Testing the Greenbelt Cycling Route

The Waterfront Regeneration Trust has received funding from the Greenbelt Foundation to implement a new cycling route connecting communities throughout the Greenbelt. The project will create a signature provincial cycling route from Northumberland to Niagara (460 km) using existing infrastructure, and is expected to launch in late summer 2015.

I was fortunate to be one of the over 200 people who participated in the Greenbelt Route Mobile Workshops from May 5-10. The Workshops were a great opportunity to hear presentations from visiting and local experts on cycle tourism, cycling infrastructure and services; network with other cycling, tourism, business and Greenbelt leaders; and, most importantly, experience and evaluate the route.

Here are some of the highlights of the 63 km York Region segment of the route from the mobile workshops on May 7 and 8, 2014.

Greenbelt Route Mobile Workshop from Shawn Smith on Vimeo.

Trail-a-bike to the park

Last month, my family rode our bikes to Mackenzie Glen District Park in Maple.  As you can see in the video clip (which is the segment near the Maple Community Centre), my son really enjoys riding with me using a trail-a-bike.  However I see now that he doesn't always pay attention!  The 2km journey each way is very easy by bike, and fun for the whole family.

Cruising the new Hwy 7 Buffered Bike Lanes in Richmond Hill

They're FAST (faster than car traffic at certain times of the day), COMFORTABLE (even more than I suspected), and part of a larger VISION (across Hwy 7 from Markham to Vaughan, and Yonge Street from Richmond Hill to Newmarket).  The Hwy 7 rapidway from Chalmers to East Beaver Creek opened last summer.  It has been transformed from a car-oriented highway to a complete street: designed for all ages, abilities, and modes of travel.  We'll see the bike lanes extended from Hwy 404 easterly in Markham soon, as they are currently under construction.

"If you want to see the future, go to Richmond Hill and check out Highway 7" ~Honorable Glen Murray, Minister of Transportation, speaking at the Ontario Bike Summit on April 15, 2014.

Here's some video of Hwy 7 from a cyclist's perspective.  At 6:15 and 7:45 of the video, check out an example of the new curb inset left turn queue boxes that were just installed this month.  So new, they don't have bike markings on them yet.  I believe these could be the first of their kind in North America!

A winter bike ride in Maple

On Jan 29th, I went for a bike ride around Maple.  Temperature was -5C.  It turned out to be a very comfortable and enjoyable ride.  Many think that winter cycling is quite daunting, but the main things you need are warm clothes and plowed snow!  It you have these then you are good to go except in the most extreme conditions.  Ride on, friends.
Here’s a map of my route.


A winter bike ride from Shawn Smith on Vimeo.

For some winter cycling inspiration, check out this video from the 1st Winter Cycling Congress in Oulu, Sweden.

Winter Cycling For Everyone from Anders Swanson on Vimeo.

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.

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

Cycling the Nokiidaa Trail - Newmarket Section

Named for an Ojibway term meaning "walking together", the Nokiidaa Trail System follows the Holland River from Aurora to Holland Landing.  The Nokiidaa Trail was initiated in 2000 as a Special Millennium Partnership project connecting the neighbouring municipalities of Aurora, Newmarket, and East Gwillimbury.  With a trail connection in Aurora complete in 2011, there are now over 20 kilometers of continuous trail that link the three municipalities. 

According to the Town of Aurora's website, the vision and foresight for the connection of trails came from Newmarket’s resident Mr. Ernie Crossland, who worked to make the trail a reality and a recreation treasure for the residents of all three Towns.

Earlier this month I cycled the Newmarket section (called the Tom Taylor Trail) with my family.  It was a great ride and I highly recommend checking it out.  Most of Newmarket's section is paved, while Aurora's and East Gwillimbury's are crushed limestone screenings (still very rideable).

Most road crossings go under the road, like this one at Mulock.  The exceptions are at Davis Dr (bridge currently under construction, so there's a detour through the Tannery parking lot), and Water Street in front of Riverwalk Commons, which is a busy unsignalized crossing, so use extra caution.

West side of Fairy Lake.  There are plans to pave it in the future.  The route on the east side of the Lake is already paved.

Newmarket Riverwalk Commons - there's a great farmer's market here on Saturdays and many events throughout the year

We found that the trail had hills that were too steep for my 6 year old, so we put his bike away and pulled our kids on our trail-a-bike and chariot.

I found this trail flyer that covers the entire route:
https://icreate.newmarket.ca/230515_TownOfNewmarket/en/resourcesGeneral/NokiidaaTrailFlyer.pdf