After getting in some quality ride and work time in Kitchener, Ontario we headed North to the Bruce Peninsula for a few days to meet with the Bruce County Crew. After a quick photo opportunity at the statue of Wiarton Willie, the world famous groundhog, we headed out to visit the Bruce Peninsula Mountain Bike Adventure Park. We were able to ride the Park on Sunday morning and were astounded at how fun and technically challenging the trails were. This park, located just minutes away from Wiarton, has had to remove their wooden structures due to insurance reasons. Many of the Park’s users are still angry at the municipality for removing the structures, but what these users aren’t aware of is how lucky they are to still have access to the trails. The Adventure Park may not be what it used to be, but it’s still a great place to ride, and will soon have a new pump track to add to the fun factor.
The Mountain Bike Adventure Park is not the only place to ride on the peninsula. We headed out on Friday to help out the dedicated trail crew on the Brandt Tract. There was one trail that has consistent water problems and the crew was kind enough to let us test out a method of armoring in one of these problem sections. Since the soil type is mainly clay with absolutely no rock to speak of we decided to try wood piles in the ground to add tread texture and hopefully keep water from creating a slick clay pit in that area.
On Saturday morning after a very successful visit at the Bruce Peninsula National Park, we managed to get in a ride at the Lindsay Tract. This area began its development in 2008 and currently has about 8-10 kilometers of tight and twisty singletrack on it. It will quickly become a great riding destination within the next few years especially since it’s located near the campgrounds at the National Park.
We didn’t get the opportunity to ride the Brant Tract or Carrick Tract but that just means we’re going to have to come back.
A huge thank you to our amazing hosts Chris and Marta Laforest for providing us with amazing food, a bed to sleep on and letting us play with the potato canon. A special thank you to Andy, Ed, Ken, Ben and Sarah for putting in your hard work on the trails.