Biking It: Tally Ho Swords Road to Orrville

Continuing on with my exploration of the Seguin Trail I headed out on a warm (28C / 83F) sunny day to ride from Tally Ho - Swords Road to Seguin Fall, and back. This post covers this first portion of the ride with comments and suggestions.

This section of the Seguin Trail is quite short, about 5 km (3 mi) and starts where the trail crosses Tally Ho - Swords Road, and ends as you cross Highway 518 just north of Orrville. There is a spot alongside the trail where it crosses Tally Ho - Swords Road that it is possible to park without blocking road or trail traffic.

It's a short ride to Orrville, but not without a few large puddles that require a decision to go through or around. I chose to go around in the case of the deepest puddles. They are probably only about 25 cm (10 in) deep, and perhaps 15 metres (50 ft) long, but muddy and it's not possible to see what's under the surface. In one case I rode through and bit by bit slowed down until I hit a rock that stopped me cold. That resulted in one wet foot and a lesson. On the way back I walked on the edge of the puddle, leaning on my bike that I pushed through puddle. That approach worked for most puddles. It's likely that you will face these puddles regardless of when you ride the trail, it was more than five days since the last rain and they hadn't drained. The issue really isn't how deep the puddles are, it's the unseen rocks that can twist a tire and cause a spill.

A chain of puddles, it's number four in the distance that's a challenge.

Other than occasional water the path is flat, and different than the section from the 400 to Tally Ho - Swords Road. The trail in this section runs through farmland rather than bush. It's a an easy ride with lots of bumps but no real challenges. Short sandy sections of the trail makes things tricky, but they are few. The tail actually goes around Orrville, but it's easy enough to get on 518 (paved), head into the town possibly with a stop at the Orrville Bakery, and then continue on and catch the trail again a few hundred metres (yards) ahead. That avoids at least one puddle that is close to where the trail crosses 518 on the north side. Or just head back to where you left the trail and continue.

Next: Orrville to Seguin Falls.