Valentine’s Day was a sunny Saturday this year, and with plans made for late afternoon I was free to get some daytime exploring in solo. I set off to ride the latest iteration of the north loop of my route the Burnabop XL. Some of the most recent changes I had only ridden in the opposite direction so I wanted to check that it wasn’t too ornery to ride this way.
The above photo was taken about 15 km into the route, next to the local velodrome. The skies were moody and it was cool out, but rain was unlikely. The next section was Velodrome Trail, a hilly but beautiful stretch of trail along the north face of Burnaby Mountain. One of my favourite things about this trail are the massive big leaf maples in this area, including the specimen below. I dragged my bike down to the base for scale – it’s trunk is 5 to 6 ft diameter and must place it near the top of big maples in Canada. The biggest ones in Canada are in Stanley Park and I’m keen to compare.
The sun came out properly while I rode along Trans Canada Trail along Barnet, below. Most cyclists take the adjacent road because it’s quite a bit more efficient, but unless I’m desperately pressed for time you’ll find me down here on the much more pleasant trail.
A rather low traffic gem of a trail, Hang Your Hat, is closed with no indication of a long term plan. I’m glad I’ve ridden this trail as many times as I have, because I fear they won’t bother to replace the rotten bridges. It also features a viewpoint that feels like a secret because it’s on an even less-used side loop.
The Trans Canada Trail section ends once you reach Port Moody, and from there it’s a 75m climb along the spine between two ravines, a trail that isn’t well known but is definitely well rutted.
Something I didn’t notice previously, having only ridden the trail in the opposite direction, was this car that’s been largely reclaimed by the forest. It’s only about a block away from existing roads, but hard to imagine how it got here nonetheless.
The climb was hard but not too long. There were a few blocks of neighbourhood roads and then a boardwalk crossing of the adjacent ravine. Not very bikeable, but a lovely natural area. Lots of birds to listen to.
After that it was more popular paths and a stretch of notoriously muddy trail that really delivered on that promise today. I stopped at Dageraad Brewing for two small pours before my regular neighbourhood noodle home from there.
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