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Flowers are tied to a pole in an improvised memorial on Bloor St., W., where a cyclist was killed yesterday.Fernando Morales/The Globe and Mail

One day after a fatal collision between former Ontario attorney-general Michael Bryant and a bike messenger, flowers and notes were piling up at the Bloor Street curbside memorial dedicated to Darcy Allan Sheppard.

On Wednesday morning, the tree Mr. Sheppard struck during the Monday night incident was covered in bouquets and messages scrawled on waybills, which are the delivery receipts used by bike messengers.

A grey Canada Post mailbox was also covered with yellow sticky notes with messages such as "RIP Al," and "let's all learn from this." A steady stream of cyclists passed by, some pausing to reflect and others adding to the growing wall of messages.

Bruce Wayne, a 40-year old part-time bike messenger, appeared distraught as he stopped to attach a message to the mailbox that read, "going to miss you Al." Mr. Wayne has known Mr. Sheppard since he moved to Toronto about eight years ago from Newfoundland. He said the two men were both homeless at the time.

"I met him on the streets," he said. "We were panhandling."

But Mr. Wayne said his friend - whom he called Wolverine Al - had been working hard over the years to clean up his act, finding work and fighting a drug addiction.

"The biggest disappointment is that he spent all this time cleaning himself up and now this happened," he said.

Another bike messenger came by and just looked at the memorial, quietly sitting cross-legged on the sidewalk and leaning against the shiny glass of a Bloor Street store. He said he was on his way to pick up a package but felt compelled to stop by.

"It's a strange way of saying hi, I guess," said the cyclist, who calls himself Uncledropsi. He also knew Mr. Sheppard and is still reeling from the sudden death of his "happy-go-lucky" friend.

"It's a shock, it is still sinking in," he said. "Here today, gone tomorrow."

He hopes the tragedy won't feed antagonism between cyclists and motorists, but others in the cycling community are feeling more incensed. One rode up on his bike and dropped off a newspaper at the memorial, featuring a picture of Mr. Bryant and the word "murderer" scrawled across his forehead.

Uncledropsi was more reserved about his feelings towards Mr. Bryant, but he does question how the tragedy has affected the former MPP.

"In his statement Tuesday, he had the emotion of a stone," he said. "So, I am not happy about that."

Others in the cycling community just hope the incident will raise awareness about road safety.

"I think based on how cyclists and motorists treat each other this was bound to happen," said cyclist Thom Leigh. "I guess sort of in a sick way, it's fortuitous that such a high-profile person [was involved]because it's getting a lot of press."

Peter Holloway, 54, has been travelling Toronto on two wheels since he was five. He said he has been struck by cars five times and politicians need to start making roads safer for cyclists and motorists to share.

He knows of at least two other cyclists who have been involved in collisions within the last 24 hours, one of whom is a family friend.

"This is the worst city for cyclists," he said. "It takes an incident with a politician to make [bike collisions]newsworthy."

But bike couriers also need to pay attention to their conduct on city roads, said commuter cyclist Larry Peloso.

"I see both sides of the problem but [couriers]do tend to put themselves above the law," he said. "They're politicized and really feel they own the streets in some way."

Mr. Peloso stressed that he has great respect for bike couriers but "at the same time they need to look at what the laws are for everyone."

For bike messenger Bill Barber, the responsibility to stay alive rests upon his own two shoulders.

"You don't let someone in the car kill you," he said. "It's up to me to make sure I make it home for supper."

The cycling community is planning to hold a vigil for Mr. Sheppard at 5 p.m. ET. According to the Spacing website which is dedicated to issues of public space and public transportation, the cyclists plan to lay down their bikes on Bloor St. for five minutes in memory of Mr. Sheppard.

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