Route Report: Ridge 2 Ridge with bayofquinte.bike
Fall is when gravel biking in the Bay of Quinte region hits its peak in our minds: the leaves are changing, our legs are feeling strong after a summer of bikepacking and commuting, and we’re feeling inspired to take on more challenging routes, making the most of cooler days.
While you can certainly enjoy any route on bayofquinte.bike at any time of year (trust us, we’ve tried them all!) we think certain routes are particularly special when the air is crisp and the hills are a patchwork of colours. Case in point: our Ridge 2 Ridge route, which—among other highlights—crests Moira Road north of Belleville and offers one of the best views in the Bay of Quinte region.
Written by Laura Voskamp
Ridge 2 Ridge is a mixed gravel cycling route that we’ve categorized as an “Adventurer” in our collection. On an Adventurer route, riders can expect consistent climbing and dirt trails as well as the chipseal and gravel that are typically part of our Rambler routes. Adventurers are still fully tested routes, so you can go into your ride feeling confident that you won’t encounter impassable trails or major water crossings at any time of year. If that’s your bag—take a peek at Explorer routes for a next-level challenge!
This route is one of a few in the collection that we’ve set up as both “Full” and “Lite” versions, even though there are only a few kilometres difference between Ridge 2 Ridge Full and Lite. On the 45KM full version, you’ll encounter an additional challenging climb, whereas this is skipped on the 43KM Ridge 2 Ridge Lite. We took this route on at the end of August when we set the date for the community ride, and the conditions were excellent. We were glad we brought extra snacks along for the ride and packed a cooler of cold drinks in the car for a post-ride chill session!
When we took off on that August morning, the sky was overcast and the temperature was climbing. Things had cooled off from the height of summer heat, but we still expected a hot ride. The route starts off with some flat sections and short, low-grade climbs that made it easier to keep up a conversation with our companions and capture some pretty photos of summer greenery.
We were feeling strong when we realized we’d hit kilometre 20 pretty quickly, and were nearly halfway through the route. Knowing we’d signed up for a challenge, it was confidence-boosting to feel like we still had energy stores to rely on for the last half of the ride. A couple kilometres later, we realized our naivety!
At the top of the first major climb on Moira Road, we stopped for a breather and a snack, catching our breath as we laughed at ourselves for forgetting about the upcoming climbs. What goes up must come down though, and the descent from Moira didn’t disappoint—the view can’t be beat.
HOT, HOT HEAT...
The temperature rose while the route continued to serve up punchy climbs. After the road climbs, the route takes a turn toward unpaved gravel backroads without a car in sight. Tractors plodded away in the fields and bees buzzed in the ditches where the wildflowers swayed. The conversation slowed for a while as we watched the late summer scene unfold and imagined coming back in a few weeks for a fall colour gravel ride.
...COOL CLIMBS
With the end in sight, we knew our final challenge was imminent. As we crossed highway 62 from Pine Hill Crescent, we plunged into an old favourite trail: Dutch Girl Road is a classic that we love incorporating into bike rides in the Belleville area. It’s a nice, shady break from a hot ride, while also providing a short stretch of lightly technical terrain to get your feet wet (not literally!) for more challenging off-road adventures. What would an Adventurer route be without a little spice? A few kilometres later, the route wound down back to Foxboro Public School with the promise of a cold drink and a salty snack.
Ridge 2 Ridge (full or lite) are established bike routes, with conditions that can be relied on throughout the seasons. You can always attempt any bayofquinte.bike route on your own time, and keep in touch with us by joining the club on Ride With GPS to find out first when we’ve got a group ride planned.
