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As a follow-up to my previous post, where I expressed my love of cycling and Hamilton, here's a self-portrait of me cycling in Hamilton last Saturday, August 21st.

A group of eight of us from Toronto caught a GO train to Burlington in the morning. From there, we rode down Brant St. into downtown Burlington and to Burlington's waterfront. Then on to the Burlington and Hamilton Beach Strips towards Confederation Park in Stoney Creek. After stopping for a delicious lunch at a lakeside restaurant, we carried on to the Stoney Creek Dairy where we re-fueled again. Awesome. And then up The mountain via Mount Albion Rd., which was closed to traffic when they opened the Red Hill Creek Expressway, so we had a fun and relaxing ride up the hill (only a short bit that's very steep!). What goes up, must come down....so we headed right back down the east end rail trail that leads right back into downtown Hamilton, where we split up to get dinner, catch GO buses home, etc.

A totally fantastic day. Hamilton rocks, especially for cycling. I'm already scheming a west end rail trail ride.

In this photo I'm cruising down the escarpment along the east end rail trail near the end of our ride. This was taken with my small point'n'shoot Canon Powershot SD800, which I sometiime carry when I don't want to lug my bigger SLR camera around.

More photos with captions are here.

...and I think squirrels are kind of fun too.

This photo was taken in Macnab St. pedestrian underpass that goes under the railway tracks in downtown Hamilton. I was meeting up with Jen at the Hamilton GO Centre last Friday after work and was a bit early so I went for a little walk around downtown. I hadn't been through this tunnel before, and I was pleasantly surprised by the really bright and cheerful mural here, so of course I took a few photos.

I grew up in Hamilton, and I appreciate it more and more every time I go back. It's a great city to do some cycling in too. Looking forward to going back very soon, with a bike.

August 13, 2010.

Another exterior shot of Ontario Redi-Mix on Wade Ave. This is the view from Erwin Krickhahn Park on Rankin Cres. in the Junction Triangle.

It will be interesting to see if this place gets re-used (doubt it), pillaged and vandalized (probably), and eventually torn down to be replaced with something better (probably, but who knows when?).

August 10, 2010.

The rest of my photos from Redi-Mix are posted here.

Looking down from the upper level of the vacant Ontario Redi-Mix plant on Wade Ave. There's a decent view of the surrounding area up here: The Redi-Mix gravel yard, GO Transit's Barrie Line tracks, and over into Erwin Krickhahn Park in the Junction Triangle. Probably an even better view from up on the silos. :)

The rest of my photos from Redi-Mix are posted here.

I was taking a photo of this sign at the vacant Ontario Redi-Mix plant on Wade Ave., when a fellow explorer/photographer walked into the frame. I actually like this photo much better than the one I was trying to take.

August 1, 2010.

The rest of my photos from Redi-Mix are posted here.

The gravel yard at Ontario Redi-Mix on Wade Ave., near Bloor and Lansdowne. The shovels remain where the former employees left them at the end of their final shift.

August 1, 2010.

The rest of my photos from Redi-Mix are posted here.

Exploring the vacant Ontario Redi-Mix concrete facility on Wade Ave., near Bloor and Lansdowne. Much of the site is completely encrusted with many years worth of concrete dust, often settling into really interesting patterns and shapes, especially under the silos where the concrete was pumped into cement trucks for delivery.

August 1, 2010.

The rest of my photos from Redi-Mix are posted here.

Drumming group Pound For Pound performing at Perth Square Park in the Junction Triangle, July 25 2010.

This was part of a Sunday picnic series in the local parks, with music organized by the Junction Triangle Rail Committee to help bring awareness to the rail expansion projects in our neighbourhood.

The rest of my photos from this picnic and performance are here.

The Bloordale Pantry's pancake eating contest during the New Bloor Festival, Saturday July 24 2010.

I caught this round of the contest after grabbing some lunch / escaping the rain at the Bloordale Pantry. After lunch, the rain went away for long enough to have this round of the contest so I watched it all go down. The crowd was cheering, syrup was spilled, kids were stuffing their faces...all in good fun. I'm surprised nobody puked. :-) The kid in blue ended up winning this round.

A short while later, I saw him eating more pancackes. A true champion who loves his sport.

Looking into the window of the Toronto Free Gallery (currently the "Change" exhibit) during the New Bloor Festival on Saturday.