2026 Rides

Oh! I've passed by it before but never tried it. I might check it out tomorrow.
Do it! It's kinda famous, and very busy, but they move things a long pretty well. Decent burger!
 
A Garmin XT3 has replaced an unloved (hated, actually) Garmin 396. I've not ridden with the new unit yet, but it's readily apparent it's infinitely better than the piece of junk 396.

Had a 395. That platform was so underpowered. Screen redraws and refreshes took FOREVER, especially when the maps got more complex and packed with more information. Also, budget components like the crappy, dimly-lit display and mono, AM-quality MP3 player... :rolleyes: They were really pushing you towards the flagship 595.

The original XT was a revelation, and the processor has only gotten faster with each gen of the XT platform. (y)
 
Looks like I'll be doing my Okangan run solo.
'Buddy crashed this morning :(
Hit a deer.
Taken to HGH... in surgery now with a collapsed lung, broken ribs... possible neck injury.
Bike is likey a write off.
What a ****** Sunday.
Sorry to hear that. Hitting wildlife is always a risk while riding- one of my biggest fears.

Hoping your buddy makes a quick recovery.
 
Just wanted to share today's ride and give everyone a heads-up on some road conditions.

I rode out to the Muskoka area (I think 😅) and back, and overall it was a great day, around 650 km in total. The weather was beautiful in the morning, although it got a little hot toward the end of the ride.

A few heads-ups: the first part of Southwood Road, heading south to north, is super bumpy and full of potholes, some of them right in the middle of corners, so be cautious there. The second half was great, as always.

Please slow down for the second railway crossing. I usually do, but I didn't this time, and my family jewels paid the price for my stupidity.

Funny story: messing with my rear preload adjuster on-the-fly might have saved me from a nasty ticket, since I was barely moving when two OPP cruisers passed in the opposite direction.

After that, I took Road 7 and then 632 toward Rosseau, one of my favourite roads. Just be mindful that there's a pothole in the middle of a sweeping turn shortly before you get to Rosseau.

From there, I headed east toward Fort Irwin. The section from West Guilford to Fort Irwin is in a similar state to the first part of Southwood Road. However, once you pass Fort Irwin and the road starts heading southwest, it's absolutely incredible twisty, rolling, and covered all by trees just a fantastic stretch of pavement.


All in all, I had a fantastic time, and I'm really growing more attached to the bike with every ride. I think my initial disappointment with it was mostly user error. Leaving the suspension exactly as it came from the factory wasn't doing me any favours.


Stay safe out there, and happy riding!
 

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Do it! It's kinda famous, and very busy, but they move things a long pretty well. Decent burger!
Is it better again? Last time I was there, decades ago, the burgers were raw. We stopped there for years when I was a kid, because you could climb all over the trains, and they had a rabbit pen. We used to eat our burgers on the roof of the caboose. I'm pretty sure that's no longer allowed.
I saw Frank Mahovlich in the Tim Horton's up the road once.
 
It's a nice road to take. Especially if you have never done it. From Niagara to Fort Erie is the best as you are right next to the water.
Great for weekday runs, maybe not so much on weekends as Niagara can be jammed.
Every season without fail my first longish ride was GTA - Fort Erie via QEW -> Niagara parkway to NOTL.

Gorgeous views but 50-60kph limits all the way.

Very chill way to start the season.
 
Is it better again? Last time I was there, decades ago, the burgers were raw. We stopped there for years when I was a kid, because you could climb all over the trains, and they had a rabbit pen. We used to eat our burgers on the roof of the caboose. I'm pretty sure that's no longer allowed.
I saw Frank Mahovlich in the Tim Horton's up the road once.
Seemed good to me (definately wasn't raw), I heard about the dip in quality, but like you I had not been there in a long time.
 
Every season without fail my first longish ride was GTA - Fort Erie via QEW -> Niagara parkway to NOTL.

Gorgeous views but 50-60kph limits all the way.

Very chill way to start the season.
Well hopefully you can get back out there on the next bike?
 
Next destination…just because it’s kind of neat


An old airstrip. Used by dark skies enthusiasts mostly.

Note that Google Maps doesn’t have the right accurate directions. It’s close but put on satellite view and you’ll see it’s closer to the highway.

Just off highway 41 on the way to Bon Echo park. This is a really nice part of highway 41 and it’s part of some of my favourite rides either North West out to Bancroft or east out to Ompah/Plevna.
 
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Yesterday I went to ChatGPT and asked it to plot me a nice 6-8 hour ride from Toronto. I didn't want to go to Muskoka or the Haliburtons because I'm there quite a lot anyways.

What an exercise in frustration that was. It kept asking me questions, telling me where to go and what it needed to know before it could give me a GPX. Finally I told it "Just give me a GPX now please" and then it tells me it can't actually give me a GPX.

Went to Gemini and it ended up telling me to input some waypoints into BaseCamp. It kept giving me instructions for a different version of BaseCamp and I kept having to upload screenshots so it could figure out what I actually needed to do. At one point it suggested using coordinates. The first coordinate put the waypoint right in the middle of a lake. When I pointed that out, it said "Good catch".

Finally enough time had passed and I just said "F it, I'll just go to Forks of the Credit".
 
Yesterday I went to ChatGPT and asked it to plot me a nice 6-8 hour ride from Toronto. I didn't want to go to Muskoka or the Haliburtons because I'm there quite a lot anyways.

What an exercise in frustration that was. It kept asking me questions, telling me where to go and what it needed to know before it could give me a GPX. Finally I told it "Just give me a GPX now please" and then it tells me it can't actually give me a GPX.

Went to Gemini and it ended up telling me to input some waypoints into BaseCamp. It kept giving me instructions for a different version of BaseCamp and I kept having to upload screenshots so it could figure out what I actually needed to do. At one point it suggested using coordinates. The first coordinate put the waypoint right in the middle of a lake. When I pointed that out, it said "Good catch".

Finally enough time had passed and I just said "F it, I'll just go to Forks of the Credit".
The link for this very useful map can be found in shanekingsley's signature.
No gps, camp bases, waypoints, etc required.
Enjoy.

 
Next destination…just because it’s kind of neat


An old airstrip. Used by dark skies enthusiasts mostly.

Note that Google Maps doesn’t have the right accurate directions. It’s close but put on satellite view and you’ll see it’s closer to the highway.

Just off highway 41 on the way to Bon Echo park. This is a really nice part of highway 41 and it’s part of some of my favourite rides either North West out to Bancroft or east out to Ompah/Plevna.
That is pretty neat thanks for sharing. I think I found it here:
 
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