Steve's Cycling Blog
Over the past few years, there has been a noticeable growth in bikepacking. With the addition of routes and events such as the Central Ontario Loop Trail (COLT), Simcoe County Loop Trail (SCLT), BT700, Grand-Nith-Ramble, Cannonball 300 and most-recently the Log Driver's Waltz (LDW), bikepackers have a range of events that offer different levels of … Continue reading My Latest Bikepacking Setup
Without getting into too much detail, in June of 2019, I joined a work colleague Kelly and headed to Barrie to meet a larger group of cyclists from the GTA to ride the Simcoe County Loop Trail (SCLT). This 160 km loop includes rail trail, city trails and some paved roads and has been growing … Continue reading Bikepacking the Simcoe County Loop Trail and More!
A lot of the online resources for bikepacking describe routes that take many long days to complete. Locally, July 14, 2019 marked the inaugural Grand Depart for the BT700 - a 700 km loop around south-western Ontario! Not all bikepacking trips, however, have to been multi-day epic adventures. Last weekend, I did an overnight trip … Continue reading Bikepacking in the Kitchener-Waterloo area
As 2018 winds down, I am starting to look ahead into 2019. I'll be writing a 2018 cycling summary post in the next couple of weeks, but looking ahead, new cycling adventures are already appearing on my radar. In particular, Ontario's first multi-day bikepacking event (at least that I'm aware of) is scheduled for 2019. … Continue reading 2019 Cycling Plans – BT700
When I first started to look into gearing up for bikepacking a couple of years ago, I was immediately drawn to the Canadian company Arkel for a couple of reasons. First, they're Canadian (based in Quebec) and they manufacture their products in Canada. Second, the reviews I read commented on the durability of their products. … Continue reading Product Review: Arkel Rollpacker (A First Look)
As I've stated previously: I'm a numbers guy. Now that 2017 is (nearly) done, I am going to summarize my cycling year in numbers: Total outdoor cycling distance: 4005 km Longest Ride: September 14, 2017, Day 2 of COLT 122 km Best Month: September 712 km Total Moving Time: 210 hours (8 days, 18 hours) … Continue reading 2017 Cycling Year in Review
When I first took interested in bikepacking, a Google search took me to a review of a bikepacking adventure by a guy named Miles Arbour. In 2016, he rode a system of trails and roads called the Central Ontario Loop Trail, or COLT. His article got me interested, and my brother Greg and I started … Continue reading Bikepacking the Central Ontario Loop Trail
Last fall, the wonderfull staff at Arkel sent me one of their new products for my bikepacking adventures: the Seatpacker - a 15-litre waterproof seatpack. A couple of weeks ago, I went on my first over-night bikepacking trip with the Seatpacker, and here's my review (Disclaimer: This product was provided to me by Arkel at … Continue reading Product Review: Arkel’s Seatpacker 15
Now that I've completed my "50 memorable rides for my 50th year", I've been thinking about what to write about as I continue this blog. One topic that people have asked me about is bikepacking. In my previous post, my 50th ride involved my first attempt at bikepacking. I'm still learning about bikepacking and there … Continue reading My Introduction into Bikepacking – Packs and Gear
When I started my quest to have 50 memorable bike rides in my 50th year, I purposely avoided any specific goals. I also avoided the use of the word "epic", since it's relative. I simply wanted to have 50 rides that were memorable to me. And "memorable" could mean any of the following: A new … Continue reading Ride 50! Bikepacking to Turkey Point
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