My Bike Ride to Omemee, Ontario

A Nice Surprise

The other day started out as a beautiful summer morning with just the right amount of sun and heat, so for the second time I decided to check out the TransCanada Trail and do the 25km leisure bike ride to Omemee from my home in Peterborough. Last year, I tried the TransCanada Trail for the first time to cycle to Keene, ON; I ended up losing the trail and becoming totally lost on some pretty hilly and potholed country roads.. I also busted my bike when my saddlebags got sucked into the rear wheel, and I ended up limping into Keene to call my wife to pick me up and bring me back home. On the way home, I consulted the map again - it was then I learned that I was travelling along a proposed trail, not an actual one. Stupid proposals.

This time, the ride to Omemee was a much different experience! I still broke my bike (what's up with that?!) but at least the trail was there. One thing I noticed only after riding for a while was that the trail was very level. So sometimes I would be riding along in this deep V-cut with the landscape rising up sharply on either side of me, and shortly after I'd be riding high on a massive earth berm looking out over the landscape. I guess that this is because the TransCanada Trail is largely made up of decommissioned rail lines, and trains can't climb hills. I gotta say it was way nicer than if I would have had to ride the highway to Omemee because it's pretty hilly country around here...

And the views were just incredible. I mean, I like a nice vista no more than the next guy but several times during this ride, I just had to stop and admire. Everything was so pretty. No doubt the quiet and the remoteness and the perfect weather also helped.

Omemee Bike Trip Picasa Slideshow

So at roughly the half-way mark, I came upon this railway trestle bridge. It was right around here. And by far, this bridge had the best view of the entire ride. It felt like the drop off on either side went on forever and I must say my stomach lurched a little as I rode across. I did not spend a whole lot of time in the middle of the bridge - just because the height made me queasy.

The total ride was only around 25km. At around kilometre 16, the cassette on my rear wheel broke, but the bike still worked somewhat and I didn't feel like getting my hands all dirty, so I limped into town at around 10 clicks per hour hour with my bike sounding like a bag of wrenches banging together. And like last year's ride to Keene, I called Patti for a pickup and we went out to lunch together.

Even with the breakdown, the ride to Omemee took far less than two hours. I can safely say it was over way before I was ready for it to be. The bike's all repaired now thanks to the Peterborough Community Bike Shop and I can't wait to get out there and do it again!