Canada’s largest indoor bike park, Joyride in Markham, just outside Toronto, offers over 100,000 square feet of diverse biking facilities and a positive, friendly atmosphere for riders of all levels.
Words :: Colin Field.
The only problem with Joyride is that it isn’t in my hometown. That’s my only complaint. If I lived close to that place I like to think I’d be an absolute ripper. It’s probably one of my favourite places in the country. And just about anyone can have fun there; if you can ride on two wheels, give Joyride a try, you won’t regret it.
With over 100,000 square feet of bike park, this is Canada’s largest place to ride a bike indoors. Just outside downtown Toronto in Markham, Ontario it has pumptracks, skinnies, jump lines, a skatepark, a street plaza, a halfpipe, a foam pit—this place has it all. There’s even a multi-level cross-country course that wraps around the building.
If you’re here on a busy night or weekend, you’ll see some of the best riders in the country blasting to the moon on BMX bikes, dirt jumpers and mountain bikes. It’s an inspiring scene. And it’s a scene that is positive, friendly and intimidation-free. People are much better humans when they’re riding bikes together: It’s a fact.
So for the last two years, my son and I have done what we call the Joyride weekend; go to Markham, ride Joyride till we’re exhausted, get a hotel and ride again the next day. And this year we took my wife and a couple of his buddies and spent two days in Markham and three days riding Joyride. We rented bikes to ensure we had the latest and greatest technology and the best kind of bike for the location; Chromag Monks dirt jumpers were the obvious choice.
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The weekend was awesome. It felt like we took a vacation somewhere far away. We ate great food, stayed in the lovely Markham Marriott and had an easy ten-minute commute to the only indoor spot to ride bikes in the GTA. We also ran into a ton of friends and made some new ones too.
After one full day of riding and post-dinner (delicious Korean barbecue at BBQ Chicken) we checked out Claw & Kitty, a store with nothing but claw machines in it. The incredibly friendly owner showed us how to win on the machines and before we knew it, we had a couple of shopping carts full of tiny stuffies. I gotta say it was really fun. The kids had a blast; the most difficult part was deciding what to trade the tiny stuffies for at the upgrade counter. They ended up with three giant chicken stuffies.
Then, since the kids had burnt so many calories, we headed to Demetres for an ice cream. This place does not mess around; their scoop is nearly pint-sized. The kids struggled through a couple of massive sundaes, then we went up to the hotel. They decided to hit the gym, and do some swimming. It was pretty cool to see kids so active and screen-free.
In the morning, after a brief stop at the mall (country kids get a kick out of malls) we headed back to Joyride. The advantage of spending multiple days in a row at Joyride is the visible progression. All of us improved over those visits and when you’re looking at kids riding jump lines, it’s so obvious: the kids were jumping nearly all of the intermediate line by the time we left. That was a line they’d never ridden before this visit. I was getting really comfortable on the intermediate line and eyeing up the advanced line, and my wife was nearly clearing the tables on the beginner line. We were all happy with our progression and we pushed each other gently while celebrating everyone’s individual accomplishments.
Sure we’re not progressing the sport, but we’re progressing in our own way. And that’s worth every penny on a trip like this.
Markham wasn’t the kind of place I’d ever considered spending a weekend, but our Joyride weekends are now a tradition; they’re so much fun. Each time we visit we discover something new in town. There’s tons to do beyond riding bikes, the restaurants are incredible and it’s an easy place to get around.
But seriously, if you’re into riding bikes and haven’t been to Joyride yet, what are you waiting for? It doesn’t have to be a full weekend, just head out there for the day. I guarantee you won’t regret it.
Check out Joyride’s specials page for deals on womens’ nights, old guys’ nights, family nights and rental deals.
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