Eastern Canada - Toronto to Orillia (or Barrie)

Hi,
Am thinking of heading up to a friend's cottage in Orillia by bike & am looking for route suggestion. I know going straight up Yonge street is an option but are there any other ideas? And for those who have done this trip, what's the ride like? Is it hilly/flat?

I ride from Toronto to Collingwood quite often, but I'm in the west end

I usually take Kipling Ave. up to Rexdale/Derry Rd, west to Gore Valley, then up to Old Church Road (Caledon East). Then east to The Gore Road, up to Hwy 9, then east to Simcoe Road 50 to Alliston. Then east on 89 to Simcoe Rd 10 to Angus.

Here, I turn west to Wasaga Beach, then Collingwood...you would turn east and take Dunlop Rd West (old Hwy 90) to Barrie

Give yourself about 8 hours to Orillia, and watch out for trucks on the narrow concessions...Simcoe Rd 50 is used as an alternate to Airport Road and gets sketchy at times

Ride safe

EDIT: Its fairly flat if you stay off Airport Road, but there's usually a NW wind that occassionally makes you work a bit harder

Also:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1gci&doc_id=1161&v=2z

If your downtown I'd go north on yonge to King City, then west to 27(or side road), north on 27 to Barrie. You can travel east, circumventing part of lake Simcoe to get to Orillia from Barrie

Thanks alot for the suggestions fellas!

If your downtown I'd go north on yonge to King City, then west to 27(or side road), north on 27 to Barrie. You can travel east, circumventing part of lake Simcoe to get to Orillia from Barrie


Sorry to revive this thread, but it applies to my inquiry so there's no point in starting a new one.

I've just gotten into cycling about two months ago. I commute to work during the week, and go for a longer ride on weekends. I ride at an average speed of 23km/h. Last weekend I did my longest ride yet - 50km around Toronto in 2 hours. I'm getting bored of city riding and now want to get out into the countryside. My goal for the end of the summer is to cycle to Niagara. A shorter term goal, however, is to cycle to Barrie one day, recuperate the next day, and then cycle back to Toronto on the last day. I live on Yonge and Davisville. Should I just take Yonge all the way, or should I take the above noted route (I really want to see nice scenary)? Any nasty hills or bad roads I should be aware of? At what pace should I ride?

Thank you kindly in advance.