When’s the last time you took a real road trip?

 

I don’t mean driving to get somewhere efficiently. I mean picking a destination and taking the time to get off the highway, check things out, and not worry about the clock. 

 

For mountain bikers, these unplanned detours often lead to the best discoveries—hidden trail networks, local bike shops with stories to tell, and those perfect lunch spots that become part of the adventure itself.

The Journey North

 

As part of a Marin x ONtrail collaboration, Glen and I headed up to the Soo in a Marin van loaded down with awesome bikes. We were on our way to the Salty Marie – a ride and run festival located in the beautiful Hiawatha Highlands. We were setting up tents in the vendor village, and I was racing in my first event of the season.

 

If you’ve ever taken the drive north (this was my second time—the first was to Pancake Bay 20 years ago), you know there are dozens of small towns along the way. Some are vibrant with bustling main streets and fresh paint on heritage buildings, while others feel ghostly—empty storefronts and grass growing through sidewalk cracks. As someone who’s spent his life along the 401 corridor, it’s a completely different vibe, and it was fascinating to see how the rest of the province lives.

 

We made it a point to stop and explore. At Parry Sound Bikes, we geeked out over their selection and enjoyed a great coffee. The Big Nickel in Sudbury was worth the tourist photo op, and we found ourselves having a perfectly chill lunch at a waterfront spot where time seemed to slow down.

Salty Marie: More Than Just a Race

The event itself exceeded expectations. Well organized, genuinely fun trails, and those good vibes you only get when passionate trail builders show off their work. Hiawatha Highlands delivered exactly what I hoped for—a perfect combination of flowy singletrack and technical jank that keeps you honest.

 

The Marin Rift Zone was the ideal bike for this terrain. When you hit those smooth, rolling sections through the forest, the bike just floats. But when the trail suddenly throws a rock garden at you, the Rift Zone’s geometry and suspension kept me in control instead of sampling the local flora.

 

Here’s the thing though—halfway through the race, I realized I was grinning like an idiot. The trails were great and the views made me forget I was supposed to be racing. Numerous times I found myself actually slowing down to look around. Not exactly race tactics, but those are the moments that stick with you. It wasn’t a result to write home about, but I’ll carry the memory of that race with me forever. More importantly, it’s already driving me to plan a return trip to the Soo.

 

The Road Trip Revelation

On the drive home, Glen and I started brainstorming something ambitious: how could we turn this journey into a proper 4-day northern Ontario MTB road trip?

 

The possibilities got us excited. Sudbury’s trail network has been growing steadily, with new builds that could easily fill a couple of days. Parry Sound continues to develop as a riding destination, and we’d heard whispers about hidden gems in Elliot Lake. 

 

The challenge isn’t finding places to ride—it’s the distances between them. Unlike southern Ontario where trail networks are practically connected by suburbs, up north you’re looking at real geography & distance. But maybe that’s exactly the point. Maybe the space between destinations is what makes a true adventure. 

 

We’ve got the whole off-season to plan it properly. Picture this: Day one in Sudbury exploring the expanding trail system. Day two pushing north to check out those Elliot Lake rumors. Day three and four based in Sault Ste. Marie, diving deep into Hiawatha’s 50+ kilometers of singletrack, maybe even venturing into some of the more remote sections.

 

The best part? Every mile of highway between stops becomes part of the adventure instead of just time to kill.

 

Sometimes the journey really is the destination—especially when you’ve got bikes in the van and all the time in the world to see where the road takes you.