Last Sunday’s bike ride rode near the US border straight west then straight back east along the foothills of Covey Hill. This started as a ride from a new guidebook for good rides near Montreal (which I did 4 times), then I combined its best parts with my Ste-Martine to Covey Hill ride and myAalong the border ride. It adds up to a lot of top quality riding, which is the objective.
I say top quality, but why?
- Route finding completed done to find best and most ideal route
- Good roads (note: excellent roads)
- Quiet roads (generally very quiet roads)
- minimum amount of bad or busy roads (<10 li="">
- Scenic roads (very scenic, not boring all the same all the time all flat)
- Away from modern civilization, (no "every town the same" corporate BS)
- Generally skips all towns and villages, but they are close by if needed (ice cream, water, etc)
- Not too far from home (facilitates a noon departure)
- Food available on route
- Easy driving & parking logistics
- Ride is not too easy
- Ride is not too hard (aligned to energy and fitness levels)
- 2nd half of ride trends downhill
- 2nd half of ride is with the wind (usually)
- Cheap gas
- Heritage sights
- Variable distance for a longer or shorter ride/shortcuts
- free apples
- Car parking at park beside bike path
- Car parking: good security
- Car parking: dep for pre/post ride food beverage needs (sort of)
- Car parking: benches/tables
- Car parking: right at start of good riding (as opposed to a few miles before the good stuff)
- Scenic highlights: glaciation traces, distance views, nice farms, stone walls, forests & fields
- Last 10 km nice riding (this ride is on bike path 1st/last ten km) and not busy traffic situation
- Good sunset light situation
- Good map of ride
- Hill situation: several short or micro hills, only one longer hill
- Ride distance at 110 km, long enough to be well-fatigued, but not so long or hard it's near-death experience
So these are some of the things that make a ride a good ride, and a good ride elevate to a great ride. For 2014, this was my exploration to find another favorite ride: and the result is mission accomplished.
