Friday, November 15, 2013

Bring on the trails!

After participating in a mountain biking section of the Oak Ridges Trail Adventure this past June, I was compelled to get myself a mountain bike and take to the trails.  I asked for a Ghost SE 2920 Mountain Bike for my birthday.  What a sweet ride.  I love the 29 inch wheels.

Here's a map compiling my online research about mountain bike trails in York Region.

View Mountain Biking in York Region in a larger map

I decided to check out Centennial Park in King Township.  It has about 5km of single-track mountain bike trails, categorized into three skill levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.  It was exhilarating to travel these forest trails by bike!  I can see myself getting more into this sport.  Here are a few pictures I snapped of Centennial Park (entrance on the east side of Jane, north of 16th sideroad).

There are no park signs on Jane, and there's a long driveway, so the park is easy to miss.  Here's the view from the park looking toward Jane St.

King offers a Mountain Biking Camp for ages 9-14

Entrance

Trail map.  Yellow is easy, orange is intermediate, blue is advanced.



Friday, November 1, 2013

Caledon Trailway in Fall

The Caledon Trailway follows the path of an abandoned railway line that once lined Hamilton and Barrie. The multi-use trail spans the Town of Caledon from Terra Cotta in the South-west to Palgrave in the North-east, about 35km.  The flat terrain and crushed limestone surface make it very pleasant riding even with a road bike.

My family did an outing to the trail near the Durham/York boundary to a bike ride.  Driving west on Hwy 9, we headed south on Mount Wolfe Road.  We accidentally drove past the trailhead, which crosses Mount Wolfe Road just north of the railway tracks, but eventually found it.  We rode the section through Palgrave.  There aren't too many amenities along the trail in this section.  A good picnic spot, gas station, saw a sign for a bakery down the road.  It was a lovely ride and I hope to come back to cycle, hike, or ski more of this trail.

The road crossings all have narrow gates.  Our Chariot Carrier just managed to squeeze through.  There's parking for a few vehicles at all the road crossings.






Trail Guide: http://www.walkandrollpeel.ca/trails/pdf/TPL-0029.pdf

Interactive Map: http://www.walkandrollpeel.ca/map/themap.asp#caledon_trailway