After 2 weeks in Toronto sitting on my butt a lot and walking a lot I was ready for some riding. Being new to the area I don't know what weather forecasts mean for trail conditions when it comes to snow. I figured some recon was in order. I expected lower trails to be in good condition so I headed up the mountain in Cumberland to see what things looked like. Open areas like this were fairly snowy. I rode quite a bit despite the snow, but for sure when things got more challenging uphill I was walking. If I had gears I would have ridden most of the time.
Despite the snow my bike shifted as good as in dry conditions. ;-)
Once in the trees the trails were in good condition and it was easy to ride and a lot of fun.
Lower down the trails were in normal winter conditions....just a bit moist. All in all it was a good day on the bike. I went up just above Sykes Bridge. If I had gears I would have gone higher, but my enthusiasm for pushing up the logging road ran out and with SS pedaling was not realistic. So my take would be there is still a lot of great riding to be had at the moment if you don't mind battling through some less fun sections to get to the good ones. Given my lack of local knowledge I'm sure I am not making best use of the trails in winter conditions, but I plan to do lots of exploring for the next 5 weeks until I have to head back to TO for another visit.