Ontario By Bike E-News: July 2024 | |
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Local Flavour on Ontario's West Coast:
A G2G Rail Trail Adventure
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We arrived in Goderich as the sky was opening up after a rainstorm on our drive in. It was glorious to see the pure blue skies unveil themselves as we rolled into the town’s unique downtown, known as ‘The Square’. We had come to explore all that the area and its trails had to offer on a weekend cycling excursion.
We were planning to discover Huron County (a.k.a. Ontario’s West Coast) on two wheels and were excited to explore the Goderich to Guelph (G2G) Rail Trail between the two communities of Goderich and Blyth.
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Cycling in Stratford:
Life is Better on Two Wheels
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Nestled in the heart of Perth County and best known as the home of the Stratford Festival, Stratford is quickly becoming a destination for cycling, boasting routes from easy in-town loops to back-country gravel adventures. With a growing number of bicycle friendly businesses, the city offers a variety of unique accommodations, restaurants ranging from fine dining to quick eats, and services to support every cyclist’s needs. What a better way to explore Stratford than pairing your theatre experience with a ride around town? | |
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Ontario By Bike Ride Recap
-Trent Severn Trail Tour-
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We had a fantastic weekend June 22-23 on the Trent Severn Trail Tour, riding beautiful rail trails along the Trent Severn Waterway from Campbellford to Peterborough to Lindsay to Fenelon Falls. Despite some rain, spirits were high as we completed the ride weekend filled with rivers, lakes and locks, trestle bridges, historic communities and warm welcomes along the way.
Starting in Campbellford, we crossed the awe-inspiring Ranney Gorge Suspension Bridge over the Trent River before cycling one of the wildest section of rail trail of the weekend, rolling through forests and wetlands, dodging puddles and turtles, entering Hastings along the river to our beautiful lunch stop at Lock 18 right downtown. We received a very warm welcome from the folks at Kawarthas Northumberland Tourism at their lockside visitor centre. We passed many more river, farm and forest views that day and had a refreshing stop at 100 Acre Brewing Co. just off the trail in Peterborough, before settling into our overnight accommodations in town.
Day 2 saw us riding on more scenic rail rails surrounded by forests, wetlands and farmland, with a lunch stop and generous welcome by local trail keepers, more lockside stops, and a well-deserved finish, with ice cream and refreshments in pretty Fenelon Falls.
All our past itineraries are available online making it easier for you to make a plan and ride our routes at anytime, including this Ontario By Bike Ride.
OntarioByBike.ca/Itineraries
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2024 Cycling in Ontario Guide | |
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Do you have your copy yet?
For information on how to receive a print copy or to view online visit: OntarioByBike.ca/2024
*Limited print copies left*
The 2024 edition of the Cycling in Ontario / Le vélo en Ontario guide
is available in print and digital formats.
This is the 12th annual edition of our extremely popular free publication, available in both English and French. Get inspired to ride this cycling season with interesting articles and more than 50 day trips and multi-day ride ideas and itineraries for all different ride types.
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*NEW* Browse our Ontario By Bike
Blog Collection by Ride Type
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Did you know you can now browse Ontario By Bike's extensive Blog Collection by Ride Type? Discover over 200 blogs published to date packed with great Ontario ride ideas and destinations.
Whether you're looking for recreational trails and rail trails, paved road cycling, gravel rides and bikepacking routes, mountain biking or fat biking, bike and e-bike rentals, or urban bike rides, you can now filter our library of Ontario cycling stories to more easily find routes and itineraries that inspire your next great Ontario cycling adventure!
Give this new feature a spin at www.ontariobybike.ca/blog
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2024 Award Winners
Ontario's Best Bicycle Friendly Businesses
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We are pleased to announce the 2024 Bicycle Friendly Business Award Winners. This is the 6th year of our awards, where we select one Ontario By Bike certified bicycle friendly business from each of the 13 tourism regions in Ontario.
See the full list of winners at: OntarioByBike.ca/2024AwardWinners
Throughout the year and in each e-newsletter we will feature award recipient. Consider stopping in at one of these locations on your next cycling adventure in their region as they have all taken the extra steps offering services and amenities to welcome cyclists.
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With a bicycle-friendly parking lot and a ton of bike racks, plus great coffee, cyclists can enjoy the bohemian vibe inside or outdoors on the patio, along with great food options for breakfast and lunch. The friendly and knowledgeable staff of this fully-licensed cafe can assist bike tourists with info on other points of interest nearby.
Make Station 1 Coffeehouse your base or a stop on the paved 35km Fruitland Ramble cycling route, taking you through Grimby and Beamsville, enjoying views atop the Niagara Escarpment and exploring a portion of Ontario’s Greenbelt Cycling Route. Cruise along the paved Great Lakes Waterfront Trail and discover some great wineries of the area. StationOneCoffeehouse.ca
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Located in the lovely village of Creemore, a fantastic cycling destination, Creemore Springs Brewery is a must stop spot in the area. With visible bike parking, water fill station and bike tool kit repair station, cyclists also get a 10% discount on merch. Hosting the 7th annual Turas Mor, a popular gravel cycling event, the brewery is also the title sponsor of the "Paris to Ancaster" Race and presenting sponsor of "Heck of the North".
Visit Creemore on Day 2 of the self-guided, overnight Ontario By Bike Ride itinerary, the Georgian Bay Collingwood Explorer. Leaving Collingwood on the Clearview Collingwood Train Trail, the 60km route quickly takes you into beautiful countryside, scenic and hilly country roads, and one of the best views in Ontario at the top of Fairgrounds Road, before an epic descent into the Creemore. CreemoreSprings.com
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In addition to the award winning bicycle friendly places to eat, visit and sleep there are a number of bike businesses that provide services and/or tours located in each region. To recognize all they offer in 2024, special mention and an award goes out to the following in Niagara Region: | |
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Liberty! Bicycles - Located in St. Catharines, this bike shop in the Niagara Region offers speedy, while-you-wait fixes, local knowledge, maps and information on great places to ride for both on and off-road routes. Touring cyclists can use Liberty! Bicycles as a starting-point for adventures to explore the region, and they even have bilingual staff available for French speaking customers. The shop also hosts weekly group rides, including gravel rides exploring some of the best country roads in the Niagara Region. LibertyBicycles.com
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Ride Destination:
Ottawa Valley/Renfrew County & Lanark County
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Make sure you include cycling in any trip east this summer to explore the countryside and communities across both Renfrew and Lanark Counties.
Ottawa Valley has just published an updated cycling map, that shows 17 routes of varied distances and surface types. If gravel is your thing, there are many that include some gravel segments as well as multi-use trails that extend across both counties, like the 200km Ottawa Valley Recreation Trail (OVRT). Try some routes near the Ottawa River, or inland for some of the more challenging road rides, taking in Barry’s Bay, Golden Lake, Calabogie or the Foymount hill climb. Mountain bikers won’t be disappointed by the trails in the Beachburg area and near Pembroke.
Trails run deeper into Lanark County, as the OVRT goes as far south as Smiths Falls, a delightful town nestled along the Rideau Heritage Waterway. From there strike out further along the Cataraqui Trail. You could try a 3 day ride itinerary such as the one we used 2022, the Lanark Trail Tour. Or be a pioneer, giving the newly developed CycleMORE route a whirl to enjoy a 200km loop that connects 2 rivers, 2 provinces and 2 trails following greenways and backroads through communities that include Carleton Place, Arnprior and Ottawa. Lanark County also has a treasure trove of cycling routes from tiny, short, medium and long - mapped and easy to use for a road ride of your choice.
Find all the info you need to get riding on our Great Places to Cycle pages, plus listings for bicycle friendly businesses to eat, visit and sleep in: Ottawa Valley/Renfrew & Lanark County.
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2024 Cycling Events
Visit our 2024 Cycling Events Calendar. Events can be displayed in your choice of list or calendar view, search for events by categories, and find all the useful info you need to plan ahead and sign up to participate at events that suit your ride style in 2024.
View the full 2024 calendar here: OntarioByBike.ca/Events
Upcoming Events
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Get Inspired to Ride:
Mountain Bike in Thunder Bay
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Mountain biking trails in Thunder Bay are inspiring generations to ride!
Find out more about the Trowbridge Forest trails with a short tour from "Old Greg" above, or longer video version HERE to get a taste of the beautiful trails for yourself. | |
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Ontario By Bike Network
Project of Transportation Options
850 Coxwell Ave ~ Toronto, ON ~ M4C 5R1
Office: 416-827-2774
Toll-Free: 1-866-701-2774
Email: info@ontariobybike.ca
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Want to read more: Link to our e-Newsletter archive HERE | |
Stay Connected with Ontario By Bike! | |
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Share using the hashtag #OntarioByBike & #BikeON!
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