Saying something like, "Hey, it's been a ridiculous year for cycling in Toronto" sounds like a bit of a cheap lead-in, but it's true. This year, already dubious for widespread Obamamania, then equally widespread Obamaphobia, and peppered each month with one tragic, horrifying aviation disaster after another, has sucked pretty hard for local cyclists. From losing one of its own at Bay and Bloor to being told, laughably, that a carbon footprint somehow rivalling that of the city's motorists is cause enough for a bike tax, Toronto's cycling community has a few too many reasons to shake its collective head.

Newsstand: November 9, 2009