The long range forecast for Sunday, October 27th looks promising so we'll give Fall Colours gravel ride from Brantford to Cambridge along the Grand River another try. The ride will follow the SC Johnson Trail from Brantford to Paris and then connect with the Cambridge to Paris Rail Trail on the east side of The Grand River to Cambridge. We will then make our way up to Preston, cross over to the west side of the Grand River and make our way back to the starting point in Branford. We will stop for lunch near the midpoint of the ride, likely in Cambridge. The gravel/trail ride is 83 km, with 60% (hard packed gravel rail trail and gravel roads) and the balance paved road. Ideally, you should have a gravel road bike or a hybrid/mountain bike. A tire width of 30 – 35 mm would be ideal but you can ride the trail with a road bike with 25 – 30 mm tires if you would like to experience gravel trail riding. Expect an average pace of 22 – 24 km/hr, plus or minus.
The ride will start at the Hardy Road Public Trails Parking on Hardy Road in Brantford. Start time for the ride is 9:30 a.m. Travel time to the starting point from Firemen’s Park is 1 hour and 10 minutes.