Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups

Apr 23, 15 19:18

Post #1 of 17 (2991 views)

So I am moving to Brampton, Ontario in a week with the fiancee. We will be living in Brampton and I am working in Waterloo. We are both training for IMMT 70.3 and I am doing IMMT in August as well. I have found the C3 Triathlon club based out of Caledon, Ontario but am looking for more advice on the best places to swim, bike, run, road, trails, etc.

Swim: C3 swims at the Quarry in Caledon. I am hoping to get there as much as possible this summer. Any other great places to swim both indoor and outdoors?

Bike: I have ridden to Hockley Valley Reserve a few times. Is this the best area to find open road to ride to in my area of Ontario? I am used to riding in NYC and Northern NJ and I am sick of pissing my pants every time an angry driver comes close.

Run: Pretty much can do this anywhere but any great trails to get some runs in Southern Ontario?

Any other triathlon clubs to check out? C3 seems pretty awesome but always like to look at options.
Any group rides to know about in the southern ontario area?

I feel like I have gotten lucky in Westchester, NY and Hoboken, NJ with finding great triathlon clubs to be a part of with plenty of knowledge on where to train so hoping for the same in Canada.

Thanks ahead of time.

Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [Triharder27] [ In reply to ]

Apr 23, 15 20:40

Post #2 of 17 (2949 views)

1. C3 has great training options
2. For where you live C3 is optimal
3. You're commuting to Waterloo everyday? Good luck in winter!

@rhyspencer

Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [Triharder27] [ In reply to ]

Apr 23, 15 20:44

Post #3 of 17 (2949 views)

91km commute each way sounds absolutely ridiculous. That will seriously eat into your training time.

FYI

Milton has the new indoor velodrome.

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Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [Triharder27] [ In reply to ]

Apr 23, 15 20:50

Post #4 of 17 (2943 views)

I'm originally from Brampton. I'm curious why you picked to live there? There are better places to live in the area. I wasn't into tri's when I lived there, but if you need any other advice about Brampton let me know.

Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [Triharder27] [ In reply to ]

Apr 23, 15 20:55

Post #5 of 17 (2936 views)

Gullivers Lake is not far off hwy 6 and is a good open water spot. Simon Whitfield did a lot of swimming there. Spring fed, clear, albeit small but one loop is 1k.

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Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [Triharder27] [ In reply to ]

Apr 23, 15 21:12

Post #6 of 17 (2930 views)

Lake Kelso out in Milton is great. The area around are riddled with some good steep climbs (nothing too long though). The lake is great to swim in and running is fine as well. They actually host an annual event there each year (Subaru Triathlon Series). I'm in downtown and got there regularly in the summer for some weekend training bricks and long OWS. Get in touch and I can give you some more advice from a local perspective.

------
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Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [cshowe80] [ In reply to ]

Apr 24, 15 4:36

Post #7 of 17 (2874 views)

Thanks for all of the replies especially about those lakes. I think we are going to join C3 as its pretty close and they have a lot of training options.

We chose Brampton as that's where my fiancee's parents live and I don't want to rent anymore. I figured I should get a better sense of different areas before we put money down on a house. Right now we are thinking about buying something in Guelph within the next 6 months or so. I know Guelph has a pretty decent tri scene and is a lot closer for my commute to Waterloo. I drove to Waterloo for the interviewing process from Brampton. It took us 45-50minutes at 8am so yeah the drive is going to suck. I am used to spending 30-40minutes on disgusting, overcrowded NYC subways to get to work so I don't think I will mind the drive in the beginning.

Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [Triharder27] [ In reply to ]

Apr 24, 15 4:42

Post #8 of 17 (2868 views)

Welcome to Ontario ... yours to discover!

If you are looking for an early morning or after work Compu Train session. I can put you in touch with a great studio that a number tri people train at. Send me a pm if you are interested. There are no shortage of great races in our area as well.

Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [Triharder27] [ In reply to ]

Apr 24, 15 4:51

Post #9 of 17 (2862 views)

As others have said, C3 is a great option. Another tri club to check out is FMCT, a smaller club based right in Brampton. Feel free to PM me and I can put you in touch with the club president.

Guelph is an awesome city with a strong triathlon scene. I live 20-30mins north in Fergus.

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Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [Triharder27] [ In reply to ]

Apr 24, 15 4:54

Post #10 of 17 (2861 views)

Multisport Canada (Recharge with Milk) and Tri Sport Canada (Subaru Series) are the local race series providers, and there are also many independent tris around if you go looking for them.

Particularly if you're working in Waterloo, the Grand River Conservation authority has lots of parks with lakes. Belwood lake and Guelph Lake would both be on the (non-401) route home from Waterloo. Laurel Creek is about 5km NW of the center of Waterloo. Laurel Creek and Guelph Lake also have lots of running trails.

Belwood Lake: http://www.grandriver.ca/...?Sec=27&Sub1=119
Guelph Lake: http://www.grandriver.ca/...?Sec=27&Sub1=126
Laurel Creek: http://www.grandriver.ca/...?Sec=27&Sub1=127

Riding: North and west of Waterloo are the best IMO. I'm kinda stuck on the east side of the city, and the roads with bike lanes on the east side aren't as empty or plentiful or hilly as the ones to the NW (towards Wellesley, Heidelberg, St Agatha). Google also has rural bike lanes marked around Waterloo, so you can use that to plan.

The area around Milton bills itself as Escarpment country, and has hills to match. Nothing like what you'd have in NY state (for such a large province, Ontario is shockingly flat), but big for Ontario. It is pretty bike friendly and has lots of roads.

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Last edited by: AHare: Apr 24, 15 5:04

Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [Triharder27] [ In reply to ]

Apr 24, 15 6:01

Post #11 of 17 (2818 views)

Depending on where you are in Brampton I suggest some great riding on relatively quiet roads can be found just west in the Halton Hills area- the area from Milton (Kelso) to Fergus has a lot of options.

I moved to Guelph from Mississauga 10 years ago- endurance sports are significantly more popular here,. There is a tri club, several private coaching options, and the Guelph Marlin masters has a flexible schedule (not just 5AM), but the real gem in Guelph is the running scene. The Guelph Victors are a loosely organized track/running group that meets every Tuesday at the UoG track for intervals with a coach. It's open to all comers, extremely cheap, and the workouts structured so everyone stays together. There are a number of other sessions through the week but this is the main focus of the Victors. A coach with a stopwatch is a great motivator on those intervals.

If you are an elite, I'd venture a guess there are more high performance people/options here than anywhere else short of places like Boulder, SD, etc.

Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [Triharder27] [ In reply to ]

Apr 24, 15 6:39

Post #12 of 17 (2795 views)

Hey J,
Looking forward to seeing you in Waterloo.
Happy to help you find some great rides and groups to train with.
Hope to chat real soon.
Chris

Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [Triharder27] [ In reply to ]

Apr 24, 15 6:49

Post #13 of 17 (2778 views)

A great ride around Milton/Kelso is to get in Rattlesnake Point (nasty, nasty climb), drop off on the east side and come back up Steeles, drop off the north side and head north up 6th line, and take that all of the way up as far as it goes. 6th line is pretty much uphill the whole way, somewhere around 16-18km I think. The added bonus is there is a 90% chance of a horrible headwind the whole way up 6th line to add to the elevation. Throw in some intervals on the way there and back and you have perfect IMMT training. There is an open water swim club at Kelso as well (water isn't great, isn't bad), about a 1500m loop with kayak support. It is on your way home from Waterloo and the timing would line up with the trip home. I have heard amazing things about the C3 club if you can get there.

Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [Triharder27] [ In reply to ]

Apr 24, 15 7:00

Post #14 of 17 (2761 views)

Are you kidding?! You can ride the track at the Mattamy Naitonal cycling Centre in Milton. It's beautiful, and one of the smoothest tracks on the planet.

AndyF
bike geek

Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [McNabb] [ In reply to ]

Apr 24, 15 7:01

Post #15 of 17 (2759 views)

McNabb wrote:

A great ride around Milton/Kelso is to get in Rattlesnake Point (nasty, nasty climb)

+1

I made the mistake of going up for the first time with an 11-23. I'd love to make it out there a few more times this year.

Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [Triharder27] [ In reply to ]

Apr 24, 15 7:04

Post #16 of 17 (2756 views)

Triharder27 wrote:

Thanks for all of the replies especially about those lakes. I think we are going to join C3 as its pretty close and they have a lot of training options.

We chose Brampton as that's where my fiancee's parents live and I don't want to rent anymore. I figured I should get a better sense of different areas before we put money down on a house. Right now we are thinking about buying something in Guelph within the next 6 months or so. I know Guelph has a pretty decent tri scene and is a lot closer for my commute to Waterloo. I drove to Waterloo for the interviewing process from Brampton. It took us 45-50minutes at 8am so yeah the drive is going to suck. I am used to spending 30-40minutes on disgusting, overcrowded NYC subways to get to work so I don't think I will mind the drive in the beginning.

I have lived in Waterloo region my entire life. This place is a hot bed for tech and training. Some great country roads. I would consider moving here. Your commute will likely be 1.5 hours (one way) most days as the 401/Highway 8 is simply ugly. The stretch between Cambridge and KW is always busy now.
If I could do it again I would rent for as long as I could and build up a HUGE down payment for a house. There are some AWESOME rides out your way though.
Welcome to Waterloo!!!

Re: Moving to Ontario, Canada. Looking for Help finding areas to train/groups [M~] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 15 20:57

Post #17 of 17 (2602 views)

Thank you again for all of the responses about rides, clubs, etc..

We move in two days and I can't wait to get up there and start training in all of these new places.

Will definitely start PM'ing people about some of the suggestions. Thanks again

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