Cycling, which has increased in popularity in recent years, has many benefits: exercise, transportation, and it’s environmentally friendly. It can be an individual or group activity.
We in Meaford are fortunate to have safe trails and picturesque roads to explore on bicycle. E-bikes are allowing cyclists to extend the range of their rides, to join friends on biking excursions or to commute to work. The Opair bicycle enables adults to bike with an adult or child with a disability.
In Meaford, we have the Georgian Trail which now extends to Stayner. The ride to Thornbury is about 12 km and to Collingwood, it is 34 km. (https://www.georgiantrail.ca/).
The Grey County Cycling Routes describes a Meaford 20 km easy bike ride which showcases views of Georgian Bay, apple orchards, and downtown Meaford. https://greydocs.ca/urm/groups/public/documents/tourism/gc_215883.pdf
For those Meaford cyclists who live closer to Owen Sound, there is a CPR rail trail that can be accessed at various points, and ends at the Bayshore Arena in Owen Sound. An interesting short ride is from Rockford to the historic stone Chatsworth Railway Bridge, approximately 20 km return. You can also ride a few more kilometres to where there is a wetlands with trumpeter swans nesting. This trail is a multi-use trail so is rougher in some areas.
Many cyclists like a destination ride which includes wineries and cideries. In our municipality we have:
- Coffin Ridge https://www.coffinridge.ca/
- Duxbury Cidery https://www.theduxburyciderco.ca/
- Windswept Cider https://windsweptcider.com/
For those who want to maintain their cycling stamina during the winter months, the Y in Owen Sound offers Spin Classes. https://www.ymcaowensound.on.ca/
Hop on your bike today to explore the beauty of our area, enjoy the fall colours, and get exercise all at the same time.
