I just realized that tomorrow is the first day of Toronto Bike Month! There’s a list of events online. I didn’t get up in time for Bells on Bloor today, but there’s a bunch of things coming up that i’m looking forward to.

I can’t participate in the opening pancake breakfast at Nathan Phillips Square because I commute the other way. Instead, I’m going to bike to work tomorrow morning even though they’re calling for thunderstorms in the afternoon, and either leave the bike there overnight or pick it up later in the evening.

Thursday’s a staff meeting at FreshBooks which is followed by a (decidedly un-bike-related) rock climbing excursion at Joe Rockhead’s. I’ve never climbed before but I’ve been meaning to for a long time (and it’s on my severely out-of-date 101 in 1001 list). But Thursday night brings back the bike content with a Bike Month screening of Pee-Wee Herman’s Big Adventure, with live action featuring various local personalities. Think Pee-Wee meets Rocky Horror. I should drag some FreshBooks people along.

Friday’s the last Friday of the month, which means Toronto’s monthly Critical Mass ride. I figure Bike Month is as good a time as ever for my first Mass. I know there’s a lot of opinions out there on Mass and I haven’t entirely formed mine yet, but I figure I ought to participate before I do. I know there’s been some issues with Mass in Toronto in the past but I’ve also heard that it’s cleaned up a bit (although I’ve also heard that a detour through the Eaton Centre is not unheard of).

Right after that is the first Toronto Criterium in the St. Lawrence Market area. The senior divisions’ race starts at 7:30 and lasts an hour and a half plus three laps. Crits are a blast to watch — especially compared to road races — because they’re laps, which means you get to see the peloton more than once, and because they’re short, which means they’re fast and aggressive.

And that’s just this week! I haven’t dug deeply into the rest of the month’s schedule, although dobbs on MetaFilter mentioned recently that the 2008 Cycle Messenger World Championships are being held in Toronto mid-June, so I’ll probably catch some of that too (and maybe catch up with dobbs there, for that matter).

(The Tour de Dufflet sure is tempting, though. And I need to remember to register for the Community Bicycle Network’s repair classes. But I might pass on the World Naked Bike Ride on the 14th.)

Post-and-ring photo at top by flickr user urbanmkr.