Any suggestions for areas to get in long gravel/double track rides? Trying to increase time on the bike but don’t want to be out messing up the singletrack on rainy post rainy days.
Any roads or double track areas that might be suitable? The closer to the peninsula the better but obviously will need to leave the peninsula.
Have been considering maybe picking up a bike that could be for winter road/cyclocross/gravel at some point but in the meantime just looking to get more miles in on a regular basis.
former Bowater lands. From St Margarets Bay to Ardoise. One route I’ve often done is from the corner of Hammond Plains and Kearney Lake(now Larry Uteck). Ride the waterline from there to Pockwalk. Ride around to the other side(go right) of Pockwalk on the former Bowater lands then down to St Margarets bay onto the rail trail back into town.
Here is my Strava from this route. https://www.strava.com/activities/428269082
Do not do the segment called “Don’t do it”. It’s a grown in shitstorm of water, trees, slippery rocks and grass. Ride further North from the end of the lake. There is an obvious route on Google Maps.
Jimmy’s Roundtop / Old Coach Road is another option.
As mentioned, lots of options in the former Bowater lands. How far are you wanting to go? I’ve done lots of different loops starting here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/YrMnGxQnhgtM7xg98. Just did a 60 km loop from there today.
At this point I would be going on my HT MTB as I don’t have a CX or gravel bike or anything and would probably be doing it on rainy or wet days when I can’t get out on the single track so something ~2 hours would be ideal, even something shorter I can do a few loops of is fine really. I like the idea of slightly rougher (more interesting) double track than polished crusher dust littered with dog walkers and strollers. Not sure what it looks like these days but seem to recall there being a piece of double track that connected on through the power lines and then along side the highway that you could get to by crossing the road on the back side of Shubie but haven’t been around there in over a decade so that may no longer be there. Prefer to stick to the Halifax side anyway than crossing the bridge.
For what you posted is that the trail off to the right? Where do you usually park, just on the side of the road?
Yeah, it’s easy to park along the side of the road as soon as you get off the highway. Below are links to three variations of a loop around Island Lake that might fit the ~2 hour time frame and are definitely more interesting and less polished than crusher dust. (The difference is in the top half of each; the bottom is the same. Lots of side roads to explore and add distance if desired too.)
The Big Ingram loop is also worth a look - not singletrack, but not crusher dust either. I think it’s on Bowater lands, and you may encounter dirt bikes. It’s a 40km gravel segment, but you can make it a 60km ish loop from The Bike and Bean:
Yup, that’s a decent loop. I rode it on Sunday and was surprised how much better the road is at the top end now compared to two or three years ago. It would be no problem to do that loop on a CX or gravel bike if you connected the ends via rails to trails. I connected the ends using roads that were rougher in places and was glad to be on an MTB.
