Prime pedalling
The Trans Canada Trail inside Winnipeg is a delight to discover
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/06/2017 (2470 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Transport trucks and cars are racing overhead as the Trans Canada Trail begins its winding journey through Winnipeg at Henderson Highway and the Perimeter Highway.
To my left, cars zip by heading into the city from East St. Paul, a few even obeying the 60 km/h speed limit.
While I respect the rights of cyclists to share the road, I try to avoid it, so when the entrance to Bunn’s Creek Parkway, the first real trail on the Trans Canada in the city, arrives, I’m grateful.
Heading east, the trail swooshes down a steep hill, leaving the frantic pace of Henderson Highway behind.
Here, among the poplars, black-capped chickadees and the burbling waters of the creek, it’s easy to forget you’re still in a city of 700,000. For most of this three-kilometre route, houses on either side are barely visible. In spots, the trail runs through protected green space.
A jaunt through here is one of my favourite bike routes in the city, with hills to challenge the glutes and curves to challenge your balance — and braking — with lots of shade and breezes to keep you cool.
It is just one of many recreational cycling trails available in Winnipeg, the numbers of which have exploded in the past 10 years. The Winnipeg Trails Association lists 36 such paths on its website.
“My favourite has to be the Royalwood trails. I’m not even sure what they’re officially called,” says Philip Roadley, owner of Elmwood’s Bikes and Beyond cycling shop. “They’re tighter, with areas that let you build up some speed — until you hit a tree and have to slow down.”
Those paths, called the Bois des Esprit Trails, near the Seine River in Royalwood, are more technical, appealing to an enthusiast such as Roadley, whose vehicle of choice is a Trek 9.9 mountain bike with dual suspension.
For less adventurous cyclists, there are trails such as Bunn’s Creek, the Harte Trail or the South Winnipeg Parkway, which winds its way from Queen Elizabeth Way behind the CN tracks, Osborne Rapid Transit station and the Banana Boat ice cream shop, all the way to St. Norbert.
Indeed, in today’s Winnipeg, a cyclist can traverse the city without doing anything more than crossing a major street. If it’s not a trail through green space, it’s a protected bike lane on Assiniboine Avenue or a quiet residential street.
Some of these trails may be inefficient for commuter cyclists, but are perfect for recreation.
Adrian Alfonso is the recreation director for the Manitoba Cycling Association.
He’s been an avid cyclist since he was 10 and growing up in Riverview, where he and a friend would find or buy junked or broken bikes, repair them for sale and use the proceeds to upgrade their own gear.
“If it wasn’t for the corner of Brandon and Hay, I probably wouldn’t be here speaking to you today,” he says, referring to the intersection where the friends did their business.
Today, Alfonso is trying to pass on his enthusiasm to his daughter, who is now 10, like he was when he started.
On the trail
The Winnipeg Trails Association lists 36 paths in Winnipeg. See details of them all.
The Trans Canada Trail
Promoted as The Great Trail since 2016, the concept for a multi-use coast-to-coast link was revealed during Canada’s 125th anniversary celebrations in 1992.
Claimed to be the world’s longest network of recreational trails and waterways enabling hiking, cycling, skiing, horseback riding, canoeing and snowmobiling.
When complete, it will stretch 24,000 kilometres from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans. To date, approximately 22,000 km (92.5 per cent of the proposed route) is operational.
The stated purpose is to teach people about the history of Canada, the diversity of communities in the country and the environment.
A community-based project, its sections are owned, operated and maintained by local trail organizations, provincial authorities, national agencies and municipalities.
The trail has myriad funding sources, including corporations, foundations and governments. The federal government is matching 50 cents for every dollar donated towards completion this year, Canada’s 150th birthday.
The trail, promoted as a greenway route, has faced criticism because more than half of the “completed” portion follows unsegregated shoulders of roads and highways.
Source: Trans Canada Trail
His favourite route is a section of the South Winnipeg Parkway, which runs between the Bridge Drive Inn on Jubliee Avenue and around Churchill Drive before joining a gravel pathway running behind the Osborne Street Rapid Transit station to The Forks.
“That access has been huge for South Osborne,” Alphonso says. “Before that, it always bottlenecked at the underpass.”
Alphonso also mentions what is perhaps the city’s newest active transportation corridor, the Transcona Trail, which runs from Regent Avenue along railway tracks north of Transcona to the Perimeter Highway.
“It’s a real nice experience, and if you take it just a little bit farther, you can explore the Duff Roblin Trail, which is the new floodway trail,” he says.
The trail can take you south to the floodway gates or north to Birds Hill Park.
Meanwhile, Bunn’s Creek exits at Raleigh Street, where the Trans Canada Trail turns south and joins the Northeast Pioneers’ Greenway, a trail running from Knowles Avenue in the north to the Nairn Avenue overpass in the south.
It will eventually run all the way from Birds Hill once the underpass at the north Perimeter Highway is complete.
The Trans Canada Trail splits off at Chief Peguis Trail, following the bike path to Henderson Highway and Whellams Lane before crossing the Red River at Kildonan Park Golf Course.
A worthy detour is to head from Whellams Lane down Appleton Drive to Essar Road and the former train tracks just to the south.
Head west toward the Red River and you’ll come upon a historic spot to take a break and enjoy some shade.
Here, you’re under the east end of the Bergen Cutoff, the rotating bridge now permanently left open. It originally connected CP Rail lines in the west to the railway’s North Transcona Yards just south of Springfield Road.
Brendan McAndrew owns White Pine Bicycle Co. at The Forks, and creates classic, simple bikes “you never want to get off.”
His favourite route is from The Forks down the river trail until you reach Osborne, where you cross back over the Assiniboine River and head down the Cornish Path to Misericordia Health Centre, before heading across to Wellington Crescent and into Assiniboine Park.
A quick dash over the footbridge to Sargent Sundae on Portage Avenue fuels you up for the rest of the journey, through Assiniboine Park to the new trails in the Assiniboine Forest that lead, eventually, to FortWhyte Alive. Your return is one of three different ways to get back.
“We recommend that route to tons of our customers, because it’s a fantastic route if someone just wants to see the city and have an enjoyable bike ride that’s uninterrupted by vehicles,” McAndrew says.
His bike of choice would be a city cruiser-style cycle — “just a three-speed, internal hub, really comfortable seating position.
“That ride is really just for comfort more than speed.”
Across the river on the Kildonan Park Golf Course, the same elevated rail bed and another bridge cross the 10th fairway, forcing golfers to shoot over the bridge to the par 3 hole’s green. Some duffers hit low shots that go under.
Officially, the trail runs down Main Street west of the golf course to the entrance to Kildonan Park, but now that a trail runs between the golf course and the river, it should be updated to the new path.
From the park, the trail winds through West Kildonan, down Scotia Street before finding more green space at St. John’s Park. It snakes under the Redwood Bridge and through Point Douglas before connecting to Michaëlle Jean Park, named after the former governor general.
If your only experience with the Norquay neighbourhood is scooting past Norquay School on your way from Sutherland Avenue down Euclid Avenue to Main Street, you probably don’t know about the beautiful riverside park complete with play structures and a wood-fired community oven.
The trails leading from Redwood Avenue to Michaëlle Jean Park are either challenging dirt tracks or a pleasant gravel path that diverts to Burrows Avenue and through some more neighbourhood play areas.
After leaving Michaëlle Jean Park, I head up Rover Avenue to Annabella Street and across Higgins Avenue to meet up with another trail that runs along the river to Waterfront Drive. It’s at The Forks where things get interesting.
From The Forks, the Trans Canada Trail splits off in two directions: one goes across Esplanade Riel, under the Provencher Bridge and north to Whittier Park. From there, you can access some packed-mud trails closer to the river. Once you get to the confluence of the Seine and Red rivers, you can scoot under the train crossing and find some even more technical trails south of the tracks.
The trail then returns through Old St. Boniface to The Forks.
At Woodcock Cycle on St. Mary’s Road, three experts chime in on their faves.
Dave Chennell would take the Southern Comfort Trail in St. Norbert.
“They’re flowy, quiet and well-maintained trails. Also, they’re not that far.”
For his ride, he’d opt for a Specialized Epic, billed as a cross-country mountain bike-style.
Andre DeBattista would follow Philip Roadley to the Bois des Esprit trails in Royalwood.
“It’s a nice bit of nature in the city.” His bike of choice: Giant XTC, a hardtail bike with composite construction.
Jon Carson would scoot from The Forks on his Fixie dirt jumper “to thrash knar” on the technical, constructed trails by Whittier Park.
To head west from The Forks, the trail heads down the Assiniboine Avenue cycling corridor, which offers a curb for separation from the few cars that still find it worthwhile to use the street.
When you get to Kennedy Street, you head south of the Manitoba legislature, past the statue of Louis Riel — is the new statesman-like statue an improvement over the metaphorical original? — to cross Osborne Street and go through West Broadway.
The Cornish Path runs along the river here, exiting at the east end of Cornish Avenue. From there, you head down Wolseley to Omand Park.
If you didn’t eat at The Forks, West Broadway has a number of places to fuel you for the rest of the journey. My favourite is the Tallest Poppy, with a chicken and collard greens special that will blow your mind. Deli fans here can do no better than the Sherbrook Delicatessen and my ’wich of choice, the Earl Barish, named after the city’s Dickie Dee ice cream impresario.
Vegans can try Boon Burger for a number of sandwiches that won’t leave you wanting for meat, while Bistro Dansk will serve you a schnitzel that’s “life changing,” according to one patron I passed as he came out for a cigarette.
Your trip down Wolseley will take you past the prettiest home on the street, Pioneer Lodge, a gorgeous 19th-century home overlooking Omand Park and the Assiniboine River. The home was built in 1894 by market gardener Frederick Salter and features a pillared veranda and gambrel roof. It is privately owned.
After you cross the footbridge at Omand Park to Wellington Crescent — a sign implores cyclists to walk their bikes across, but nobody does — you follow the street into Assiniboine Park on a dedicated bike-pedestrian path that starts just before you get to the bridge at Route 90.
If you need a breather at this point, you can walk through the English Garden, gaze at the Leo Mol sculptures on watch fowl on the Duck Pond. You’ll have to lock up your bikes, however.
There’s also the zoo, and the Journey to Churchill is gaining a reputation as a must-see.
The remainder of the trail heads out of the park, down Vialoux Drive to William Clement Parkway, where dedicated bike paths will take you past ponds, geese and the odd deer. An attractive garden awaits you about halfway from Roblin Boulevard to where the path turns west to hit Oakdale Street.
Here’s where I diverge from the Trans Canada Trail: instead of taking Oakdale to Eldridge Avenue and following residential roads through Charleswood, I prefer to head south to Ridgewood Avenue and cross into the woods and take the Harte Trail.
In total, 81 kilometres of trail comprise the Trans Canada Trail’s routes through Winnipeg. I estimate I did 50 kilometres; I didn’t take the trail through Fort Richmond and the University of Manitoba and its loop through Fort Whyte Alive before rejoining the Harte Trail through Charleswood.
My trip demonstrates the plethora of recreational cycling opportunities in the city, as well as some good commuter routes. For example, I can cycle from my home near Transcona to the Free Press on Mountain Avenue and never ride down one busy street, when I’m on a street at all.
Other cyclists who do, or did, work at the Free Press, enjoyed cycling from River Heights using the Omand Park footbridge to cross the river, though they would hit bottlenecks at either the McPhillips or Keewatin underpasses.
Alfonso recommends novice cyclists looking to try out the city’s many trails start their journey with a bike tune-up at a local cycle shop. It can be a long walk home if something breaks. “Then, just start riding. Start just on the streets in your neighbourhood to get a feel for it,” he says.
Almost any bike will do, but if you’re buying something you plan to use a lot, look beyond the mass-market towards higher-end bikes. You don’t need to spend thousands, but adding a few hundred to your budget over a big-box bike will gain you better-quality components as well as standardized sizing for replacement parts.
One of my own bikes was a big-box bike, and while it has proven very reliable, I’m unable to change seats, because the seat post is a different size than you’ll find at a cycle shop. Parts availability will be an issue as things break.
The Harte Trail begins at McCreary Road and carries on past my entrance at Oakdale before hitting the Perimeter Highway just west of Dale Boulevard.
This is where the trail exits Winnipeg on its journey through Western Canada, and where this story ends.
kelly.taylor@freepress.mb.ca
Kelly Taylor
Copy Editor, Autos Reporter
Kelly Taylor is a Winnipeg Free Press copy editor and award-winning automotive journalist; he also writes the Business Weekly newsletter.