Our walking schedule:
Tuesdays at 4 p.m.
We meet at Ramsden Park, on Yonge St. opposite the Rosedale subway station. We walk for an hour in the park - nice pathways, no cars, then some go to a local pub, the Rebel House for an early dinner.
This group uses the Tuesday What's App group to communicate who's going to walk. There are not many, but hoping there will be more participants this year. If you are not a member of this Tuesday What's App group please let me know.
Thursday morning
This is a much larger group that meets either at the cemetery at 9:30 or at High Park and a time determined by the walkers. We hope that this year, a group of us 'east enders' will be able to get out to High Park. Traffic is an issue as we all know.
This walk is organized by me (BDL) in emails that go out on Wednesday for the Thursday morning walk. There are 20 people on this distribution list and our turnout is usually good. Coffee afterwards in each location.
Saturday
There is no separate communication for this walk. We meet at the cemetery at 9 a.m. There is usually a large group to walk and talk. We even have a warm up exercise, led by our own DD, before we head out. After walking we typically go to what we call the "Underground Cafe" which is in the lower level in the Loblaws building. It is nice and open and we can congregate even as a large group. However, we do add different locations to meet and walk several times a year - especially in the better weather, such as the Brickworks, Toronto island and others.
Races in 2026
A few of us are going to do the 10 km race in Florence, on Sunday March 29.
However, as a group we typically organize a more local race each year. We have started working on this, but are still looking for other suggestions. Our criteria are:
1. Local, as in able to drive, train or fly, but within Ontario
2. Have different distances, i.e. 5, 10, 21 km
3. Have no or reasonable time limits for each race
4. Have a choice of accommodation, as this usually involves an overnight stay.
We are hoping to have some options to present to the group at our business meeting on January 31. And we know that there are other very local races, like Sporting Life (registration now open) that are popular and don't require any travel.
When I was thinking about the topic of this blog, I had read an article in the Globe, that others may have, about how to keep friendships strong and growing. That always involved a deliberate strategy, as in regular get togethers in various 'formats', Seems to me that our structure as a group perfectly echoes these requirements to sustain and nourish our friendships and deep connections.
So, here's to 2026. More walking, talking, socializing, travel and fun!
