Rails To Trails Coffee Ride - April 15

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 One of my goals this season is to take advanatge of the rails to trails and toss some hardtail trail riding into my cycling mix. Long term goal is to cycle to Bridgewater this summer using the trails that run to the South Shore on the former railway line.

 Having done a road ride yesterday with BPCC I opted to tackle the trail out to Tantallon and back. Picked up the trail in Bayers Lake just pass the Second Cup to which I was determined to return too heading home for a post ride coffee. It then occurred to me that the Bike and Bean could be my outbound destination complete with a cup of coffee.


I wasn't quite sure how the trail would be after the winter but was surprised to see it was smooth and hardpacked despite the winter meltoff. I was also quite happy to see litter was at a minimum so either users are being responsible or the trail committees are proactive with trash removal. Either way it was nice to see a fairly pristine trail. I left around 8:30AM and basically had the route to myself with just a smattering of dog walkers and runners.


Once at the Bike and Bean I saw KF, LB and WA getting ready to do the Aspotogan loop. A lovely day they should have an excellent ride along the coast. After a brief conversation it was coffee time.A cup of joe sitting in the mid morning sunshine felt prime.


Back on the bike heading back to Halifax I expected the volume of trail users to increase substantially so figured it to be a slower return to the city. I was not wrong so if you want to cycle the route at a faster tempo then an early morning start is the best option to beat the mid day trail traffic. It was a flying trip out but a more relaxed return complete with some playing with the camera.


Lots of cyclists heading outbound on my return so I suspect Halifax Velo must have been doing a club ride. Passed a trike rider so I wonder if it was JH? Hopefully they had a good ride but I can only imagine it must get crowded during the afternoon between the hikers, runners, dog walkers and cyclists. Back to Bayers Lake and the Second Cup for another cup of coffee before heading home to take my daughter to a birthday party in Dartmouth.


It was a good morning on the bike.A good morning indeed!

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