In the heart of south western Ontario sits a 700+km bike packing loop named the BT700. The route is only a few years old, but has been a very popular summer challenge for anyone looking for back county roads, steep gnarly gravel climbs, unopened/unclassified road allowances, no winter maintenance sections, single track and rail trails. The course covers every type of terrain you could ever wish for and with approximately 6500 m of climbing you can be sure to come across a few hike-a-bike sections.
After a little research, I discovered that people were either riding it in one complete go with a few hours of rest, or spreading it out over 4-5 days. I personally had no desire to ride it straight, nor did I have 4 or 5 days to spend gradually making my way along the route, so I decided three days was appropriate, Thursday-Saturday, leaving Sunday as a back up if a fourth day was needed.
Since large portions of this route is very remote, I recruited a friend to accompany me along the journey, attempting to keep the experience as safe and enjoyable as possible.
Typically the BT700 ride has a "Grand Depart" on the summer solstice in June, but it can be ridden during any time from April through October. Our window of opportunity was July 1-3, 2021. With some pretty long riding days planned, we would need all the daylight possible. Normally the route starts in the small town of St Jacobs, right in the the heart of Mennonite country. However, since we live on the northern portion of the route, we decided it was best to start our journey right from our homes.
Planning was tough. To crunch the BT700 into three days, it meant riding some very long, hard kilometers. Lucky for us, the hardest portion of the route, with the most climbing was right in our back yard. Day one would be the hardest, 260km with 3500m of climbing. Day 2 would cover a longer distance of 290km, but much of that over flatter terrain. Day 3 would be a shorter day of 190km, but the climbing would be back to help slow us down.
Day One- Thornbury to Albion Hills Conservation Authority
The first 3/4 of day one would be familiar to us, and this didn't help as we knew what we were getting ourselves into . From Thornbury we headed inland, away from Georgian Bay where we climbed and ascended the beautiful Beaver Valley, mostly on pristine gravel roads, but on occasion, unopened, unmaintained bush/forest roads. This kept the first few hours of riding pretty spicy. After a quick stop in Kimberley at the General Store, we climbed our way out of the Valley for a final time on one of the most beautiful gravel roads in the area, Lower Valley Road.
Back on top of the Niagara Escarpment, we made our way north again through some questionable unopened roads. With a quick stop to refuel and grab our first Butter Tart at the Ravenna General Store we then push on toward the top of Blue Mountain and Scenic Caves, overlooking Collingwood for some epic vistas. From here things got exciting as we descended a very long, hard section of single track through the Pretty River Valley Provincial Park. Normally downhill sections are always welcomed, but with a fully loaded bike, we were happy to see the pavement at the bottom.
Continuing on we made a quick water stop at Highlands Nordic Center and pushed on with plans to stop for our first meal in Creemore. Flying through Nottawasaga Bluffs Conservation Area we were rewarded with some great views looking east toward Creemore. A few kilometers later we stopped at the Creemore Cafe for a sandwich, a donut and a nitro coffee to power us through the afternoon.
Leaving Creemore things continue to be up and down, taking on the challenging roads of Noisy River Provincial Park. The next portion of the ride took us through many of the "no winter access roads" that Mulmer Township is known for. Not a lot to say here but it was epic and if you get the chance, Mulmer Township is worth going back to.
Early evening we arrived at a friends home in Mono Mills. They provide camping in their backyard to anyone needing a place to stay or shelter during the BT700. We were treated with some of the best peanut butter & Jam sandwiches, signed into the riders journal they keep and hit the road again.
The final portion of day one was spent racing the falling sun on gravel roads. Arriving after dark at Albion Hills, we set up our camp and both fell fast asleep.
Day Two-Albion Hills to Port Elgin
We had high hopes for day two, long-but mostly flat riding. Up with the sun at 5am we were rolling by 6am. The only real climbing came at the beginning of the day as we rode though Caledon Hills and the Forks of the Credit on some great gravel roads lined with estate horse farms and a portion of the Bruce Trail. We managed to grab a quick breakfast at a Tim Hortons in Erin before continuing on via the Elora-Carrack Trailway, snapping a few images as we crossed the over the dam at the Belwood Lake Conservation Area. Lunch was planned for St. Jacobs at the Eco Cafe (the official start/end point of the BT700) where we gladly sat down, ordered some delious sandwiches and watched as Mennonite buggies past us by on the streets of St. Jacobs.
The next portion of the ride was suppose to be the easiest, flat, charming concession gravel roads heading predominantly north west ending on the beautiful shores of Lake Huron. Instead, we were greeted with steady 40km/hr northwest head winds for nothing less then the next 180km. This turned out to be the hardest section of the trip. The open fields as well as the lack of cover and shelter from the wind and sun slowing took any energy we thought we had. Making it to the village of Mildmay was a huge relief, where we aggressively consumed a early evening dinner from a local chip truck.
The remainder of the day was spent riding the very rough Bruce County Rail Trail, which sees most of its use from ATV's and not bicycles. As day two quickly came to an end, the sunset again upon us we rolled into the Town of Port Elgin where we set up for the night at my relatives place.
Day 3 - Port Elgin to Thornbury
After a great nights sleep, we ventured out along the western shore of Lake Huron, around a portion of Saugeen First Nations, respecting the Covid-19 measures that had been put in place. The next section of the route would take us deep into the peninsula of land between Wiarton and Owen Sound, tackling some very aggressive unopened roads around the Skinners Bluff area and dodging a few larger puddles along the way. The Geogian Buffs Rail Trail was a welcome site as we rolled into the City along the shores of Georgian Bay.
After an extended lunch at the take out window in Harrison Park, we smashed out a few steep sections of single track as we left the park behind us and headed back toward the eastern shore of Georgain Bay and Hibou Conservation area. As we slowly approached the small community of Ballacalva, the roads started to go up again. This was our final section of climbing for the ride. The next 15km of riding was filled with some steep, long sections bordering the Meaford Tank Range and some hand numbing single track through the Bayview Escarpment Nature Preserve. From here we jumped on the Tom Tomson Trail and descended our way quickly into the Village of Meaford. Back on common roads, we hit the Georgian trail and made quick time to the finish off the ride in Thornbury, we were had left two days before.
My take away from this bike packing trip was that I loved all the off road portions of this course. Anything that was gnarly, off the beaten path and something I would normally love riding. Certain sections I would love to tackle again, but maybe in the the opposite direction next time. The BT 700 is now part of larger bike packing collective in Ontario. Several similar routes in other parts of the province have now been assembled and are available for download to suit your adventure needs. For more information, check out their website at http://www.bt700.ca/
