tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843402198492586278.post2102626940821670451..comments2024-01-17T04:12:23.489-08:00Comments on The BikeBike Blog: Critique Of Alberta's Iron Horse TrailBikeBikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05722018090415432366noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843402198492586278.post-47687372027259248522021-03-16T13:01:38.719-07:002021-03-16T13:01:38.719-07:00Thank you for posting your experiences with this t...Thank you for posting your experiences with this trail. I used to live in the area from 99-07 and am familiar with the trail inception and early challenges attracting users. I recall the focus was mainly on locals (ohv & equestrian) who'd opined individually they'd rather just head into the bush on the multitude of very scenic and meandering trails further north. Suggesting sections for improvement for human powered pursuits: xc skiing, cycling and hiking (was chair of early naturalists as well as involved in xc groups) was only met with derision or at least bewilderment (as if there was no purpose to going anywhere under ones own steam other than from the couch to the fridge!). I have longed for positive reports and potential for (granted maybe only a few hundred) users to see some of the beauty along the trail but alas i don't hold much hope for timely improvements via investments given political realities.The BigRock Neufeld'shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00385746066033332604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843402198492586278.post-23948157783622522522021-01-29T07:52:22.653-08:002021-01-29T07:52:22.653-08:00Hey JC
Both of us were on 27.5 x 2.8 tires.
In m...Hey JC<br /><br />Both of us were on 27.5 x 2.8 tires.<br /><br />In my opinion, the section from Bellis to Mallaig was generally pretty good. If you could incorporate it into a loop using gravel you'd likely have a good time though I do not have any intel on the best roads to use.<br /><br />Thanks for commenting.<br />BikeBikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05722018090415432366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843402198492586278.post-11007427365399897912021-01-26T23:11:54.759-08:002021-01-26T23:11:54.759-08:00Thanks so much for sharing your experience. We ar...Thanks so much for sharing your experience. We are looking to do some bikepacking and bike touring this year. I have been trying to find more details about actually riding this trail, but have not found a lot, so this is super helpful! <br />Your review has me re-thinking the idea of exploring this route, but I am also curious and thinking we could maybe patch together a circle route that includes some gravel roads and the nicer parts of the route. <br />What size tires were you riding on? <br /><br />It really is too bad this trail doesn't get more investment. Bike touring routes in other provinces are a really good bike tourism draw and this province has so much potential, but so few opportunities for good, reliable bike touring. <br /><br />Thanks,<br />JC <br /><br /> Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01678548300762293605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843402198492586278.post-32816672891023348072020-10-02T08:38:10.323-07:002020-10-02T08:38:10.323-07:00On a positive note :) I found the IHT response to ...On a positive note :) I found the IHT response to my email query very detailed and personalized! I asked for advice about riding 3 days of out&backs from a central base, and Marianne came back with a ton of specific recommendations - including a map that avoids the 'unrideable' Bellis Natural Area with a country road detour - and she suggested which exact sections presented the best scenery & conditions for three out&back days on the trail with 2" tires. The advice I received avoids the NE leg between Mallaig and Cold Lake. Am super curious now to see how it compares to, let's say, the more challenging parts of the KVR that occur between Summerland and Tulameen in BC.DaveRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03230048670505766938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843402198492586278.post-9513697694372817192020-09-14T13:44:24.954-07:002020-09-14T13:44:24.954-07:00Hey guys, André here. I just found your blog linke...Hey guys, André here. I just found your blog linked from a Calgary based small bike shop. I am cycling thru Canada and rode both trails, the P'tit train du nord a few months ago and very recently, just a week and half or so the Iron Horse Trail. Both trails are part of The Great Trail network which itself is questionable for cyclist. But a different story. TIH trail I cycled from Heinsburg to Waskatenau, doing the other missing leg u hvnt been on. And yeah, not better there. The scenery especially starting in Heinsburg up to let's say St Paul was amazing. Along the river throught small valleys and not just beside the HWY. But the riding was partly a torture. I don't repeat what u already wrote but it was the same. I actually did the whole trail, just a few patches I switched to parallel gravel roads. I took my time and wrote a very long email to the trail organisation and told them my frustration. I got an answer in which they said: "We have just hired a consultant team to help us with a 10 Year Strategic Development Plan and one of the first things they told us is the majority of the trail is not suited for cycling". They thanked me for my confirmation of that conclusion. They could hv saved that mo ey for the consultant by just moving their butts out of the office on to a bike and do a nice weekend trip. Everyone! All of them! Bravo! 10!!!! Years. Sorry Albertans, you probably have to live with the shittiest rail trail I hv seen in Canada for quite a while :-(((Erlendurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13342491176851632789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843402198492586278.post-4521019203423952252020-09-13T14:16:54.621-07:002020-09-13T14:16:54.621-07:00While bikepacking may have not existed when this t...While bikepacking may have not existed when this trail came into existence, cycling and touring were a thing. The first rail trail in the US, the Elroy-Sparta in Wisconsin, has been around since the '60s. It's never had a hard-paved surface, just crushed gravel. Yet thousands and thousands of cyclists use it every year, whether for family day trips or through touring. The towns along the middle are small, and depend on that tourism dollars. <br /><br />I think some folks forgot that there's a step to making a rail-trail after ripping out the rails and ties.<br /><br />Washington State has a couple long-distance trails that haven't been improved. They have the old rail ballast, which is even worse than dirt. I've heard people who have through toured it, but did it on fat bikes. The going was slow, and there's closed/gone trestles to navigate around. It's taken awhile, but there's now more impetus to make something of the trails, especially since the area it goes through doesn't have much going on. <br /><br />Best,<br />Shawn<br />https://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14450505644942296884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843402198492586278.post-60590014910502576032020-09-13T08:44:23.817-07:002020-09-13T08:44:23.817-07:00Hey Shawn
Your comment - "It's weird for...Hey Shawn<br /><br />Your comment - "It's weird for a trail like this to be geared so much to OHV at the expense of pretty much anything else.* Do the OHV'ers have that much clout? Do they bring that much revenue into a community? All I've ever really seen with OHV users is they may park/camp at a central spot and then come back, not "through tour" like bicyclists."<br /><br />We saw zero horses and less than 15 OHV'rs over 3 days on the trail.<br /><br />To be fair, when the trail was originally established decades ago, "bikepacking" or off-pavement cycle touring wasn't at all a "thing" so I'm not surprised the user groups initially targeted would have been equestrian and OHV. HAving said that, it appears that mostly what is going on is nothing: No planning. No study of potential improvements. No recognition of the potential for not only cyclotourism but liveability for residents in neighbouring communities - including the elderly.<br /><br />One community along the trail has shown what could be possible. Glendon added a paved path into the right-of-way in their community and locals are using it.<br /><br />All that needs to happen is for the towns, villages, and counties the trail goes through is to contribute funds to have the trail graded annually. Doing so would smooth and harden the trail making it more accessible to more users. A huge opportunity exists if the majority of the trail had a paved path in the ROW - like what Glendon did. <br /><br />The P'Tit Train Du Nord in Quebec is 200kms long. The Iron Horse Trail is 370+ kms long - and could - with a relatively modest investment, bring in millions of dollars in cyclotourism revenues.BikeBikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05722018090415432366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843402198492586278.post-24127952998952757602020-09-13T08:28:59.832-07:002020-09-13T08:28:59.832-07:00Hey DaveR
We chose the NE branch first as there a...Hey DaveR<br /><br />We chose the NE branch first as there are hotels in Cold Lake and our plan was to meet my wife there and have here shuttle us down to the beginning of the SE branch in Heinsburg.<br /><br />If you want to do an out an back, start in Bellis or Vilna and ride towards Mallaig. This section was actually pretty ok and was enjoyable.BikeBikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05722018090415432366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843402198492586278.post-27526457601223234222020-09-10T18:48:11.497-07:002020-09-10T18:48:11.497-07:00Thanks for the report. It sounds like a wasted opp...Thanks for the report. It sounds like a wasted opportunity. It's weird for a trail like this to be geared so much to OHV at the expense of pretty much anything else.* Do the OHV'ers have that much clout? Do they bring that much revenue into a community? All I've ever really seen with OHV users is they may park/camp at a central spot and then come back, not "through tour" like bicyclists.<br /><br />It's also a shame that, according to their website, this is the longest section of the Trans-Canada Trail in Alberta. <br /><br />It reminds me a bit of a trail that I used when touring across Canada in 2011 (a month after I met you, Sean). Getting out of Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, I found a rail-trail and tried to use that for a few km to get off the pretty nasty roads in that province. It was unimproved, a mix of grass and dirt. My 35mm tires only did so much on that surface, then I resigned myself to riding on those crappy roads again. You'd figure that making nice rail-trails would be a priority in a province like Manitoba, since road riding is hellish. And the communities I passed through were also small and dying, so an influx of touring dollars would be welcome.<br /><br />Is there any national level advocacy group for rail-trails in Canada? We've got the Rails to Trails Conservancy here in the US, which definitely puts its weight towards seeing out good rail trails.<br /><br />Best,<br />Shawn<br />https://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/<br /><br />*I'm guessing snowmobiles can use it in winter, but snowmobiles can use any rail-trail in winter, paved or not, as long as there's enough snow.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14450505644942296884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843402198492586278.post-69790443731048087692020-09-10T14:57:48.955-07:002020-09-10T14:57:48.955-07:00Thank-you Sean for writing down your thoughts and ...Thank-you Sean for writing down your thoughts and introducing many of us to the AIHT! Having cycled just about every KM of rail trail there is in central BC, Idaho, and parts of Washington, I've been tinkering with the idea of making an autumn tour of the AIHT right here at home. Aside from logistics or a toss of the coin, is there a reason you chose the NE branch instead of the SE branch at Abilene? I'd be riding a series of select out&backs from the comfort of some accommodations at a central location. Cheers, Dave.DaveRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03230048670505766938noreply@blogger.com