Simcoe County Loop Trail

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 The Simcoe County Loop Trail isn't new news, its been around for a bit, and I've ridden the loop once as a 2 day bikepacking tour.  This time the plan was to ride the 160km route as a single day adventure, get the new Marin Pine Mountain sorted out and prepared for some upcoming adventures. 


If you have not heard about the Simcoe County Loop Trail, check  out the below link, there is so much information.  The County of Simcoe has done an amazing job on this.  

https://cyclesimcoe.ca/simcoe-county-loop/


For my trip around the loop I was riding my new adventure bike, a 2020 Marin Pine Mountain 2.  The bike for the most part is stock except for a couple small tweaks, starting with tires.  I swapped out to Maxxis Ikon 29x2.6 tires.   I've used them before and they rolled nice for me and they are set up nicely for the added weight on the bars with the extra gear.  The other tweak I did was swapping the grips out for ESI chunky grips.  Tried tested and true.   The rest of the bike is stock with the 12 speed drivetrain and Shimano brakes. 




The added gear for the ride, I had some of the bags I plan on using for bikepacking trips, with the Revelate tail bag and gas tank bag.  I also mounted my new Banjo Brothers frame bag which was perfect.  


My ride was a solo tour starting and finishing at Bike Zone in Barrie, and with a 630am start time is was nice and brisk.  Not a car on the roads and even some fog to start.  My plan was to do the whole loop in sub 7hrs of riding time.  I had loaded the gpx file downloaded from the cycle Simcoe website which was a great tool to have and prevent any wrong turns, which I still managed to do in Orillia.  



The first stretch I did was Barrie to elmvale, which was just a nice cruise. Seemed to be mostly downhill which is great.  With a quick pit stop at the natural water spring in elmvale, I jumped back on with the planned next stop in Coldwater.  

The trail in this stretch was great, nice pack, and again not a sole to be seen.  Once I hit penetang and Midland that's where the trails became busier.  Through penetang the GPS was a big help, the signage is a little confusing and can be very easy to make a wrong turn.  Through Midland and waubashene, the trial was very busy with cyclist hikers and roller bladers.  So nice to see so many people out and about and everyone was so happy and friendly.  



My goal was Coldwater to visit Craig who is just off the trail.  His place was the 100km mark, only 60km to go.  After a coffee and a bunch of water it was back on the bike for the final push.  It was getting a lot warmer out and I think it was a climb the whole way back to Barrie!!! Orillia was my next town to cycle through, and I missed a turn even though the GPS was beeping at me.  So after a bit of biking around to find my bearings it was back on the trail.  By this point water was getting low so around the 8th line of Oro there is a convince store just off the trail.  A great place for rehydration and snack refill.  


My snack selection for the ride consisted of M+Ms, almonds, jerky.  I had stocked up on Infinite powder so had every other bottle with some powder in it.  My only mistake was I went too long without water which was hurting me near the end. 


The whole loop took me 6hr 46min which was better than I was expecting.  I rode the loop in the clockwise direction and want to try it reverse next time for sure. 





A welcome sight every once and a while. 



Would I do this again, in a heartbeat.  

I would recommend this loop 100% to anyone looking for a fun day on the bike.  Cycle Simcoe did one heck of a job on this ride and for something that is in our own backyard is pretty incredible.  


I'll try and get this website going more again with some of the adventure rides and just fun stuff.  


Cheers



Mountain Biking, Drinking Beer and Coffee, not at the same time. Exploring and just being outdoors.

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