After seeing another person efficiently try the gamut twice in the course of the pandemic, 34 year-old Toronto resident, Richard Conway, launched into traversing all the size of Yonge Avenue — practically 65 km — in sooner or later, and he succeeded.
Although the favored fantasy of Yonge Avenue truly working at 2000 km lengthy, making it the longest avenue on this planet, has long-since been debunked, the key artery that runs between Lake Simcoe to Lake Ontario remains to be, undeniably, a protracted one. Particularly on foot.
Beginning (or ending, relying on which approach you go) in East Gwillimbury and working all the best way all the way down to Queens Quay, the key artery by way of the south is definitely someplace round 86 km in its entirety, or 65 for those who do not rely the Bradford-to-Barrie extension.
Whereas, to me, strolling wherever close to that distance in a single day falls someplace near root canal on the enjoyment spectrum, for Richard, the thought gave the impression of a enjoyable problem. Totally different strokes for various of us, I assume.
For Richard, exploring Toronto by foot has been a favorite pastime of his ever since he moved to the town from Eire in 2016.
“I already stroll fairly a bit, so I discussed to my buddies that I’d give it a do this yr and set out final weekend,” he tells blogTO.
Whereas, for a lot of, a journey of this size may fairly presumably require some coaching or preparation, Richard tells blogTO that he was already primed and prepared for the journey.
“My go-to weekend stroll in the course of the summer season is from Roncy to Woodbine and again, which is round 28 [to] 30 km,” he says. “With that common routine, I felt ready to deal with Yonge Avenue’s route from East Gwillimbury to Queens Quay.”
Armed with little greater than a cellphone the place Strava was monitoring his journey and a great perspective, Richard set out for a stroll that will finally take him practically 11 hours complete.
“The stroll itself began off nice — it was a quiet morning surrounded by nature, and I acquired to see some beautiful properties,” he tells blogTO, explaining that, over the course of the stroll he stopped by way of Newmarket, Aurora and Richmond Hill, which every had ample spots to take a load off if want be.
Whereas the route itself had loads of scenic views, Richard says that the one he most cherished over the course of the journey was none aside from that of the downtown skyline within the distance from Richmond Hill.
“It actually felt like victory was on the horizon,” he says.
A lot of the stroll was easy crusing, Richard tells blogTO, till he hit the house stretch.
“The toughest half? Undoubtedly the final 10 km,” he says. “Surprisingly, there have been some uphill stretches I hadn’t anticipated — heading south, you’d assume it’d be all downhill — and I may actually really feel the fatigue setting in.”
Solely making two stops over all the 11 hour journey — as soon as for a espresso, as soon as for a soda — Richard tells blogTO that he “wouldn’t essentially suggest” skipping meals whereas making an attempt such a feat to the typical particular person, on prime of admitting that, deciding to “energy by way of” reasonably than take relaxation, his ankle was in “tough form” by the top.
All of the ache was not in useless, although, as, upon the completion of the journey, Richard posted his story to r/Toronto on Reddit, and it rapidly took off, incomes 7000 upvotes and a spot among the many prime ten posts of all time on the subReddit.
Richard’s sudden ascent to Reddit stardom has additionally impressed others to start posting their very own journeys on the platform, like one one who recounts strolling from Richmond Hill to Union Station in simply 5 hours.
It is also impressed fellow walkers to start planning their very own journeys, which, Richard says, he’d be eager to get in on.
“Would I do it once more? Undoubtedly,” Richard tells blogTO.
“Individuals within the feedback [of the Reddit post] have been speaking about organizing a bunch stroll for charity subsequent yr, which might be superior if it truly comes collectively.”
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