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 daylight hours drop and temperatures get colder, it becomes more difficult for me to get motivated to ride my bike. A lot of my cycling friends have set up their trainers and moved indoors; their bikes won't see the outdoors until the spring. For others, the cycling season never stops; they may have put … Continue reading Late Fall/Early Winter Cycling – Motivation
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)
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
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