Highly Obsessed: The Snowboarding and Cycling Blog » mountain biking

Cycling: The Toronto to Oakville ‘Greenbean Run’

Adam — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:07:44 +0000

The weather here in Toronto is amazing, and it’s a long weekend. As such, I was able to get out on the road bike today for the infamous ‘Greenbean Run’, which Steve has mentioned on the blog before.

The ride essentially follows the lake out to Oakville, pauses at a really nice coffee house named The Greenbean Coffee House (note to Coffee House: get a website!), and then heads back into Toronto. The ride is generally flat and follows well-paved, wide open roads. It was a great complement to the other rides I’ve been doing that have been filled with rollers.

Steve put together a map of the ride here.

Looks like tomorrow I will be mountain biking in the Don Valley, an area we’ve mentioned several times before.

Mountain Biking in York Region

Adam — Sun, 18 May 2008 14:08:10 +0000

I’m moving. I currently live in the north end of Toronto, smack-dab on Yonge Street, which is one of Toronto’s major north-south thoroughfares. I’m staying more or less on Yonge Street, but I’m moving about eight kilometres up Yonge Street to York Region, a suburb just north of the city. That’s where affordable houses with backyards live.

Anyway, the net result of this is I’m probably done with the Don. The Don Valley mountain biking trails are already almost borderline inaccessible where I live now; it takes about an hour to reach them, and more than an hour to get home once I’ve run through them (the way home is almost entirely uphill). Factor in the fact that getting from central York Region to Toronto via anything other than Yonge Street is impossible (as far as I can tell), and you’ve got a recipe for suburban riding.

So now I’m looking for places similar to the Don Valley to ride in York Region. Basically, I’m looking for single-track mountain biking that’s challenging, easily accessible, and free. So far I’ve been able to find a couple of things via my online research:

Case Woodlot: Still 20 clicks from where I’m moving, but it sounds like there’s a decent 10km track up there.
99 Steps: Also pretty far, and possibly not that great.
I understand there are a few hidden gems a little closer, but it will take some research to figure out exactly where they are.

I’m open to any and all suggestions.

Hardwood Hills Is Now Hardwood Ski & Bike

Adam — Sat, 03 May 2008 10:54:41 +0000

If you mountain bike or cross-country ski here in Southern Ontario, you’re likely familiar with what used to be known as Hardwood Hills. Located in the Barrie area, Hardwood has a wide range of mountain biking/cross-country ski trails that range from short and intermediate to very long and very advanced. I’ve been up there myself a few times to mountain bike, but since discovering the Don Valley Trails I haven’t really headed back.

Anyway, it looks like the place is under new ownership, and will recieve an infusion of capital that’s going to result in some much-needed facility improvements. While the trails themselves are excellent, the facilities (washrooms, store, cafeteria) are definitely in need of a facelift.

A welcome message on the site promises new snow grooming equipment and “over $350,000 to upgrade the main chalet so that the presentation will match the product, and improve your experience.”

I just might have to check Hardwood out once all the improvements are done.

Heading out on the MTB

Adam — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 11:31:27 +0000

With temperatures regularly above zero now (get your Blue Mountain spring lift tickets while you can!) it’s time for me to bust out the mountain bike. Today will be my first ride. On the cycling end, I’m pretty sure Highly Obsessed Steve has already been out a few times this year. I’m a little lazier I suppose (actually, I’ve been running outdoors in preparation for a 10k down Yonge Street here in Toronto, but that’s another story).

I’ve mentioned a few times that Toronto has a kick-ass single-track mountain biking circuit in the middle of the city; I checked out dropmachine.com today to see if the conditions warranted a trip in. Apparently, things are still quite damp and snowy in the Don Valley, so I guess I’ll be sticking to roads.

This evening, I’ll be putting my snowboard in storage for the winter. Despite the nice weather, I’m actually kind of depressed about it.

Maybe we need to change the name of the blog to Highly Depressed for the summer. Though I know at least one blogger (ahem: Steve) who’s probably pretty stoked about the warm weather!