Zan

i've ridden kennedy from hwy 7 up to vivian road (east of newmarket). for that stretch it's a good road.

tomorrow i might just ride up to lake simcoe. you know, just for the hell of it. 100km .

anyways... kennedy a good road all the way up there? i don't want to be out there dead tired and on rough road.

cyclocommuter

Kennedy gets cut off at Davis Drive so it won't take you all the way North to Lake Simcoe. You could take Kennedy all the way to Davis Drive then head west 2 kms to Warden and head north from there. By the time you get to Baseline Road head East back to Kennedy and take it all the way to Lake Simcoe. At the North West corner of Kennedy and Lake Drive there is a store where you could get water, etc.

Normally I would not take Davis Drive but instead take Vivian to head to Warden but the bridge in Warden just south of Davis Drive is currently under construction and Warden is closed from Vivian up to Davis.

Another option would be to head west to Leslie and follow it through Keswick until it becomes Metro road. From there take one of the sidestreets to Lake Drive. Leslie in New Market is full of stop lights though and if you want to avoid this, at Vivian head North when you reach Woodbine (instead of Leslie) then head West along Mt Albert to Leslie via the town of Sharon. You could then take Leslie all the way North again.

If you are coming up in the East (via Uxbridge which is hillier and more challenging... less cars too) take the 3rd Concession via Zephyr until it ends at Ravenshoe; head West for about a kilometer or so and then take Park Road all the way to Lake Simcoe's Lake Drive.

I have been to Lake Simcoe 4 times this year from Scarborough which is why I am pretty familiar with the routes and detours.

91MF

warning: when you get that far up along warden there are cement mixers/dumptrucks/etc. travelling at an average speed of around 120kmh. maniacs. please do not die.

Zan

well i did it today. total of 120km (20km longer than what i thought ).

went up kennedy 'till it ended. i took the road west (Davis?). that was scary. 18-wheeler + other large trucks passing by at whatever speed they were going at while i'm out on the shoulder there. i'm a tiny guy. the wind wave knocks you around!

that was brutal, guys. 60km there... uphill, against a 25km/h headwind, on a cloudy day at something like 18C. it was cold, hard, and long.

trip back was a lot more fun... but the wind was dying down.

i don't get how some people can do large distances regularly. i started getting BORED after 80km... another 40km+ to go... .

i actually did the math. i figured i spun the cranks over about 25 000 times . what else are you gonna do when you're bored on the road?

cyclocommuter

Congrats on getting to Simcoe and back in one piece. As I mentioned, I would rather avoid Davis Drive because of the cars/trucks... unfortunately Warden is closed because of bridge construction. Woodbine is another road to avoid if you hate high speed trucks blowing by inches from you... it is relatively free of trucks on the weekends though.

If you are more adventurous (or in need of some serious weight loss), try the 3rd Concession to the East to head northwards to Simcoe as I outlined above. Almost no trucks pass there as they probably will have a hard time negotiating the hills around Uxbridge. Note that the 3rd Concession is harder southbound (on the way home) than northbound... if your legs are weary on the way home, it might be easier to take the 4th concession.

To avoid getting bored, find a cycling buddy or two who will ride with you

skiracing

I've gone up there.... yeah the 18 wheelers can make you feel uncomfortable but I still trust them more than some teenaged girl driving her mommy's SUV and yapping on a cell phone. Think of it this way.... these guys make a living by driving those things and they are unlikely to risk loosing that.

Anyways, join a club if you can... if you get a good group of guys who ride at a fast pace, you will see dramatic improvements and the type of ride you did you'll do multiple times a week without a problem.