DURHAM FOREST - OCT 29

Not sure where the rest of the gang went today but The Sarge, Lefty and I went to Durham Forest to ride the trails. Temp was cool and the wind was rather brisk. But Durham is an awesome place to ride. Open all year to everyone the trails due to the sandy soil are a magnet for riders in inclement weather. Today was no different. The parking lot was full of bikers, joggers and general walkers. I find Durham to be one of the friendliest areas to ride. Seems like everyone respects each other's right to enjoy the trails.
Lefty just purchased a new Cannondale that is just beautiful to see. Sarge and I think the bike will enhance her factor of fun 10x. And this day was a perfect day to break the bike in and get everyone of those 21 gears so caked in mud that Lefty will have to bath the bike not once but twice or three times....now that's the result of a rockin ride! About an hour into the ride we met up with a few friends of 'The Sarge.' Fellow O Cup racers and that enhanced the ride a notch because we wanted to do long trails runs at a good WOO HOO! pace. After a couple of hours we called it a day and a great day it was. Not only did we get a good hard ride in, met some great people but also found a few new trails to add to our next route.
No doubt with winter coming soon I will be visiting Durham more often and enjoying each and every ride.
There a many sites to give someone info on riding the trails at Durham. One site is;
www.waymarking.com/wm/details.aspx?f=1&guid=5d69f41d-2945-4f31-a2b5-f792cb1e1224

Lefty rockin' on the new Cannondale

Sue (aka Lefty) is one of those riders who is always game to ride, try new trails and even though caked in mud she will have a huge grin on her face that ya just got to love! She gave the new bike a good work out and with her MEC toe warmers she wasnt letting the +4c temp slow her down. Now ...if I can only learn how to take pix when facing the sun....hmmm

Adam...Just slow enough for me to take a pix

Adam (aka The Sarge) is a very decent rider and not once this season did I get a good pix of him riding. I attribute this more to his uncanny ability to go faster than is generally humanly possible on the trails than to my poor photo abilities.....I can only believe that the act of capturing him in this pix is more so due to his need to find a tree to pee than any improvement on my part.

winter is a coming!

The trails in Durham are great and winter is a stunning time to ride. The snow just lightly covering the back trails give us a hint at the good times in store for us this winter. Other areas may close in the coming weeks but Durham will always be there. And the rides will never let us down.

WIRED TO WIN!

Alp boy, the Sarge and I headed over to the Imax Theatre at the Ontario Science Centre on Friday to catch the movie 'Wired to Win.' A film about two racers in the Tour De France and how the brain works to help the cyclists not on dope cope with the epic race. All three of us enjoyed the movie but thought at 45min in length it was rather short.
www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/imax/default.asp?filmdetail=wired+to+win
So we felt it was our duty to drink copious amounts of lager at the Unicorn pub. Of course Alp Boy and I drank real Canadian Beer while the Sarge stuck to his wussy 'Light Blue.' Only other comment about the night is how many guys dress up as the Village People and go to bars when Halloween is around the corner......

Riding/Hiking Oct 21st Weekend

At the outset I have to say this weekend did not go as I had hoped. The plan was to spend saturday immersed in a 5hr godzilla of a mnt bike ride on single track outside of the Albion Conservation area. Thereafter followed by what can be only classed as an indecent attempt at debauchery called a mnt bike bonfire and party! The problem was I had to work saturday and thus miss the ride and the weather geek's promised rain in late afternoon and delivered with a vengence. I was feeling less than juiced when I arrived home from work so after a quick siesta I thought I'd do a quick ride over at the local park...Earl Bales Park. This is the park where I run 'The Hill.' But I never rode the bike on what must be trails. I couldnt believe that with all this forest no enterprising young turks have bushwacked a trail or two for the benefit of trail hogs like myself. So I ventured. If no trails were found I would still be able to do some urban guerrilla riding on stairs, curbs and ledges. But my scribes, trails tho few in number were found. Certainly I would classify everything I rode as beginner but I noticed there were a few trails I was unable to spend the time and ride. Gems to be found perhaps? And I remember a biker I met last week when climbing 'The Hill' telling me that there are some technical trails across the river on the northeast side of the park. Those I will check out another day. I have to say that if time is a factor the park is a great place to ride because there is a valley and the climb from the valley floor to the plateau on Bathurst street provides a very decent cardio. Though the workout was worth sweat down the spine I found myself in sleeper's corner by 9pm that night. Totally spent from the 70 hrs of work this week.

Sunday was not a good weather day. Rain. Rain. And more rain. Temp about 9c. I grabbed Hiker Annie and we headed out to the Rouge River Valley Park at the eastern edges of Toronto. This is a really wonderful place. Quite big and not overly used. But mnt bikers are not welcome to the trails here. And what great trails the park has. Though, even with just hikers the trails suffer terrible erosion and the two Rouge rivers eat at their banks with startling results. Still....I wish bikers were welcome. The terrain is killer!

Riding Earl Bales Park in Toronto

Heading off into the Park from Bathurst street.....

Getting into the forest....

What is this stuff?????

This 'weed' made for an interesting ride......though I was covered in burrs when finished!

On one of the double tracks I found this serene sculptured oasis....complete with a park bench to let the passing onlooker stop and gaze at this combination of nature and man's nurturing

Hiking in the Rouge River Valley

Ssa50810, originally uploaded by joneboi.

Though called The Rouge Park, the trees had colours of bright orange or yellow at this time of year. The valley floor has the two Rouge rivers which are separated by a high forested ridge. A great area in length from Lake Ontario to the Toronto Zoo. A good 10 to 15 kms. A nice hike even in the rain.

Hiker Annie climbing up one of the many hills in Rouge Park. Not only are bikes verbotten but so are toboggans!

Lucky for us guys the Parks people have erected these Peeing Posts every 50 metres or so.....

One of the reasons mnt bikers aren't allowed in the Rouge Park; soil erosion. The trails show wear from foot traffic and I think the City of Toronto could use some technical know-how from those out in Vancouver in sustaining wilderness trails. Though the Rouge River does eat away at it's banks with severe hunger. Many trails just drop off.....hell of a surprise when riding!

A lil' cup of hot chocolate to warm the soul after a wee walk in the rain. Stopped in to Alternative Grounds Coffee Shop on Roncesvalles street. Is there anything as good as a cup of hot chocolate and whipped cream?

Riding the BIG G....Ganaraska Forest...Oct 15th

Wasnt sure if a ride was in the cards for this day. Weather was 50/50 with fortunately Buffalo getting the snow. We just received the winds and zero temp. Sue of the Ganaraska Freewheelers gave me a shout about riding the Ganaraska Forest trails today. I get tingles all over thinking about those trails. An absolute cardio workout like nothing else here in southern Ontario. And the Freewheelers are a great, out-for-fun crew that are 2nd to no one in the cardio dept. I have the best time riding with them.
So I grabbed Alp Boy and his pumpkin pie and off we headed east past Oshawa to God's Land. Of course I had to navigate through the barricades erected for the Toronto Marathon. 10,000 strong, gasping along Toronto's pothole infested streets. Less people riding at the Big G!
Actually was a super day for riding....temp was about 14c which I appreciated cuz there is nothing like sucking in fresh cool air when the group is doing a lung buster pace! We only rode for about 2 hours due to commitments I had and Alp Boy's knee acting up. But what a great 2hrs it was. I just love riding the trails at the Big G and strongly urge everyone to give the place a go....but take a map and compass. Very very easy to get lost.
Once home I started to clean the car and that's when I noticed the racoon. Obviously he was sick. Not sure if he was rabid but I wasn't about to get close and find out. He was going through his death agony in my driveway which I found kinda imposing of him. So I called Animal Control to get this guy packing. After the call I returned to the driveway and my car at which time Rocky the racoon decides he doesnt want to die and exhibits a personality that can only be described as .....alive. Upon seeing me he also decides that I am now his new best friend and decides to waddle over to me with the stagger of a drunk. For some reason I thought being in the car...(hiding?)....was the best plan and once inside the racoon thought it best just to lie there at my door and wait for me like an obediant puppy. Soon enough, Animal Control arrived and took ol' Rocky away. I can only hope his remaining hours are of little pain. But now my car wont start. Oh sure....washing the engine with water isnt the smartest but do you think Rocky did something with the wiring?

The tail end of the half marathon crew heading down Yonge St....blocking my way to Alp Boy Condo.....The full marathon runners would be heading out in 30 min. I had to be on the road but quick!

Tony fixing his tire before the ride...seems someone in the Big G crew always has tire problems...is that because they are sooooooooo fast they just burn the trails??????

Alp Boy getting ready to enjoy a bit of pumpkin pie after a wicked ride in the Ganaraska Central Forest.

Thanksgiving Day

Not sure if it was the wicked ride at Kolopore yesterday or the fact that I didnt get to bed till the wee hours of the morn due to 4 or 5 cups of Oso Negro coffee topped with Butterscotch ice-cream but I woke up too late for the 10am ride at Glen Major with the gang. So I made a decent breakfast of crepes smoothered in fruit, butter and honey. Of course I added the appro veggies; squash and pumpkin. All e-coli fresh!

Decided to spend the day doing errands....work stuff and cooking for the week. But I needed to get out and so headed off to The Hill. The park near me has a hill for skiing. Nothing like BC but decent for Toronto. So I do my run over to the park and go up The Hill four times till my legs say 'no more!' and then head home. A decent workout. I was one of many that were doing such a cross train today. Everyone waiting at the bottom of The Hill waiting to run, walk, crawl up kinda reminds me of the climbers at Everest waiting for their window of opportunity and once it arrives....adios! It's a conga line!

At the top of The Hill I asked a group of women to take my pix. Oh how I wanted an action shot but no matter how animated I tried to be, in truth, I was this middle-aged guy climbing a green hill. Judging from the weather reports I may need snow shoes next weekend. Dont mind the snow....its the cold that sucks.

The Hill....a sunday afternoon climb awaits. Met a guy last week who rode his bike up The Hill Impressive!

Kolopore Autumn

Today, Alp Boy , The Mud Man and I journeyed up to Kolopore which is near Collingwood Ont. Wicked day to ride. Temp about 20c with brilliant sun painting the leaves of the maple trees the perfect hues of yellow, red and orange. Halloween is a coming!
Kolopore is a area of single track heaven owned by the University of Toronto and groomed specifically for those of us who enjoy the outdoors. Be it hikers, bikers or skiers. A fantastic map of the area can be purchased at the Reveena General Store or the various bike shops in Collingwood. A very decent purchase.
Though the autumn cycle of falling leaves had made the trails sometimes difficult to follow, if one let the mind wander, you could 'see' the trail as it meandered through the forest. The trails were in great shape though the sept rains have left some rather muddy which pleased us all to no end, especially The Mud Man. My fat Bastard tires were caked with soil which made climbing, a difficult chore in the best conditions for me unbelieveably killer in the leg workout dept. but The Mud Man had no problem grease gliding uphill.

Kolopore pix

The Mud Man living up to his rep

The Mud Man rocking down from Mount Dhaulagiri. Who the hell is Dhaulagiri?

The Mud Man checking out the Dam Bridge...not quite a bridge and not quite a dam....but there is mud...lots of mud if you make a mistake.....and mistakes can be soooooo much fun!

Crossing from pasture land to the forests of Kolopore and the ultimate trail.....Red Death!

Alp Boy doing run down the NorthWest Passage thru the pastures that will be covered in snow in...oh...2 weeks!

more pix of joneboi and the boiz can be found at www.flickr.com/photos/joneboi

joneboi tries the literary gig

Being the first of my efforts at blogspeak I'll keep this beautifully short.....throw your spears my way so that I can improve the blah blah blah factor. Getting ready to ride Collingwood Ont area Sunday.....should I change the tires now or keep the old fat bastards on till snow? Trail grub being chemically composed as I type. Oso Negro coffee on the go for the needed caffeine. Sockeye Salmon soup on the go......do my BC roots show?