David Barker
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nouspique.bsky.social
David Barker
@nouspique.bsky.social
Toronto based writer / photographer. Took up distance running at 60. Every decade deserves a new challenge. 🇨🇦
Test run after 10 days of doin’ nuthin’. I did the run but the calf still needs some tlc. Paused by a broken mirror. The shattered reflection looks the way my calf feels. #Running #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #Reflection
November 21, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Hiked the #SleepingGiant with my daughter & son-in-law. On the Giant’s head, the snow on the junipers was magical! On the way back down we built a fire & enjoyed a late lunch. #NorthernOntario #LakeSuperior #ThunderBay #Ontario #Canada #Hiking #Nature #Landscape
November 8, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Flew up to #ThunderBay this morning and got right to it with a hike as temperatures fell thru the afternoon and are forecast to fall to -12C tonight. #Ontario #Canada #LakeSuperior #Hiking
November 7, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Won’t be posting any runs for a while as it appears I have a tibial stress fracture. Going to the gym instead to keep up conditioning with non-impact training. Going a bit squirrelly! #Running #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #Cycling #Fitness #Exercise
November 5, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Heading out for a run this am, Sikhs were protesting across the road in front of the Indian consulate, calling for an independent Punjab. Meanwhile a woman dressed as a banana was leaning against a post and smoking a cigarette. I love this town! #Toronto #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning
October 31, 2025 at 6:01 PM
The last major sports win in #Toronto was on June 13, 2019 - the #Raptors won the NBA championship. That brought the best from our city which came out to celebrate in all its ecstatic diversity. Here’s hoping the #BlueJays summon that same spirit. #StreetPhotography #Photography #BlackAndWhite #BNW
October 30, 2025 at 7:25 PM
This morning I got my flu and Covid-19 #vaccines because, you know, science. They were free because, you know, socialized health care. No appointment, no waiting, just walk in. The icing on the cake would be a #BlueJays win! #Toronto
October 30, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Out on an urban #TrailRun this morning, thinking of Jamaica & listening to Peter Tosh when one line stood out: To the bald heads, respect the Rastaman. It’s like he was talking directly to me. #RunSky #TrailRunning #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning
October 29, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Cool autumn run in Toronto’s Don Valley. You’d think, given her running-friendly name, I’d be listening to Taylor Swift. But no. Today I ran to the more age-aligned stylings of David Bowie & Mark Knopfler. #Running #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning #Toronto
October 28, 2025 at 4:54 PM
A shot I made early in 2016 overlooking Bloor St E in #Toronto. Firefighters put out a fire in a van that had pulled onto the sidewalk. No one was hurt but it was dramatic all the same. #Fire #Smoke #FireFighters #Photography #StreetPhotography #Urban #UrbanPhotography
October 27, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by David Barker
🎃Thei did the Mash; thei did the Monstere Mash.
The Monstere Mash: beholde, sepulchral smash!
Thei did the Mash, and it kaughte on moost fast -
Hark, heare the Mash! Forsooth, the Monstere Mash!🎃
October 25, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Did a progression-y long run this afternoon. It’s like a New Year’s resolution: I promise myself that I’ll practise starting slow instead of starting out like a 6 yr old and screaming whee! #Running #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning #ProgressionRun #LongRun
October 26, 2025 at 8:38 PM
What a beautiful cool fall morning! Perfect for a recovery run in the Don Valley where the colours are glorious. #Toronto #Running #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning
October 22, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Completed the #Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Not well. But I did it! Now I’m rewarding myself with a local blended red that’s absolutely brilliant. Icellars! #Wine #Marathon #Running #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning
October 19, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Ran the #Toronto Waterfront 5K as a shakeout for tomorrow’s #marathon. Maybe I pushed too hard? We’ll see. Ran it in 22:50 & placed 5th in the M60-64 category. Ran it with other members of the Orpheus Choir of Toronto. #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning
October 18, 2025 at 5:07 PM
People go on about the importance of the tapir leading up to race day, which is all well and good except pets aren’t allowed in my building. #MarathonTraining #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky
October 16, 2025 at 5:09 PM
I See You - ambiguous words I stumbled on in Toronto’s Cottonwood Flats. They could be taken as a statement of surveillance, or of empathy. You can’t control how others choose to see you, but you can control how you choose to see others. #graffiti #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning #Toronto
October 15, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by David Barker
At least someone took those right wing wackos seriously.
October 14, 2025 at 9:17 PM
The Ylied - the Welsh translation of Homer’s epic poem (about a runner whose GPS malfunctioned while he was on a trail run back from Troy). #Running #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning
October 14, 2025 at 3:58 PM
A morning run up and down a few hills with a pause at Chester Hill Lookout for a view to the northwest over #Toronto the #DonValley & Evergreen Brick Works. Overcast with dramatic clouds but perfect conditions for #Running #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning
October 12, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Final long(ish) run before next weekend’s #Toronto Waterfront #Marathon just going easy to the end of the Kay Gardner Beltline Trail & back. #LongRun #MarathonTraining #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning
October 10, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Cottonwood Flats! The city of #Toronto has installed a new sign. So now I know where I am whenever I run here. How did I ever manage before? #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning #MarathonTraining
October 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Somehow I missed the news of a rumoured #Strava IPO. Not sure whether this will give it the resources it needs to expand its services or will turn out to be one more instance in the enshittification of everything. But a $2.2 bn valuation? Holy moly.
Strava weighs U.S. IPO, invites banks to pitch for roles - Canadian Cycling Magazine
Fitness tracking platform valued at $2.2 billion in May funding round could go public as early as 2026
cyclingmagazine.ca
October 3, 2025 at 5:17 PM
At about the 25 km mark today, gaps started to appear in my vision. Then a woman ran past me and her right leg was missing. At which point I realized I was having a migraine headache. Ah, joy! (I suspect it’s a hydration issue.) #Migraine #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning #LongRun
September 30, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Reposted by David Barker
Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
This day honours and remembers the children who were forced into Canada's Residential School system.
It was first observed as Orange Shirt Day in 2013 and was elevated to a statutory holidy for federal workers in 2021.
September 30, 2025 at 12:01 PM