TORONTO: June 20, 2017 – A good start to the morning can make a world of difference in anyone’s day. Students at Bowmanville High School are hoping to provide a moment of happiness and get commuters started on a cheerful note during their morning journey to downtown Toronto with their self-titled “Commute With Kindness” Day (social media hashtag: #CommuteWithKindness).
Metrolinx is pleased to support the Bowmanville High School’s 2017 graduating Students On The Leading Edge [SOLE] Leadership class to spread cheer and pay forward community goodwill. On Thursday, June 22, 2017, students will board Union Station-bound Lakeshore East GO train or GO bus in the morning to perform random acts of kindness for customers.
The students will celebrate their second annual Random Acts of Kindness event while honouring GO Transit’s 50th Anniversary. Commuters can expect to be challenged by trivia acknowledging both GO Transit and Canada’s 150th Birthday!
Members of the media are invited to document the Thursday morning journey by joining students as they travel to Union Station. GO Transit and Transit Safety staff will be on hand to ensure the trip is a safe and memorable one for all involved.
DATE: Thursday, June 22, 2017
TIME: Oshawa to Union train – Group #1 departing Oshawa GO at 0938hrs.
STARTING POINT: Oshawa GO Station – 915 Bloor Street West, Oshawa (Bloor Street & Thornton Road).
DESTINATION: Union Station (65 Front Street West, Toronto).
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Monday, June 19, 2017
Good luck getting past Drive Clean
When someone says, "Buy a beater for the #GOtrain station..."
— CJ Smith (@ThisCrazyTrain) June 16, 2017
And you take them literally. pic.twitter.com/Henmr5zzSs
So, how's the cycling going ...?
Great!
Despite the ridiculous weather pattern swings... I managed to get into a routine (cycling posts are still public on Facebook for those cheering me on). Friday night, I had a personal best of 30 km in under 2 hours. And as you can see from the scale picture above, I'm down 20 pounds from my highest weight this year.
I have gained back most of my mobility. There is now renewed strength in my quads. I can sort of stand up and pedal but it's wonky - the balance isn't there yet.
My new bike outperforms my old bike in ways I have come to appreciate, especially when climbing hills. It's lighter and easier to manipulate.
But the best part of this weight loss is the clothes. I can fit into almost everything in my closet but at least, I can wear all my spring and summer pieces. I am continuing to listen to my body. I take breaks. I switch up my routes. I rest. But some rides, I do push myself only to see if I can do it and when I do it, I break into tears every single time.
The police called us to tell us they have a possible ID on one of the kids who stole Veronica, but there's been no further development.
I really doubt I'll ever see that bike again.
Thursday, June 15, 2017
The provincial government has decided to pursue potentially groundbreaking clean train technology as part of its plans to electrify the GO Transit network
Ontario looks at hydrogen-powered trains for GO Transit https://t.co/1Kpvr3Avw7 via @torontostar
— CJ Smith (@ThisCrazyTrain) June 15, 2017
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Life Lessons (go get your Mr. Rogers' cardigan and sneakers, because you'll need them)
Submitted to thiscrazytrain.com
By Anonymous
The following story has 2 morals, both of which will be told first:
1) Do not run to your car. Nothing is worth those few extra seconds and minutes
2) Do not trust GO Transit to assist in a timely manner in an emergency.
The story:
Caught the 4:30 LSE train and disembarked at Ajax. Took the elevator to the tunnel as the knee isn't working because of the heat and humidity (had I took the stairs, would not have seen this).
A woman was rushing and either tripped over her feet or someone cut her off and tripped her. She did a complete faceplant. Was knocked unconscious and started bleeding profusely from a head wound.
Another woman who was closer to the scene managed to get to the injured woman, keep her immobile (when she came to there was confusion and she fought the hands holding her still) and with scavenged kleenex and napkins made a compress for the head wound. Two other women called 911, someone called GO Transit from the emergency button and at least one man alerted the station attendants.
I gave an update to one of the women who got through to 911, and then let the group know the ambulance is coming. As I was walking as fast as I could to see if the ambulance arrived one station attendant finally arrived. Taking her sweet ass time to get to the injured woman. To make matters worse as we made eye contact, the attendant smirked. There was no hurry to the scene of an emergency. This was completely unacceptable.
Once the EMTs arrived, I did leave the scene and I called GO Transit once home to mention the completely unacceptable behaviour of the attendant. Suggesting that if they do not have first aid training, then they need to complete courses, as unconsciousness and blood indicate an emergency. Heck they are the two things that will get you bumped to the top of the list in the ER.
In the end, I really hope the injured woman is ok and back on her feet soon.
But I really hope to never need assistance if everyone reacts the way the station attendant acted.
And please people: rushing to your cars/buses/rides is not worth it. Especially if it could land you in the hospital.
UPDATE
GO Transit has officially launched an investigation into this incident.
UPDATE
GO Transit has officially launched an investigation into this incident.
Thursday, June 8, 2017
WIFI coming to GO trains?! It's looking like a possibility (especially for y'all too cheap to buy data - just sayin' ... )
Through an Expression of Interest (EOI) process, Metrolinx endeavors to identify a partner (includes consortiums acting as one group) to provide a fully managed turnkey Customer Wireless Internet Service (which could include partner provided content/infotainment), to all GO Transit passengers throughout their journey to enhance the customer experience.
Metrolinx is also looking for a solution that is cost neutral through a revenue generation model and supports the ability to collect data for the analytical purpose of tracking customer flow and frequency.
Source Document
Metrolinx is also looking for a solution that is cost neutral through a revenue generation model and supports the ability to collect data for the analytical purpose of tracking customer flow and frequency.
Source Document
I'm being quite serious... TONIGHT IN COURTICE, HAVE YOUR SAY - Holy Trinity High School: 6:30-8:30 pm
Parking.— CJ Smith (@ThisCrazyTrain) June 8, 2017
Definitely parking-and lots of it.
Gas station would be nice.
Flowers. Working elevators.
Trees.
Heated bus shelters.
USB chargers. https://t.co/6zTkkTUA8Q
To whom it may concern,
As an active role you play in the Clarington community or in transportation, I am inviting you to participate in the upcoming workshops on the development of Clarington’s Transportation Hubs. Please also feel free to forward this notice to other members in your social circles that may be interested in attending. We would like to spread the word about the upcoming community visioning workshops.
This is a special project to develop a high level vision for the two transportation hubs around the future Courtice and Bowmanville GO stations. The intent is to ensure that the development around the stations are appropriately planned. The final vision and concept plan developed through this project will be used to inform a number of Metrolinx studies, as well as the Secondary Plans for each respective area.
Any assistance in getting the word out to as many people as possible would be much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Planning Services Department
Municipality of Clarington
40 Temperance Street, Bowmanville ON L1C 3A6
905-623-3379 ext. 2422 | 1-800-563-1195
40 Temperance Street, Bowmanville ON L1C 3A6
905-623-3379 ext. 2422 | 1-800-563-1195
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
ICYMI: Presto had been sharing information with police agencies Re: missing persons and alleged criminal activity
Metrolinx to review Presto privacy policy https://t.co/U9QopLehIb via @torontostar
— CJ Smith (@ThisCrazyTrain) June 6, 2017
Monday, June 5, 2017
There are workers on-site at Burlington today! For how long, no one knows... probably working hard on getting the water fountain up and running now that two elevators are finished
This will be everyone who leaves from #BurlingtonGO now, on #GOTrain 100th B'day, still waiting on renovations to be completed LOL pic.twitter.com/x3CFT9tksu
— TheFayMac (@FayMacsey) May 24, 2017
Chaos! Chaos everywhere!
New platform line up for Lakeshore West and Milton GO trains.
Starts June 7.
Starts June 7.
Bought a Betty
I've resigned myself to the fact that Veronica is gone and forked out for a new bike (and all new lights, accessories, reflective tape, etc...). I went back to Impala Bicycles in Whitby since they were great to me the first time, even though they no longer sell Giant bikes. I settled on a Specialized Crossroads S/T.
Betty, as I've named her, is 12 pounds lighter than my previous girl (I miss you, Veronica! *sob*). I will admit this weight difference has made a big difference in my rides. Hills are easier and I get better speed. I rode to Hampton from Courtice twice this weekend since the ride was so comfortable. Her tires are wider which makes for a better grip when I drift onto soft shoulders. I'm happy with her.
I also want to thank everyone who shared my search to reclaim Veronica. I deeply appreciate these efforts. I also want to publicly thank a lovely woman who reached out to me to offer me a used bike. I took her up on this offer as I had promised my daughter a bike this year. That meant a lot to me. Thank you.
Your body when your stop's coming up and your boot is ready to push the button
The discarded food container is also a nice touch.
There's so much class being displayed here my nana would be so proud.
Friday, June 2, 2017
Had the most amazing train ride home last night...
It started with garlic and ended with the Walking Dead.
I was late for the train and wound up wedging myself in a quad with three other people intent on carrying their life's possessions to and from work. Bags! Bags everywhere! The woman across from me had a bag for her lunch, a bag for her shoes, a bag for her wallet, a bag for her keys, a bag for her make-up - Jesus, buy a suitcase and be done with it. She made a big production of moving all these bags for me to have a place to put my feet. Lots of sighing. Really? I pay my fare. You're the inconvenience, girly, not I.
Once I was settled in, my nostrils began burning. The woman beside me had obviously been to a garlic festival. It was bad. Really bad. She yawned. Three times. My esophagus closed up. I couldn't breathe through my nose or my mouth. I shrunk down and yanked up my shirt up like a mask.
She and bag lady left the train at Pickering.
This left just two of us in the quad. I was wearing earbuds and the lady I was with, was not. Two other women in a quad across from me were gesturing and pointing at me. I saw this out of the corner of my eye and when I looked up, they both quickly glanced away. I didn't have any music playing at the time because my playlist had stopped, and I could hear music playing from behind me. I pulled my earbuds out, and pulled the earbuds out of the phone and tossed them onto the seat next to me. I began handling my phone in a way to demonstrate I was not listening to anything. Music was still going... and I could tell by their body language they were embarrassed they had fingered the wrong person.
At Ajax, the person seated behind me playing music loudly exited the train.
This guy comes upstairs. He sits in the quad in front of me and begins to watch an episode of the Walking Dead with no headphones and at a volume not acceptable for the Quiet Zone. All we could hear was the growling of zombies, gunshots and tires squealing. No one dared to ask him to turn it off. Instead, there was lot of exchanges of WTF? faces, eye rolling and huffing and puffing. Some guy decided to make a phone call telling whoever was on the other end how annoying the train ride is. It was hysterical. He was loud enough for everyone to hear, on purpose.
At Oshawa, as we were all exiting, some guy who was in the bathroom didn't lock the door and everyone lined up to file out were treated to a view of him fully engaged on the toilet. The woman who rolled open the door turned a deep red and jumped off the train.
It's been a long time since I've rode this crazy train.
I was late for the train and wound up wedging myself in a quad with three other people intent on carrying their life's possessions to and from work. Bags! Bags everywhere! The woman across from me had a bag for her lunch, a bag for her shoes, a bag for her wallet, a bag for her keys, a bag for her make-up - Jesus, buy a suitcase and be done with it. She made a big production of moving all these bags for me to have a place to put my feet. Lots of sighing. Really? I pay my fare. You're the inconvenience, girly, not I.
Once I was settled in, my nostrils began burning. The woman beside me had obviously been to a garlic festival. It was bad. Really bad. She yawned. Three times. My esophagus closed up. I couldn't breathe through my nose or my mouth. I shrunk down and yanked up my shirt up like a mask.
She and bag lady left the train at Pickering.
This left just two of us in the quad. I was wearing earbuds and the lady I was with, was not. Two other women in a quad across from me were gesturing and pointing at me. I saw this out of the corner of my eye and when I looked up, they both quickly glanced away. I didn't have any music playing at the time because my playlist had stopped, and I could hear music playing from behind me. I pulled my earbuds out, and pulled the earbuds out of the phone and tossed them onto the seat next to me. I began handling my phone in a way to demonstrate I was not listening to anything. Music was still going... and I could tell by their body language they were embarrassed they had fingered the wrong person.
At Ajax, the person seated behind me playing music loudly exited the train.
This guy comes upstairs. He sits in the quad in front of me and begins to watch an episode of the Walking Dead with no headphones and at a volume not acceptable for the Quiet Zone. All we could hear was the growling of zombies, gunshots and tires squealing. No one dared to ask him to turn it off. Instead, there was lot of exchanges of WTF? faces, eye rolling and huffing and puffing. Some guy decided to make a phone call telling whoever was on the other end how annoying the train ride is. It was hysterical. He was loud enough for everyone to hear, on purpose.
At Oshawa, as we were all exiting, some guy who was in the bathroom didn't lock the door and everyone lined up to file out were treated to a view of him fully engaged on the toilet. The woman who rolled open the door turned a deep red and jumped off the train.
It's been a long time since I've rode this crazy train.
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
(updated CCTV images attached) Someone ripped out my heart, tossed it on the ground, and stomped on it
Below are still images from the CCTV footage of the two kids (kids! not teens as I was first told, although I guess they could be 13/14 - it's hard to tell) who took Veronica. The lock, by the way, is still attached to the bike as he rides away. It would take a laser saw to get it off!
Previously...
Remember Veronica?
Veronica was stolen last night.
Veronica is my bike. And she's been taken from me.
I ride several times a month from Courtice to Bowmanville and back via several routes, and one of the routes takes me right past the Canadian Tire at Green Road and Highway 2. Last night I decided to stop there and make a purchase. While I was in the store, my bike was taken.
There's video of the theft. The video shows me locking up the bike. I remember being really intent on getting the lock connected because it was my first time using it. In the video, which I have not yet seen, but the manager of the store has, you see me checking the lock. What I don't do ... are you ready?! I don't make sure I actually looped the cable through the ring of the coiled bike rack.
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!
Neither can I!
My face grows hot and red just thinking about how stupid I am. But, as the assistant manager pointed out, it doesn't matter. Someone still stole something that was mine. Everyone at the Canadian Tire who helped me after I discovered the theft (literally 5 minutes from the time my cycling app paused to the time stamp on the receipt of what I purchased) were amazing and incredibly sympathetic. They cared about me as a customer and it showed.
This is Veronica. The day I bought her. That's my kid. She's heartbroken this has happened - even more than me. She knows how much cycling means to me. This bike has been a huge part of my recovery from serious injury and depression. I can get another bike but I don't WANT another bike. I will be getting one, but I shouldn't have to.
Please share this post on Facebook. It's garage sale season in Durham Region. She may turn up on someone's driveway. Whatever you pay for it, I'll reimburse you. She's a 2015 Giant Liv Cypress W. Serial # C1AK7192. She's blue. She had lights all around. Phone mount. Basket mount. Headlight. Mirror. Water Bottle Holder. She was stolen in Bowmanville in front of the Canadian Tire store on May 29, 2017 at approximately 7:39 pm. And if by chance you know the teens/young men who took it, there's a reward for its return. Please.... Do the right thing.
I really want her back.
cj@thiscrazytrain.com
SMS 9054427423
Previously...
Remember Veronica?
Veronica was stolen last night.
Veronica is my bike. And she's been taken from me.
I ride several times a month from Courtice to Bowmanville and back via several routes, and one of the routes takes me right past the Canadian Tire at Green Road and Highway 2. Last night I decided to stop there and make a purchase. While I was in the store, my bike was taken.
There's video of the theft. The video shows me locking up the bike. I remember being really intent on getting the lock connected because it was my first time using it. In the video, which I have not yet seen, but the manager of the store has, you see me checking the lock. What I don't do ... are you ready?! I don't make sure I actually looped the cable through the ring of the coiled bike rack.
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!
Neither can I!
My face grows hot and red just thinking about how stupid I am. But, as the assistant manager pointed out, it doesn't matter. Someone still stole something that was mine. Everyone at the Canadian Tire who helped me after I discovered the theft (literally 5 minutes from the time my cycling app paused to the time stamp on the receipt of what I purchased) were amazing and incredibly sympathetic. They cared about me as a customer and it showed.
This is Veronica. The day I bought her. That's my kid. She's heartbroken this has happened - even more than me. She knows how much cycling means to me. This bike has been a huge part of my recovery from serious injury and depression. I can get another bike but I don't WANT another bike. I will be getting one, but I shouldn't have to.
Please share this post on Facebook. It's garage sale season in Durham Region. She may turn up on someone's driveway. Whatever you pay for it, I'll reimburse you. She's a 2015 Giant Liv Cypress W. Serial # C1AK7192. She's blue. She had lights all around. Phone mount. Basket mount. Headlight. Mirror. Water Bottle Holder. She was stolen in Bowmanville in front of the Canadian Tire store on May 29, 2017 at approximately 7:39 pm. And if by chance you know the teens/young men who took it, there's a reward for its return. Please.... Do the right thing.
I really want her back.
cj@thiscrazytrain.com
SMS 9054427423
Friday, May 26, 2017
Metrolinx not ready to disclose how much cheaper UP Express fares costs Ontario taxpayers
Union Pearson Express ridership up, but still heavily subsidized https://t.co/a6i3lTkzTK via @torontostar
— CJ Smith (@ThisCrazyTrain) May 26, 2017
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Speedy buses are what's needed! LOL
@ThisCrazyTrain @TorontoStar From Oshawa you need one of these. https://t.co/0V4nJcjlWu
— Kenneth (@kennethca66) May 24, 2017
An engineering feat so amazing, every single person subscribed to GO Transit's communication service, got a tweet or email about this
What's next?! An email broadcast about a working water fountain?!@ThisCrazyTrain WHAT? #GOtransit sent email alerts that 1 of the new elevators is operational?— GO Voyageur (@GOvoygr) May 24, 2017
Automatic paper towel dispenser?!
Doors that have a button you can push to open them automatically if you are using a mobility device?!
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