The final stretch! Today’s going to be a reasonably long day but relatively easy at the same time because I can arrive in Barrie up to midnight and still be able to get home. Because of this I’m splitting my ride in 2: I’ll ride down to Wasaga Beach and then hang out there for a couple of hours before finishing the trip to Barrie. The forecast does call for rain so let’s hope the weather cooperates!
My route has me riding down to a gravel road and taking that to Meaford but looking at Google Maps I see that I can continue down the road the campgrounds is on and there’s a Tom Thompson Trail that will connect it to another road that’ll take me to Georgian Bay and a Lakeshore Road that’ll take me into Meaford. Seems more scenic and I’ve got time so off-the map it is. The trail is well signed and not too rough but there is one section where it goes down and up to cross a stream which is too steep for me to bike so I have to hike-a-bike that part but it’s just for a couple of minutes. The trail for the rest of the way is fine and the road it connects to is nice and quiet. When I get to Lakeshore Road I see that the road goes a bit farther and there looks like a path to a beach so I make a slight detour to check it out. There’s a nice view of Georgian Bay and whoever lives nearby is pretty lucky.
After taking in the view I go back to Lakeshore Road and continue riding. It looks like the municipality is in the process of repaving the road so I need to detour a couple of times but it’s still an easy ride into Meaford. I start on the Georgian Trail and then decide that I may as well have breakfast now. I go for the easy breakfast option of Tim Horton’s, no fancy coffee and pastry today, and then head back to the trail. The Georgian Trail is nicer than the other rail trails, it’s mostly forested and there are nice features like wooden bridges along the way.
The Georgian Trail ends in Collingwood. I’ve only ever driven through it heading up to Blue Mountain but it seems like a nice town. My route has me continuing on a rail trail and then taking small roads to get to Wasaga but I decide that I want to stay closer to the water so go off-route once again.
This time it isn’t such a good choice because the roads near the water aren’t continuous and keep looping back onto the main road which has a lot of traffic. It isn’t terrible but not a calm ride on a trail or empty gravel road either. Finally though I get close to Wasaga Beach and the small roads near the water do become continuous and I don’t have to loop back and forth. There are a lot of stop signs but I’m not going fast so it’s fine. I decide on Mexican food for lunch and have a huge burrito and then ride to the grocery store, a Superstore this time not a Foodland, to get some junk food, and then head to the beach. It’s cloudy and still looks like it’s going to rain but it’s also warm so sitting on the beach is pleasant. The relatively poor weather maybe means that it isn’t as crowded as it would be otherwise, there are still people but everyone has a lot of space around them. Still in planning mode I decide I’ll stay at the beach and watch Manchester United’s first game of the year but before that I’ll go for a swim so that I can watch and dry off at the same time. The water always feels cold at the start and it stays shallow for a long time so I have to will myself to jump in and fully submerge myself in the barely waist-high water. I’m not particularly tired or sweaty but it still feels so good to swim in the water. It’s cloudy but I can see what looks like a grain elevator in the distance, is that Collingwood or some other town? I couldn’t tell you. Manchester wins the game 1-0 but it was a pretty poor game and the goal comes late. A win’s a win though. Once the game’s over it’s time to head out.
The plan is to ride towards Elmvale and connect to the North Simcoe Rail Trail. For the most part the rail trail is pretty boring, fairly flat, featureless terrain passing through farmers’ fields but there are some sections where it goes through forest which are quite nice. On the whole there seems to be a downward slope to it so I’ve got elevation on my side. At some point my trail joins up with a mountain bike park and I see other people riding various side trails while I’m trying to make sure that I’m staying on the right one. I lose my bearings but eventually end up back on the trail. Eventually my time on the rail trail comes to an end, the trail continues but it starts to curve away from Barrie so I need to go back to normal roads. This coincides with elevation no longer being on my side and I need to start climbing some hills but nothing like what I had to deal with on day 2. Even here all the elevation I gain with my climbing means that I finish with a really big downhill as I approach Hwy 400 in Barrie. I really wouldn’t want to climb up this hill so here’s a tip, if you’re planning on riding the rail trail from Barrie out to Midland or Wasaga try to adjust your route so that you can avoid Leacock Drive, although for all I know maybe there is no avoiding that hill.
I’m back in Barrie and I have time to kill so I may as well have supper so I’m not dying of hunger on the train back to Toronto. I Google what’s available and decide on a Thai restaurant. Thankfully they have a pretty large, empty patio section so I can eat out there without disturbing anyone else because I probably don’t smell that great. Also this way I can keep my bike in my line of sight. I’m hungry and there are lots of tasty looking dishes on the menu so I order more than I should and have to fight to finish it all but I’m able to do it. Why not, I burned 5,300 calories today according to my watch so I can eat as much as I want. After I finally finish I ride back to the station to wait for the train to arrive. It’s definitely cooler now but I don’t feel like digging out my baselayer or jacket to put on so I just live with it. The train ride back to Downsview station is pretty boring, I’m back to just looking at my phone, but my day isn’t done yet, I still need to ride back home from the station. It’s only about 3.5 km from the station to the hydro corridor and then an easy straight shot home and before I know it I’m back home.
tariq.ca 