Chasing some trail - the beauty of the lunchride

So I've mentioned before that I bring a bike to work with me on Wednesdays - usually my old rigid steel mountain bike, since I don't really care if it gets rain, grime & road salt all over it.

Dusty doesn't care - he just wants to play.

I don't have time to ride in to work (it's almost 80km/50mi), but I ride down to my Mum's house afterwards because we go visit with her every Wednesday evening. Since Tanker and I work very close together & he starts before me, we drop him off then I take the car to my office with the bike in the back. When I go see Tank for his 3pm break, I drop the car off with him and ride back to the office.

Even a 6min ride is better than nothing.

In summer (from the Victoria Day weekend until Labour Day) I ride direct, because my employer is awesome and lets us leave at 2pm on Fridays if we take half-hour lunches Monday to Thursday. I just barely have time to jam up to have coffee with my sweetheart and ride back to work before my 30mins is up. However, in Spring and Fall I have a full hour. I used to just do some extra riding around the (highly industrial) area of his warehouse and my office to get some training in, but since I got my hour lunches back this fall I have been going exploring!

What's down here?

I've discovered a little patch of woods with some fun, rooty trails through it.

Recharging my soul with a pedal through the trees.

Some doubletrack trail that goes past another patch of woodland (unfortunately with no way in that I can find).

Behind some soccer fields near the 401

How I wish there was a way in!

Gorgeous fall colour along the trail, which I think is actually a service "road" for the sports fields.

And just last week I found a multi-use trail past a teaching garden with a lovely little footbridge over a stream.

Jan's Trail takes you past sumac and wild grasses

Looking North

This sure beats riding past warehouses.

The pathway actually continued further than I had time to explore, so I went back this week to investigate some more. I took a different route and was able to find the proper origin of the trail, getting there much more quickly so I could follow it further. The reward? I found an awesome little loop of single track trail around a small pond!

Which I rode despite being in a skirt, and got rather covered in burrs.

I'm not entirely sure this is even intended for cycling..

Pond right by the 403, in Parkway Belt Park, with 

When I return to work after these little jaunts (all 10km or less), I'm always in so much better a mood than when I left. Really, who wouldn't be after taking a half hour to go exploring?

I'm willing to bet that most of us spent countless hours discovering the world around us as children with our first bikes. They give you the freedom to go anywhere - to experience things that those locked away in their cars will never see. Why stop just because you're a little older? Get out there and find what's been hiding right under your nose!

I'm crayon art K, and I approve this message.