After springing for a new Thule bike rack that could carry 4 bikes (we used to be able to put the Lightning Kid’s bike in the trunk when we wanted a family bike ride), I was extra motivated to try and get out for a ride that wasn’t simply through my own neighbourhood. The weather’s turned really nice here in Abbotsford, and I need to get my exercise in more than ever.
My wife mentioned the Matsqui trail as something she wanted to explore either on foot or by bike a few times in the past, so I took it upon myself to scout it out because I’m the kind of person who likes to stave off disappointments and/or catastrophes.
The Matsqui Trail runs along the South shore of the Fraser River. There’s a nice park at the foot of the Mission bridge which seems to be the half-way mark between the East and West arms of the trail. From that park, I chose to ride west first. It was a beautiful day and I could really enjoy the sunlight on the water. It reminded me of our visits to Berlin, in a way.
There was a part of the western arm of the trail that went by a sewage treatment plant; I had been forewarned about the smell, but it wasn’t as bad as I feared (though still unpleasant).
Once I passed that, things started to get interesting. I could tell by a train whistle that I was getting near a railroad; it got quite loud, but where I actually first crossed paths with it was to ride under a bridge that the train had just crossed over. Later, I would actually (carefully) cross the rail line on its surface, but by then the train was long gone. I came across a parking lot that is marked as part of the Trans Canada trail on Google Maps, and I saved it for future reference.
The rest of the trail wandered further from the river, and got to be more challenging. While it was a net climb, I found it to be also a bit of a beginner-level mountain-bike track in terms of tight corners and squeezes and inclines and declines; I had thought this would be an easy gravel ride. I’ve been struggling to find places to mountain bike that are appropriate for my level; most of the places I find are too risky. Even as I started getting gassed by the climb, I was pleased to have found something that could challenge me physically and technically. I turned around at Douglas Taylor Park, which might or might not be the absolute end of the trail but good enough for my purposes. I rode back down and enjoyed not only the easier pace but the challenge of handling some light twists and turns, though I nearly had a collision with a man on a recumbent bike.
I got back to the central bridge park, and decided I had enough time to see what the Eastern arm was like. While I didn’t get to its bitter end, the parts I saw were flat, and sometimes leveraged the dyke trail.
I think if I cherry pick the right parts of the trail in the future, I can offer anything from a leisurely family ride to a bit of beginner mountain bike training.