Ride 6/50 – Grand River Bridges

My 6th significant ride was a tour of some of the picturesque bridges across the Grand River between Waterloo and Elora. I’d been thinking about this ride since last summer and had been studying maps to find as many bridge crossings as i could for a 2-3 hour ride. With the weather calling for sun, low wind and above-zero temperatures, I decided to go out Sunday afternoon. A few messages online inspired a couple of friends along, Tim and Bill. The route was about a 75km round trip, with 12 Grand River bridges (11 crossings, as you’ll see below).

For those interested, here’s the route we took:

https://www.strava.com/activities/522521241

Here’s the photo record:

Bridge 1: A common cyclist route past the golf course in Conestogo. Near where the Conestoga and Grand rivers converge.

Bridge 2: Peel St., Winterbourne, ON. A nice old iron bridge that doesn’t see much car traffic:

Bridge 3: Wobbly, bumpy bridge on Crooks Tract Rd/Buggy Lane. A farmers bridge.

Bridge 4: The famous covered bridge in West Montrose.

Bridge 5: Busy highway 86, near West Montrose.

Bridge 6: Weisenberg Road, a regular route on our club Gravel Grinder rides.

Bridge 7: 8th line – a regular route on the club road rides.

Bridge 8: Low-lying bridge in Elora Gorge Conservation Area. We thought it was too risky to cross this. The water was moving fast!

Bridge 9: High bridge in Elora Gorge Conservation Area

Bridge 10: Pedestrian/cycling bridge in Elora, ON

Bridge 11: Metcalfe St., Elora, ON, with the Elora Mill in the background.

Bridge 12: Wellington Rd 7. Last Grand River bridge before the ride home. Irvine Creek (on the left) merging with the Grand River (on the right), with a scenic lookout on the rock outcrop (above my bike seat).