Simcoe County Loop Trail

-

 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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beer Review: PC Red Brew (De-alcoholized)

-
Image
Now I know what you are thinking, why is he: A. Drinking a Non Alcoholic Beer, and  B. Why is he reviewing said beer.  Well to be completely honest, I wanted to try something new, and going away for the long weekend, I didn't want to drink a bunch of mediocre beer and wake up feeling like I was hit by a train.  So over the last litt le while, I have been buying the President's Choice Red Brew. Photo Courtesy of Chris (He's Awesome) https://www.presidentschoice.ca/en_CA/products/productlisting/pc_de_alcoholized_beer_red_brew_4597.html Now I will put the disclaimer out there, I still drink normal and unique beers!  That will not change, but like in life we need to make small adjustments to excel in other things.  With training for Crank the Shield and other biking events, I needed to make some tweaks to the ole diet, and cutting back on alcohol is one of those changes.  I will still enjoy the odd beer here and there, just not to the level I was
Read more

Beer Review: Redline Brewery - Wide Open Modern Pils

-
Image
It has been too long since I've done a beer review.  That's not saying I have stopped drinking beer altogether, just curbed it slightly to focus on biking.    That being said, when I do grab a beer, I've become picky, and wanting to try new ones, and recently at Redline Brewery, I picked up a can of Wide Open Modern Pils.   First off, if you have never been to the brewery / brew pub in Barrie, it is worth the trip.  The food is delicious, and the beer selection, well it is all in house beer, so you know it is going to be good.  Also, the nice thing is, after you have tried a couple different ones on a flight, you can go to the store and buy cans, which I did with the Wide Open.  http://www.redlinebrewhouse.com/the-beers/wide-open/ From Redline's website: There is a reason the classics are held in high regard. Sometimes we need to make a small change in order to move forward and build on what has come before us. This thinking lead to the creation of
Read more

Product Review: Weeride Deluxe Kangaroo Bike Carrier

-
Image
With having a now over 1 year old little girl, the time has come for her to be on the bike with me, maybe not so much on single track, but just on gravel rides.  I have used the pull behind trailer with her in it, and that worked awesome, but with the recommendation from another rider about a Weeride carrier, I had to check it out.  Really, anything to do with bikes I have to research.... Its an obsession I think... I have looked around at other carriers, just trying to see what options are out there before Liesje (pronounced Alicia, but without the A) gets onto a Balance Bike.  A couple came up, the Weeride , as well as the Macride child seat. I ended up choosing the Weeride, solely based on other recommendations.  Word of mouth is probably one of the best sales features out there, plus the internet... There's a lot of stuff on the internet..  I have read alot on the Macride, and all the reviews I have read have been positive as well. Installation was fairly straight forwar
Read more