So now am visiting in Toronto and have cycled some longer routes I used to do ..when I returned to cycling 14 yrs. ago. I moved to Vancouver 7 yrs. ago. Now I realize:

*some of the bike routes feel "old" now...where the pavement is now cracked, bumpy due to drastic seasonal temperature changes. These routes now feel truly integrated and part of the landscape. No longer new.

*great improvements where certain routes have been improved by eliminating tricky blind curves,etc.

*downtown Vancouver traffic is only mildly congested compared to Toronto. Every time I return to visit Toronto, it takes me a few hrs. to readjust sheer volume of traffic and pedestrians. Toronto does have over 1.5 million people pouring into the downtown from suburbs, etc. daily for work.

*I've become a stronger cyclist simply because Vancouver does have alot more hills. Hills I used to find quite difficult in Toronto, are easier now.