8 minute read
Bike Town
From flow trails for beginners to the biggest jumps and steepest lines this side of the Rockies, Sault Ste. Marie is Ontario’s new MTB hub
words & photos :: Colin Field
House Rock is a massive glacial erratic deposited atop one of the funnest downhill trails in Ontario. And in 2017 a couple of local crazies built a ramp to launch you on top of it, then off it again, over a gap and onto the landing. Watching Luke Watson (one of the trail builders) hit it over and over is freaking awesome. Even with ten local riders of incredible skill level standing around, he’s the only one hitting it. And I don’t blame anyone for skipping it. It’s a gnarly thing to see.
Then we drop into the jump line. During the first 100 metres, it quickly occurs to me: Holy chromoly this is steep. Rolling over a rock I question how steep my bike will go before catapulting me. But I remain faithful and it’s all good. My suspension sucks up the terrain and I plummet downwards. It worked. This trail is awesome.
I skid to the side of the next jump, a Survivor-looking bridge contraption. Then I watch the local trail builders hit it again and again. They’re so stoked to be riding. It’s seriously infectious.
But this seems to be how it goes in Sault Ste. Marie: The people into riding are really into riding. The landscape is rugged and wild, creating tough riders ready for tough adventures. While Watson rarely rides uphill, other masochists from the Soo tend to ride way farther than is normal. Jan Roubal, owner of the local bike shop Velorution, is an absolute animal. While I was there, he hosted a bike ride across the road from his house. One lap was 30 kilometres of singletrack; many people rode four laps. This summer, Jan also rode his gravel bike to Sudbury and back in one day. Well, kinda; it took him 30 hours to do the ride, so technically it took just over one day. “I get these kinds of ideas in my head and I just can’t let them go,” he says.
While some choose to regularly do century rides, others build the biggest jumps and steepest lines this side of the Rockies. And many people fall somewhere between the two. Which means the calibre of rider in the Soo is high.
What I’m shown next is the Farmer Lake Area and the Darkside Trail on the north end of Hiawatha: a heinous, rocky, rooty downhill track complete with steeps, drops, jumps and rollers. It’s a terrifying roll through the rugged bush of the Canadian Shield. There are five-foot drops, machine-built berms and an over/under jump that defies reason.
ABOVE Jan Roubal taking the technical line at Hiawatha. BELOW Norm’s Cabin. BOTTOM Maggie Kirkwood.
But you know what the crazy part about this trail is? The city built it.
So far the city has received $667,000 in funding from the federal government and the municipality. They hired the Quebec trail-building company Sentiers Boréals and they’ve been building (during the summer months) since 2020. Sentiers Boréals have built trails all over Quebec including at Mont-Saint-Joseph and Le Massif.
The Soo’s master plan involves one large loop that will connect all the trails in the area, connecting the mountain bike trail networks and making them accessible from downtown. There are more enduro-style trails in the planning stages and they’ll be building a dirt pump track in 2022.
And while the first track of theirs I see is terrifying (the Darkside Trail) they also built a jump/flow trail for kids and beginners that is an absolute hoot. We do laps over and over with a bunch of kids and parents and it’s obvious it will help the next generation of young riders to flourish. I watch artist-photographer Paula Trus, who would not really consider herself a mountain biker, ride through here on an ancient 26-inch bike and laugh out loud the entire way down. It’s a thing of beauty.
ABOVE Luke Watson jumping House Rock. BELOW Jan Roubal.
When the guys from Red Pine Tours pick me up for an overnight mountain bike trip, I know we’ll get along; they’re wearing flannel shirts and jean shorts. And that’s their riding gear. While they tend to do ridiculously lengthy, self-punishing tours, they’re taking it easy on me. We head to Stokely Creek for the pièce de résistance of their packages: their bike glamping tour. We ride out to Norm’s Cabin where we’ll spend the night. And all our gear is delivered to the cabin so we don’t need to carry any of it.
Stokely’s layout is similar to what you find at Hardwood Hills or Georgian Nordic: It began as a cross-country ski destination, but singletrack has slowly taken hold between the double track to create an endless network of trails. There are lots of painful, lung-punishing climbs but also a bunch of seriously fun descents and some amazing viewpoints like the one on top of King Mountain where you can see all the way to Lake Superior.
After 12 kilometres of mixed single and double track we get to Norm’s Cabin. Situated on Bone Lake, the two-storey cabin is a perfect place to spend the night. One of the Red Pine guides is a brewmaster at the Soo’s OutSpoken Brewery and the other guide is the brewery owner. So we’ve soon cracked a couple cold Deadfall lagered ales and are cheersing the day’s accomplishments.
The guys get to making dinner. It’s totally local: freshly caught “specks” (speckled trout), backyard-grown zucchini, locally raised ribs. The wood fire keeps us warm all night and the silence is absolute; we don’t see another person for about 16 hours.
In the morning we do an adventure ride through a bog and back down to our vehicles at the Stokely parking lot. It’s another major lesson in what the region offers: really fun, challenging terrain, endless trail networks and a friendly crew of locals more than willing to share. It’s a perfect destination for a two-wheeled getaway.
FIRST, TAKE A DEEP BREATH
Modern townhomes are coming soon to Craigleith with prices that are uncommonly sensible.
Once in a Blue Moon, a brilliant idea comes to the perfect place at a moment that’s oh-so-right. At Craigleith Ridge this Autumn, that’s exactly what’s about to happen.
Rendering is Artist’s concept. E.& O.E.
Right now, the final details for these stunning contemporary designs are being finalized for their stylishly tailored interiors, set in one of the most beautiful locations in all of the Blue Mountains.
Almost 80% of the neighbourhood will be retained as forest and parkland. It’s a breathtaking setting Masterplanned to connect with Nature including stunning viewpoints, large ponds, two walking trails, and two streams, all sloping gently down to the Lake, just a few minutes’ stroll away. It’s perfectly placed between Blue Mountain Village and the beach. With the mountain at your back and the lake so close, there will be breathtaking views four seasons a year.
How will Craigleith Ridge keep all this affordable? Through the common-sense solution to the affordability crisis: Land Lease, an established ownership option across Europe and the USA that is becoming more and more popular in Canada. It’s real home ownership at a much lower cost because you only pay part of the price. Own your home, lease your land, and keep your cash. It’s a form of co-ownership where the house is 100% yours. That means your real estate investment can appreciate. Your Land Lease comes with a small monthly fee, and you will live in a beautiful neighbourhood where the value of your home is protected with the confidence of professional management. There’s so much logic in Land Lease. It’s the perfect solution for downsizers looking to put more life in every moment. For first time buyers, it’s a wonderful way to start building equity with a beautiful contemporary home at an affordable price. More and more people are finding they have common ground in this practical, sensible idea.
Will you feel comfortable living somewhere new? Don’t worry, you’ll fit right in from the very first day. One highlight of a Land Lease neighbourhood is the sense of community that develops between people looking for a recreational lifestyle. Shared moments and experiences in a wellmanaged community bring people together, helping to build lifelong friendships.
The company behind Craigleith Ridge is Parkbridge Lifestyle Communities, Canada’s largest land lease residential and resort developer. As the leader in the industry, Parkbridge has dozens of successful, established land lease communities across Canada from BC to the Maritimes.
With their new National Head Office recently opened in Collingwood, and the launch of their new Flagship Community next door in the Town of the Blue Mountains, Parkbridge is committed to making Craigleith Ridge an unforgettable statement at prices that will make real home ownership remarkably affordable.
It’s been quite a year or two hasn’t it? If you’re like so many others, you recognize that it’s time to live for the moment, because the important things can slip away or pass you by. So, if you’re ready to revive, refresh, reflect, reinvent and rekindle the important things in your life, then you’re ready for Craigleith!
To learn more about the opportunity of owning at Craigleith Ridge, visit CraigleithRidge.com where you can register to receive regular updates and advance notice of the upcoming launch.
