This thread got me thinking I should do more non-paved roads, so I went on a ride this past weekend looking for gravel and dirt roads. Since I was staying in Wilberforce at this awesome, inexpensive and very bike friendly place called
Riverbank, I wanted to do this route:
http://goo.gl/maps/5oTxm. A few of the roads on my route turned out to be bicycle trails which were too tight for my bike or skills. I also ran into other challenges along the way, so I could not do the whole route, however I ended up still managing to hit up some nice spots.
The first section is this area here:
http://goo.gl/maps/utyJQ - it's all hard packed gravel and very quiet - a bit far from the GTA, but awesome area to ride around.
Another nice section is here:
http://goo.gl/maps/DAOqc - Most of these roads are very lightly travelled, so there were times when I would not see another vehicle for an hour or two.
By far, my favourite section was here:
http://goo.gl/maps/LgMBv, but this section is an out 'n back, because it goes through the Haliburton Forest Preserve - which as I found out later is private property of some sort. I had hoped it would link up with Watts Trail near Kennisis Lake, but it was barricaded shut about 50 feet from Watts Trail. My big bike could not get through (a smaller dirt bike could), so I had to turn back the whole way to Hwy 60 at Dorset, losing 90 minutes of my route.
Most of the previous section was hard packed dirt and a good portion of Bear Lake Rd is like an ATV trail, with no shoulders and trees right at the roads edge. It was awesome.
Somewhere along Cherry Hill Road, I took a wrong turn (one of many) and ended up down this:
Where I was faced with this:
Which can only lead to this:
Since I was staying in Wilberforce this weekend, I also decided to check out Kennaway Rd,
http://goo.gl/maps/oCcJB which is a nice gravel run. It seems that it can link up with Suncor Rd which also looks like it would be a good gravel road and leads to Elephant Lake Rd.
http://goo.gl/maps/UXMU3
Last of all, on my way home along the 507, I noticed a bunch of Fire Roads and other back roads. If anyone is interested, I think I will check this route out next:
http://goo.gl/maps/bWF3T
I'm also riding a 650 Strom with Anakee 3 tires which are an 80/20 (street/dirt) tire. I'm also not a very good on gravel or dirt, but find it more way more fun and challenging than the high speeds needed on most of the paved roads in the area.