20230909 Simcoe County Loop Trail FUNDO

This past Saturday I thoroughly enjoyed (despite arthritic hip pain) the 160 km Simcoe County Loop Trail FUNDO gravel cycling event to celebrate Cycle Simcoe’s 10th Anniversary. A big shoutout to host Simcoe County and event manager Humdinger Bicycle Tours for a well organized and supported fun event. Thanks also for perfect weather.

The ride started and ended at Snow Valley Ski Resort, we rode the loop counterclockwise through Barrie, Oro-Medonte, Orillia, Severn, Tay, Midland, Penetang, Tiny, and Elmvale. This loop route is mostly car-free gravel rail trail, with some on-road sections, and some paved trail. The event included support throughout the ride (by Pedal to the People mobile repair service, Humdinger Bicycle Tours event staff, and volunteers), 4 rest stops, a post-ride meal with a beer and live music, and a Simcoe County Loop Trail 10th Anniversary t-shirt.

The 4 rest stops had delicious food as they were catered by cafes, restaurants and bakeries. The rest stop’s were catered by Eclectic Café at Orillia, Ems Café at Coldwater, The Royal Tea on King at Midland (lunch), and Elmvale Bakery at Elmvale.

Start times were 7:30am for the <20kph average group, 8:00am for the 20-24kph average group, and 8:30am for the >25kph average group. The arthritis in my hip this year has become quiet painful, especially after long hard rides, so I decided to start and ride with the 20-24kph group. There were a couple of volunteer riders with each group to help guide and set the pace. Fairly soon into the ride I found myself riding with one of these guides, Adele, a diminutive triathlon powerhouse. Adele would have led the >25kph group, but had decided to be in our 20-24kph group as she had crashed and hurt her knee and arm badly just a week ago. This turned out lucky for me as riding harder with Adele I completed the ride much sooner, averaging 24.2kph for the 160kms. I was also able to help Adele by replacing her punctured inner tube just after Orillia, and then we worked together to catch the lead riders in our group. Towards the end of the ride due to arthritic hip pain my pace started to fall off, but Adele kept me going. Thank-you Adele!

The post-ride BBQ with a free beer and good live music was the perfect ending to a great ride.

Here’s the link to the official Simcoe County Loop Trail: https://cyclesimcoe.ca/simcoe-county-loop/

This is the link to the FUNDO RideWithGPS route that we did that includes improved rerouting for current situations. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44192182.