

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Courtesy of alpe-rjavina.si

Marmot Frontside 3-in-1 Jacket: This is a great waterproof and breathable snowboard coat.  Its insulating, removable fleece liner jacket provides extra warmth on cold days. Price is $275.00.

North Face Nuptse: The warm Nuptse jacket from the North Face can be worn on its own in cold, dry conditions or as a layer of warmth under a waterproof shell in wet weather. This down jacket retails for $199.00.

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Courtesy of IT Ceremony on Flickr

The Junction is one of Toronto’s best hidden gems.  In past years it has had a reputation for being dirty and under developed.  But Generation Go dug deep and we noticed this area has tons of stuff to see and do and is quite developed.  Here are our top picks for the best of The Junction.

Boulderz Climbing Centre: Located at 1444 Dupont Street, Boulberz is the place to be if you like rock climbing.  They have a really decent selection of high wall options as well as some good boulder runs.  The facility is clean and well maintained. They offer classes to beginners and professionals.

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Courtesy of www.city.whitehorse.yk

With the snowfall we just had last night, it’s only a matter of time before we are all skating on our favourite outdoor rinks.  Here are Generation Go’s top 10 picks this week focusing on Toronto East.  Keep Active!

Christie Pits Park:                          779 Crawford Street

Dieppe Park:                                   455 Cosburn Avenue

Dufferin Grove:                                875 Dufferin Street

Greenwood:                                    150 Greenwood Avenue

Harry Gairey:                                   707 Dundas West

Kew Gardens:                                 2075 Queen Street East

Nathan Phillips Square:               100 Queen Street West

Ramsden Park:                              1020 Yonge Street

Riverdale Park East:                      550 Broadview Avenue

Trinity Bellwoods:                           790 Queen West

i49.photobucket.com

“How would you like a job where, every time you make a mistake, a big red light goes on and 18,000 people boo?”
-Jacques Plante.

“All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.”
-Gordie Howe

 ”I’m not dumb enough to be a goalie.”
-Brett Hull

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