Biking the O&Q (7): Kilometre 80 to Tweed (Kilometre 100)

Fri. 10 June:  Biking the O&Q (7):  Kilometre 80 to Tweed (Kilometre 100)

Reached 100 km mark today

This morning I reached Kilometre 100 southwest from Glen Tay along the old Ontario and Quebec (O&Q) railway line.  Not that I could find the marker post.

Now, beside the waters of Stoco Lake, I was within a stone’s throw of the village of Tweed, the largest community along the trail.   

West of Kaladar, the line headed into a leafy wilderness, with no roads or farms for several kilometres.  This was, looking at the topo map, the last section of Canadian Shield country before reaching the cultivated fields and farms of southern Ontario.  Nevertheless, right up to the edges of Tweed, the countryside remained largely woodland and swamps, now mixed with open fields and quiet roads.

My GPS indicated that the elevation had been gently dropping over the whole twenty kilometres, but despite this, on my return journey I still made good progress.  Perhaps I am just getting better at biking!  Apart from a section of gravel, the railbed was ideal for biking, and many large puddles had dried out over the past weeks. 

There were no major structures along the way, just two short riveted iron bridges over small streams, and one long embankment across the fields at Hungerford.  This place, now a lonely farm, was once busy enough to have its own railway station, no signs of which remain today.

As I approached Tweed, the line made a wide swing to the left.   Crossing a paved road I came alongside Cosy Cove, the northern arm of Stoco Lake.  Here I turned around, at what I calculated to be the 100 kilometre mark, in a low rock cut.  From here into Tweed would be a short ride.

It was a perfect day for a bike ride, with a light northwesterly breeze and cool temperatures under a blue sky.  As usual, I saw nobody on the trail until I was close to my turnaround point.  Here I passed an elderly person on an equally ancient mo-ped, and a couple who were taking a stroll.  Not exactly a crowd.

During my journey, I caught a glimpse of a deer on the trail ahead, and also the tail end of a fox heading for cover.   On my next leg, I expect to head into a much more rural scene of fields and busier roads.  But first, the delights of Tweed await.

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

Riding through the last section of Shield country.
See also the Google Earth map below.

Colorful ponds

Very good surface along portions of today's route

One of two metal railway bridges

A lonely country

On the trail

Mysterious tunnel of trees ahead

First sign of farming land

Embankment above the fields...

... with a farm at Hungerford (once a station near here)

First road crossing at Hungerford, after a long, isolated stretch

More empty country east of  Tweed

Would have been a lot more puddles last month

Trans-Canada Trail also a major ATV and snowmobile route

Cosy Cove on Stoco Lake:  on the edge of Tweed village

Google Earth map shows rugged geology of the area
where the highway swings away from the railway line,
south of Kaladar heading for Tweed.
Note powerline crossing at right-angles.
Scale: this pic shows about 5 km of trail (dotted line)