MTB Southern Ontario
More of Hardwood Hills Mountain Bike Centre, Barrie
















Suzie's Saunter 1 * Suzie's Saunter *
Narrow Single Track
Definitely one of my favourite biking trails. This intermediate level single track twists and turns through 2 mature stands of pine trees.

A great thing about pine trees is the absence of underbrush and leaves. Due to the acidity of the soil and the needles, the ground cover is sparse making a clean dry track that's well-defined.

Another thing about a trail through pine trees is visibility. You can clearly see the track ahead.

One thing to watch for and avoid, is accidently grazing a tree. Definitely painful sharp little branch knobs and twigs, all the way up the tree trunks.


Suzie's Rock Path * Suzie's Saunter *
Serious Tech Section
Uneven Rock Path
On many of the single track trails at Hardwood, there are mini obstacle courses along the way, called *tech sections*.

Most *tech sections* have a track bypass around the obstacle, for riders that want to avoid the extra challenge.

In the photo, Joanne was unsure about keeping her balance going over these rocks, but she kept her wheels moving and made it thru nicely the 1st time.

The key to success, is all about *feeling* your bike. You have to pedal slowly and smoothly, with constant forward motion and pressure, all the way through the section.


Suzie's Log Bridge
* Suzie's Saunter *
Serious Tech Section
Bumpy Log Bridge
 This is another *tech section*, further along the same trail. This log bridge is uneven and trickey but can be crossed using the right edge or hopping the left where the logs separate.

You can see the bypass trail leading off to the right.


Simcoe Trail * Simcoe Trail *
Narrow Single Track
Right after you complete Suzie's Saunter, following along the Serious level course route, there's another great single track, *Simcoe Trail*.

*Simcoe Trail* has a nice mix of hardwood and pine forests with lots of tight turns, moderate hill climbs and descents. This single track is narrow and rutted in the turns, but widens out again along straight tree-line sections.

As you can see, there's not alot of forewarning as to what's ahead.

In cases likes this, it's always good advice to go slow and take your time through the corners.


Simcoe Trail Boulder * Simcoe Trail *
Serious Tech Section
Boulder Climb & Drop
This is ALOT steeper than it looks in this picture.

Riding through the pine trees of *Simcoe Trail*, you come across a plank running up this boulder, never suspecting there's an eye-popping 3 ft. drop on the other side. The worst part is seeing the logs that you have to jump over or ride out, at the base of the big boulder, AFTER you've commited going over the boulder. Very scarey the first few times through.

Jason is a seasoned MTB rider and even he found a challenge in this *tech section* but tried it more than once, just for fun.

I opted for the bypass.
If only I had courage.


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- This MTBiking travel page was last updated December 30, 2000 -