Our weekly recap of the week’s news nuggets in Toronto will bring you up to date and add some fuel to your small-talk tank heading into the weekend. 

Toronto cycling app

Just in time for Monday’s bike to work day in the city, Cycle Toronto has announced the debut of a new app that tracks your rides. The pro/con nature of modern data collection means that on the yay side, the city can now accrue huge amounts of usage and route data in efforts to build more effective cycling in the city, but on the nay side there may some record of those curious midnight trips you take to places you shouldn’t be going. That's if you're conspiratorially minded though, the app comes with an on/off button that we trust works.

TTC bus driver abandons ship

So most of us Torontonians have been left tapping our feet as a TTC bus driver takes their break at a route terminus, but this is a bit of a different matter. According to passenger Victor Bulario, the driver of a 32 Eglinton West bus simply pulled over and took off after making some sharp turns and scribbling on a time sheet. The TTC is said to be investigating the matter but don't disclose actions they take against their workers. Their policy is that the operator remain with the vehicle until a supervisor arrives. Said supervisor did eventually arrive to an unoccupied bus that was declared out of service while the passengers had to disembark.

Kickstart the smart bike revolution

Item number two in our bicycles and technology series is ingenious enough to make Batman proud. The Toronto-based company Vanhawks Valour has a Kickstarter campaign live until May 30th to fund the creation of a smart bike. Valour has racked up over half a million dollars for the project with many contributors giving upwards of $1,000 a piece. People want this bike and I can see why: The smart bikes will be wired into Google's mapping software and the handlebars will light up when you need to make a turn, instead of you making dangerous peaks at your phone. The bikes will also vibrate when a car gets within a certain distance and link up to other Valour bikes in the area to crowdsource traffic and cycling patterns.

Deer in headlights

A female deer was the cause of a traffic jam that lasted neary two hours near Mimico Creek along the Gardiner on Monday. Apparently she was chased onto the expressway by a passing dog before eventually plunking down by a noise barrier. Those of you already having Bambi's mother flashbacks can rest easy because a Toronto Zoo vet was able to safely tranquilize the relatively docile doe and take her to a safe location.

Jays sweep Red Sox

Head to your sports publication of choice and take a look at the standings. Let that serene feeling of first place wash over you, maybe even take a picture for when things aren't so rosey down the line. But for the moment, your Toronto Blue Jays are leading the American League East after sweeping the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. That's an achievement in of itself, but with the Jays slugging like a contender, if only the pitching can continue to perform, we might finally have an exciting sports summer here in TO. 

Muzik fences in public art

Well it seems no one wants to talk about how it happened, but the late E.B. Cox’s public art display known as The Garden of the Greek Gods has been subsumed by Muzik night club’s patio at Exhibition Place. City staff and councillor Mike Layton had no answers for The Toronto Star and the Muzik people are deferring to the EX but the reality is that someone missed the boat as the requisite permit for the patio is missing.

Toronto’s literary neighbourhoods

Here’s a neat way to fall in love with the city once again and put a dent in that old summer reading list. The Toronto Public Library has mapped out 19 different neighbourhoods and given each an accompanying list of novels set within them. You can viscerally appreciate the events of the book in question by wandering the very same streets as the characters. 

High-altitude selfies

Amr Abdelaal has what has to be the coolest Instagram account in all of Toronto at the moment. The photographer tiptoes his way around all encumberances to the very top of some of Toronto’s tallest buildings and then snaps some really breathtaking shots from the top. The police aren’t crazy about it and say that if it becomes a danger to those below the individual would be dealt with “severely.”

Howard Moscoe teaching

Colourful former city councillor Howard Moscoe is teaching a course at Ryerson University called Inside City Hall. The course is at full-enrollment and has a large waiting list but Moscoe starts the course with a municipal politics quiz. Head over to the National Post to see how well you can do.

Toronto is so very pretty

Here’s a chance to do a little muncipality-wide patting ourselves on the back: A new PricewaterhouseCoopers Cities of Opportunity study found that Toronto was the fourth most attractive city on earth. We’re not talking about looks alone though as this was based on a quality of life measurement that took into account transportation, education and economic opportunities. So we didn’t make the podium, but we only trailed London, New York, and Singapore. Not too shabby.