This week on Biking With Panda, we test the Carrick Tract’s claims of excellent drainage during a week of particularly bad weather. All the other parks had been partially closed all week so I figured it’d be as good a chance as any. I just want to get it out of the way now, the amount of armour I’m wearing here isn’t required at all – rather, it was so cold out that I wanted the extra warmth. The additional protection meant that I’d be able to ride blind faster than I usually do.

Before I got here, I thought this would be a tiny little park with nothing much to offer, maybe a couple flat paths around the forest. I had pre-judged it and decided I probably wouldn’t come back unless bad weather forced me to.. this is all based on the information I can find online. The trail maps don’t make it look challenging, or even large enough to get an hour of riding in.

Once I got onto the trails, I was extremely surprised. Not only is the drainage excellent, the paths are incredibly smooth and all the tech is optional. This means that we can rip through the joint whether it’s sunny or full of wet leaves. The flow is real!

The Carrick Tract is under-appreciated and under-ridden. It’s one of the rare trail systems in Ontario that isn’t clay, so we can ride it in the rain. It’s not so far that I’ll have to camp out overnight.. meaning, I’ll probably be revisiting more than I originally planned.

By the way, this video was captured using a GoPro Hero 4 Silver that I’d gotten from eBay. It was advertised as a Hero 4 Black, but it had the LCD upon arrival. Not only did the Hero 4 Silver not tolerate low light as well as the Hero 3 Black, but every so often in low light once the device heats up, the entire frame will change hue to purple or green. I already sent it back for a refund and now a hopefully-proper Hero 4 Black replacement is on the way.

Until next time.. enjoy my stoke.. and go ride!

No trail list, sorry! It should be pretty easy to follow.

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