Bike Train Ontario

Ontario By Bike Update
In This Issue: April 2014
We're Now Ontario By Bike!
Great Places to Cycle: Ottawa
Spring Road Riding and Training Areas
Cycling Event Challenge
Spring Has Sprung
En Fran�ais:
L'Ontario en v�lo 
Along with our new name we are pleased to now be able to offer french content on our website. 
View new pages at 
Ottawa Ride Guide!
  
Guided Tour Launch & Self Guided Route 
Saturday, May 31 

  
& more Ottawa Bike Getaway Info
  
Join us at 

Capital V�lo Fest

New 2014 Publication
In February this year, Ontario By Bike and partners developed a 20-page cycling guide titled - Cycling In Ontario. The guide is packed with tips to help cyclists explore Ontario by bike. We`ll be sharing some excerpts from this cycling guide over the coming months. If you want to view the guide online visit:

Cycling in Ontario

Gmail Inbox Changes
If you use Gmail, you may have seen a new feature called "Tabs" added to your inbox. 

 

It's designed to make your inbox easier to manage by segmenting your emails into Primary, Social, or Promotions Tabs. 

Getting the Ontario By Bike Newsletter into your Primary tab is as easy as dragging and dropping!

All you need to do is...
Left-click and hold on the email, dragging it from the Promotions tab over to the Primary tab. Drop the email by letting go of the mouse button. 
That's it! 

Join us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter

 
Click here to LIKE us!

 

Twitter 

Find us at @OntarioByBike

 

E-News Archive
This is our first monthly e-newsletter of the year! 

We have so much fun putting together content for you to read in our 7 annual issues, and hope to inspire you to explore more of Ontario by bike. 

 

If you like what you've read, why not explore our past newsletters? Visit our website or simply click HERE. 

Bike Train
Transport you and your bike to destinations around Ontario serviced by VIA Rail and GO Transit. 

Bike Train

For more info on 2014 routes and schedules visit:
Parkbus

The year of 2014 is looking to be one of the best yet for Parkbus! A new destination service this year will bring visitors to Georgian Bay Islands National Park! With runs to Provincial and National Parks resuming again in May, start dusting off your camping gear! 

Parkbus

Stay up to date with 2014 schedule announcements and lots of other fun and interesting postings at: 

www.parkbus.ca 

and follow Parkbus on

 

Cycling Events
2014 

A New Year brings a whole new set of cycling events!

 

Be sure to check out our 2014 event listings and start circling the dates! One of the most visited pages on our website, with over 80 cycling events listed, we've compiled an extensive list of dates and event information for 2014 cycling events. 

  

Event Listings

Tour Listings

With Thanks to

our 2014 Sponsors

 

  

 

  VIA Rail 

  GO Transit

 Pedal Magazine

Advermap

Norco Bicycles  

  
              We're Now Ontario By Bike!
Did you notice something different?
  
We are excited to announce that as of January 2014 the Welcome Cyclists Network has been re-launched under a new name - Ontario By Bike!
While the name has changed, the important message we want to share with our community is that the services and benefits of the program, and our commitment to making Ontario a top cycling destination in Canada remain the same!
  
For more information visit - OntarioByBike.ca/newname
  Great Places to Cycle: Ottawa
With spring in the air, it's always an exciting time to start planning cycling trips for the coming (warmer) months.
  
Photo Credit: Ottawa Tourism
Have you had a chance to explore the nation's capital by bike? The city of Ottawa has a vibrant cycling culture and now boasts over 600km of bike lanes and paved shoulders, recreational and multi-use paths. In 2010, a the City developed segregated bike lanes along Laurier Avenue in downtown Ottawa, the first of its kind in Ontario and now a permanent feature of the city's streetscape. It makes traversing downtown Ottawa both fun and safe!
  
While visiting Ottawa, cyclists shouldn't miss the opportunity to explore the Capital Pathway Network, which includes more than 300km of multi-use, off-road paths connecting world-class museums, art galleries, and other attractions. The Capital Pathway Network is also known for its two showcase pathway systems; the Ottawa River Pathway, as well as the Rideau Canal Western and Eastern Pathways, which hug the Rideau River and the Rideau Canal, Ontario's only UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  
Bike rentals and tours - If you plan on travelling to the nation's capital and won't be taking your own bike with you, Ottawa has a number of bike rental locations and also bike tours available. Both are great options that can help you make the most of your day out and get you to some of the best local cycling spots.   

 

With so many options and great places to cycle in and around Ottawa, we hope to make your trip planning that much easier. For more information and links to accommodations, local cycling maps, tour operators, events, and rental shops, plus a growing number of certified bicycle-friendly business locations across the city visit our new webpage: www.ontariobybike.ca/Ottawa
  
 ------------------------------------------------------------- 
Join us on May 31st to celebrate the launch of the new  Ottawa Ride Guide and Downtown Explorer Route
also all the activities at Capital V�lo Fest, including the annual and popular Tour de Nuit. 
Spring Road Riding and Training Areas
Centurion Horseshoe Photo Credit Centurion Cycling With endless kilometers of quiet, smooth-riding country roads, it's no surprise that many of us are itching to get back out on our bikes after a long winter! Expect to see increasing numbers of both amateur road cyclists and professionals hitting the pavement and clocking some serious distances on training rides, cycling events and competitive races across Ontario this year. Here are some top road riding and training areas. Whether you are the cyclists or a motorist, be safe and remember to share the road. 
  
Kawartha Lakes
Cycling across the Kawartha Lakes area, you will easily spot groups of cyclists on club rides and on journeys out from lakeside cottages. Enjoy the pristine forests and lakeside roadways that make the area an excellent ride destination. With routes named Country Ramble and Four Village Tour, cycling in the Kawarthas should be on your road riding radar. (explorekawarthalakes.com)
 
Ottawa Valley and Prescott-Russell
Located both north and south of Ottawa, you'll find fantastic road riding. Fairly flat with sections offering scenic agricultural lands, tree-lined lakeside and river roads, there are many quiet country routes of varying distances. The region gives serious cyclists no excuse to not pedal hard. (ottawavalley.travel/bike and sentiertrail.ca)
 
Blue Mountain and Grey County
With over 3,500 cyclists riding the annual Centurion Blue
Mountain event, don't be surprised to see small and large
groups training in the area throughout the season. With tough Escarpment climbs and endless backcountry roads, there are plenty of mapped road routes to choose from. For those looking for shorter distances, or easier ride days, new recreational-length road routes are also available.
(visitgrey.ca/cycling)
  
Share your favourite road riding and training areas on our Facebook Page! 
  

For more great road riding places to cycle in Ontario, visit OntarioByBike.ca/featured-cycling.

 

(Excerpt from our new 2014 publication Cycling In Ontario, more at www.ontariobybike.ca/2014)

Cycling Event Challenge - A Great Day Out!

Excerpt from our recent Ontario Travel Blog

 

I am always looking for ways to inspire friends and family to get on their bikes and ride more, sharing with me one of my favourite pastimes, exploring Ontario by bike. I have had some success by enlisting them to join me and sign up to participate in a variety of cycling events, the trick being to carefully select the ride distance and start location that best suits our joint availability and shared experience level.  

 

One of my fondest memories and recent cycling events was with my 14 year old son last fall. What started out as grand plans to invite the whole family for a day out and cycling adventure, was smartly whittled down to just the two of us setting out early one morning to get to the start location in Cobourg for the 2013 30km route on the Kawarthas Northumberland Classic.  

 

No matter what the size, it is always exciting to gather with a group of other enthusiasts pre-ride at the start point. Although this was purely a recreational ride, the start time anticipation always sends a hum through the air, one that builds the larger the start crowd gets, and likely tips the scale if it is a race type of event with riders jostling for start positions. On this sunny Saturday morning, as we unloaded our bikes from our rack and gathered about, we were happy to greet other riders who were all as keen as we were to get started on our ride through Northumberland County.  

 

To explore more of Northumberland County and finish reading the article by Louisa Mursell visit her guest post on Ontario Travel's Blog.

Spring Has Sprung
Time sure flies! We're excited to share with you our first e-newsletter of 2014 and to thank you the readers of the Ontario By Bike e-ewsletter that now reaches over 4,500 cyclists!

You will be pleased to know that we're busy working on some new programming and promotions for 2014. We're also working with a growing number of regional partners who have new riding routes, cycling maps and events in store for the coming months. 

 

We hope you are able to remain connected via our Facebook or Twitter postings and please know that we welcome your phone calls or emails any time. 

 

From Louisa, Joanne & Michael 
Ontario By Bike Network & Bike Train Team
Projects of Transportation Options

850 Coxwell Ave ~ Toronto, ON ~ M4C 5R1  

Office: 416-827-2774
Toll-Free: 1-866-701-2774


~~~

Enjoy a taste of spring and flowers in bloom at one of our newest certified bicycle-friendly locations: Plant Paradise Country Gardens in Caledon.

Photo Credit and Copyright: www.plantparadise.ca
Photo Credit and Copyright: www.plantparadise.ca
Funding Partners

Plus over 100 destination partners and supporters.