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Yeah, this one really seems to have flown under the radar. It's got one of the best riding surfaces I've been on and I really enjoyed it. The bonus is on either end, there are lots of options for places to grab a bit to eat and drink.

@@SpokesAndScenery Now I'm mystified. My RideWithGPS heat map only shows the New York Central Foot Path going from Russell to Embrun. Is this not also what is commonly called the 'Russell - Embrun Trail'? On the western end it starts near the intersection of Hamilton Rd and Rte 200. It extends 9.1km to its end near the Palais des Sports in Embrun on Saint Jean Baptiste Street. It is a very nice walk or ride, but aren't these one and the same thing? You seem to suggest that there are two separate trails.

Never heard it called the Russell-Embrun trail before. I just know of it by it's official name. I mentioned at the start of the ride that it wasn't the Prescott-Russell Trail, which is the one I've been talking about riding this year.

There are a lot of options if you ever make it out this way!

Different opinions are what make the world go round and make life interesting! As long as you enjoy being out and doing your thing, that's all that matters! Cheers! My next video features a rail trail that doesnt have that problem.

It was definitely my favourite part of the trip!

Glad you liked it!

Cooler than I thought! Wish I'd have brought shoes I didn't mind getting wet to try to make it all the way through!

Thanks!

I'm not sure she'll ever get one. She prefers exploring one foot ahead of the other, but she wanted to get out on the trail with me to see it for herself. I'm glad we had that experience together earlier this summer!

I barely made it, but I made it on one charge. It was probably best case scenario. No headwind, me putting in a good effort to reduce the usage and warm weather. The bit I went all electric after I felt too weak to keep going put a bit of a drain on it, but to this day, that's my best on a single charge. I used PAS 1-4 on the ride with most of it in the 3-4 range. I didn't use 5 for the trip. The bike I have is a Gotrax EBE2.

There's definitely a section where the grass and weeds can get pretty tall between Smiths Falls and Chaffey's Lock. Two years ago it was probably a good 3 to 3.5 feet tall but when I did this ride it wasn't too bad. My feet did get wet from the dew and I changed shoes there. It's part of the appeal of riding this trail for me. I love that the surface is varied along its length.

Thanks! I've got some interesting rides planned down the road and I hope that the wait between videos will be worth it when I can finally get to them!

Thanks, Whit! I wasn't sure I could ever get to the 6 month mark of weekly videos, let alone 2 years. I knew the days were numbered late summer last year when I started fussing more about the quality of things on my K&P Trail ride. Once I went down that rabbit hole, there was no going back. 😊

Thanks, Graham! It's been a lot of fun and I'm glad it's helped people out who had the same questions I did about the trails!

Thanks, Steve! You know, I never did put anything from the Toronto area on my to-do list. If I did a day trip out next year, what would you suggest as your top trail out there?

It's nice to see it left in place, instead of the land all bulldozed and built over. It really adds some character to that neck of the woods!

Thanks, that's exactly the thing I hoped the videos would do when I started making them. 👍 I like to think of that bottle of Pepsi as a safety measure. If it gets bumped out and explodes all over me like it did on the Cataraqui Trail, then I know I'm going too hard and need to take it easier. 😄 Surprisingly when they don't shake loose, they're not too flat!

If you want smooth crushed gravel and a mostly trouble-free ride, take the Trans-Canada Trail from Ottawa to Carleton Place then jump on the OVRT and ride that all the way into Pembroke. Between Carleton Place and Almonte, there are sections on the OVRT where you'll see brown dirt/gravel. Be careful on those patches. They're dicey to bike through. Go around them and you'll be good. There are a few road crossings in that stretch where the gravel can be pretty deep and loose, so watch out for those as well. Otherwise, it's a very comfortable no matter what kind of tire you're running on. Have fun, stay safe and have a great ride!

Hope you have a great ride on the AT! Looks like the weather's going to start cooling off a bit so we should finally be in the really good cycling weather soon. I'm starting to think about what I want to do next, but haven't locked anything down yet.

I just saw a post the next section to Chalk River is expected to open up late 2024!

@@owenoiffer That would be interesting. There is already a discontinuous bit of the Algonquin Trail south of Chalk River that starts at the Highway at the east end of Corry Lake at Clouthier Rd. and runs north through Chalk River to a dead-end road that ultimately runs into Deep River. How one would connect that to the end of the Algonquin Trail in Petawawa looks problematic. Is travel through the Base encouraged? I have already tried to use one mapping service that behaved very strangely in and around the base itself, possibly because it is military.

I found it really, really dusty too. The Millennium Trail between Picton and Belleville uses the same gravel and the same thing happened there. Both rides, it got all over me, my clothes and into everything on my bike. It took some effort to clean up from that. I'm really not a big fan of whatever type of gravel they used. For sound, I was looking for a budget solution and what I tried worked, so I stuck with it. But honestly, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. You'd be sacrificing a few things going the route I did. I grabbed a Maono WM820 kit and I plug the receiver into a Sony ICD-PX370 MP3 recorder. The WM820 has no indicators about battery life and you need to remember how long you've used it for. (6 hours run time on a charge.) I have to bring the volume down all the way to 0 and then volume up one time so I'm not blowing out my sound levels on the recorder. That also means I have to sync the audio and video in editing. I could plug it into my camera directly, but Insta360 has some funky things going on with audio and video not lining up right. GoPro's don't have this problem, but I'm not recording on GoPro these days. You'd be much happier with a DJI Mic 2 & I'm thinking about switching over to that in the future. Your sound quality would be better with it and has a feature where if you talk really loudly, then you don't blow out your audio. That's called 32-bit float mode. In today's video that's coming out in a few hours, I blew out my audio once while just talking. The DJI Mic 2 also lets you record straight to the mic or to a bunch of different things, including your phone! Keep in mind you'd need to get the kit with both the transmitter and receiver to get all of the features of the mic. No matter what mic you use, use a windscreen that comes with it (the fluffy piece you see attached to my mic.) That's what stops the wind noise in your videos. I hope that helps! I've watched your videos and I like what you did with voiceovers and music. Since you're editing your videos, you're combining your audio and video already so having a seperate audio file of your ride wouldn't be too much extra work for you. The trick is to walk in front of your camera when you start recording and clap if you're not sending the sound from your mic to your camera. When you're putting the video together, make sure the frame where your hands first touch each other matches up with the first frame that your see the audio file spike up from your clap. Match the two together and the audio and video will line up. Do that each time you start recording and you're gold! The average speed I get in videos is usually about 25-26kph. I think the wide angle of the lens makes it look faster! 😄 I used to go a lot faster until the cartilage in my knees started giving me problems. Getting an e-bike gave me a 2nd life to get back out there, but because I try to put as much of the ride on me without making my knees worse, I never really get into the 30's very long along the trails. The downside of all of that is throughout the riding season I'm always battling with taking in enough calories to make up for what I'm burning. There are times (like right now) where I need to take a forced break just to get my body back in balance.

@SpokesAndScenery this is very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to leave a detailed response. Oh! You ride an ebike. Sweet! They are game changers, for sure. Having the audio record on a separate device reduces the sound coming from the bike vibration. I'm thinking about splurging on a better 🎤 option 🤔 I'm changing my route for the Wounded Warrior Challenge, I can't imagine riding 130-150km on the dusty OVRT. That can't be healthy for the lungs.

@AisForAdventure330 That's something I forgot about, but you're right. Any mic attached to your bike picks up on all of the vibrations and bumps too. Having a mic clipped on you where it can pick up what you're saying makes a huge difference.

Good luck! Hope that all works out! That'd be a really nice stretch to do! I'd love to cross the border and do a few rides down there. I've seen vids of some rail trails around the great lakes and they look pretty great, running through a bunch of small towns and around old canals

Thanks, Jeff! I never expected to go two years with weekly updates, so I'm happy I made it to this point before I needed to dial it back. 👍 Now, when I get a ride or hike done, I can take some time with it and make sure I've got it to where I'd like it before putting it out there.

The ride back took a lot longer because I stopped and took a lot of pictures. It's a really beautiful part of the trail! Enjoy your trip out!

If you go out, bring some bug spray. When I was out, they weren't too bad, but in a few spots they got a bit thick when I stopped. As long as I was moving, they left me alone. It's deerfly and horsefly country out there.

Interesting. I didn't know about the fee, and after you mentioned it, I looked it up and there is an organization the charges cyclists to ride weekly or monthly. I wouldn't have minded paying to help with the upkeep, but there was no signage anywhere about that out there. Surprising, though, as it's a part of the TC trail network. I haven't heard one way or the other about flooding on the Central Frontenac. I do know the Tay-Havelock has gotten flooded out since after I rode it and just knowing what the CF Trail is like, I'd guess it's probably been flooded too. Not sure what the condition is like after the tornado last week either.

Maybe for 2025. I'll see what I plan on doing next year. For this year, I should be okay with the setup 😊

@@SpokesAndScenery I have read that a rider who road trails more North with a gravel bike said that 3 inch wide tires would work well

I talked about the Kick & Push in my K&P ride and spilled the beans about why it was called that, but never knew about the T H & B line! I love these little tidbits of info; it makes the history of our old railway lines that much more colorful!

I was too. I honestly expected the audio to be unusable and to throw this recording in the bin. I guess if anybody wants a souvenier from one of my videos, they know where to look for one!

I'm so happy to see this section of the OVRT. I'll be cycling from Pembroke to however far I get before the battery on the bike runs out or when my body tells me I've had enough. I'm cycling for the Wounded Warrior Challenge on August 24th. I'll appreciate the breeze off the Ottawa River and the shaded parts of the trail. You are so lucky to have such great audio. I hope to one day solve this issue on my videos😊

@AisForAdventure330 Thanks! Have a great ride when you're out! A wireless mic with a good windscreen makes all of the difference when riding 😊 I got crazy lucky on this ride my audio was even halfway decent after my windscreen went flying early on! I'm glad the video was useful - that's what these realtime videos are about. They're a resource for people to get an idea what to expect on the trails.

Have a great trip! I'm sure you'll enjoy it! Video doesn't do it justice.

Do you mean the pine needles? I was a bit surprised to see them on the trail too. Thanks, Whit!

I live here along the trail, many trees were suffering in the heat and dropped leaves this summer including some white pines which generally shed old needles every 3 years.

"This just fires on all cylinders for me." I'm waaay behind on my subtitles. I'll get caught up this summer. :D

Thank you! Have a great trip in Montreal and enjoy the scenic route along Highway 2 if you decide to go that way!

​@@SpokesAndScenery Thank you! Oh by the way I know it's called Mavericks now ( in GAN) but we use to drive up with a few buddies in our circle from KCVI and go play pool and have a few. This would be back in 1984-1985. Don't remember the name of the place then but maybe you could refresh my memory.

Thanks! 👍

Thanks, Chris!

It's kind of hit or miss if the section between highway 15 (by Elgin) to Smiths Falls will be cleared well or not. It gets regular maintenance, and even has some stretches of fairly new gravel laid down, but between Elgin and Portland especially, things seem to grow fast. Once you get past the rough stretch around Elgin, it's pretty smooth sailing the rest of the way.

They really help to show off the scenery when you're biking around! I started off with GoPros, but there was always something where the camera wasn't pointing that I wanted to record and I didn't want to have to keep on stopping to reframe my camera. That's the great part of a 360 cam. You can just go out, enjoy your bike ride and worry about where you want it pointed after the ride's over. :) If you ever upload some content on the trails, you'll have to let me know! I'd love to check it out. There seem to be a lot of us named Steve who love trail riding. I wonder if it's a name thing? :D

Thanks for the info! Glad to have some answers to a few of the questions I had!

If it's far from home, I pick a spot to drive out to then hop on my bike. In this case, the car was parked by the locomotive in downtown Gan. But, I've done a few longer rides where I needed to be picked up/dropped off and I'm really grateful to everyone who helped out on those trips. 👍 Realistically, I'm good for a solid 80km on any given day. If I push myself, About 130km is my max before I wear out. So I've got to keep that in mind when I go out. I have another ride I'm planning out soon that will be about 100km so my options are get a lift when I reach the end or do it myself in two trips after driving out to different access points. The logistics are fun to figure out sometimes

When I was looking at doing this ride, I noticed that the section north of the 401 was a lot less traveled than south of it. Even the streetview imagery made the north end look a bit iffy to visit, but I thought I'd give it a try. I was hoping I could take it all the way up to the county rd. Just before the main CN line, but wasn't sure if it'd be possible or not. Hard to say what the plan is with me not being a local, but looking at how grown in the section north of the part that's dug up is, and also knowing it passes right through a golf course, I got the vibe that it's a no-go zone now.

It really is a beautiful little town! The main drag along Highway 2 can be really busy but otherwise it's pretty nice to bike along the streets there

That's another great perspective to have too! It makes things safer for cyclists, less frustrating for drivers (and stops bottlenecks from happening on busy roads) and it also keeps the main driving surface fresh longer. It's worth the little bit of extra cost to widen out these narrower roads.

Camping is tricky in Ontario. Technically you're allowed to camp on most crown land, so if the trail passes through crown land, you should be good. A trail like the Cataraqui Trail doesn't, but it does cross over the Rideau Canal at Chaffey's Lock. Camping is permitted at the locks. So if that was a part of your journey, you could always peg that as a camp spot. The K&P Trail has Sharbot Lake Provincial Park just a few km west of the trail as well. The Millennium Trail has Sandbanks Provincial Park nearby where you can camp. I've never tried doing a multi-day trip but maybe someone who has and knows of a few other good places to stop might be able to help out.

@@SpokesAndScenery Thank you Andrew for the trail camping information and getting back to me. You'll have to help me as I don't understand what "crown land" is. I assume it's the same as what we call "state land" over here? State Land is exactly that, land owned by the state for public recreational use. Is crown land marked in any way? Here in the states, there are signs that are nailed to trees showing what's State Land and what's private property. I'm in the process of closing on a house any day now in Clayton, NY. I think when you did the K&P trail video you started from Kingston. So once I get settled into the new place, my future gravel rides will start from Cape Vincent with taking the Wolf Island ferry, and then taking the larger ferry over to Kingston where I will try to navigate to one of those epic and scenic rail trails. Either the K&P or the Cataraqui trails.

Hey Steve, that's pretty much what crown land is. Historically we've been allowed to camp on it, but as time's marched on, some parts of crown land are now frowned upon for camping. No, we don't have signage for what's crown land, it's something you'd have to look up. It's a really odd way of doing things here, but most of the time if someone doesn't want you on the land, it's fenced off or there are no trespassing signs. Etiquette on rail trails is keep on the path. Most of the surrounding land is privately owned and landowners allow people to pass through their property. I started in Kingston, and made my way north on the K&P Trail. When you reach the junction where it joins the Cataraqui Trail, if you go west a bit then you can continue north. If you go east then you can see the best sights of the Cataraqui Trail and camp at Chaffeys Lock for the night. If you're doing a multi day ride, after sleeping the night there, double back and go back to the K&P and aim to camp at Sharbot Lake the next day. From there, head north to Calibogie. The scenery north of there is stunning and I didn't do too much past there. You could spend the night at Calibogie and then head to Renfrew or Arnprior on the K&P and Algonquin Trails. So much of them are connected. North of Sharbot Lake, we do get into crown land territory, so there would be places you could just camp out for free. I'm not sure the best places for that, though. Whatever you decide, the rail trails are plentiful in the area and a lot of them are connected, so you'll have a great time exploring! And Andrew's my friend up in Ottawa who does similar rides. My name's also Steve. When you have your journey, you'll have to give me a heads up! I'd love to know what you decided on and how it went!

@@SpokesAndScenery Hi Steve, thank you again for the valuable information. I'll keep this tucked away in my future prep and planning for a multi-day ride. My apologies for getting your name confused with your friend Andrew.

All good about the name thing! 👍

Thanks, Whit!