From St. Catharines Standard, 16th June 2007, Page E1
By John Swart
Figure this. I've cycled thousands of kilometres within Niagara and yet today I decided to pay for a bicycle tour in the region. Full price, too. Objective journalism cannot be compromised.
The claim of thousands of kilometres is neither bragging — retirement is nice, though — nor a pathetic call for sympathy (numb butt and no life come to mind). It's merely to indicate that I should know Niagara's back roads. Yet last week, on a Freewheeler ride, we passed an architecturally beautiful new winery on the Vineland bench that I'd not previously seen.
It seems I've a better understanding of where our Niagara wineries are located on the LCBO shelves than on a map. Would local vintners view that as a good thing or bad?
People from around the world travel to Niagara for bicycle touring and the new Toronto-Niagara Bike Train will soon deliver cyclists from the centre of the universe as well. Niagara has plenty of natural beauty, history and viticulture to fill many days of riding. And professionally escorted tours offer a novel and fun way to enjoy our own region.
As cyclists living here, I fear we often miss the unique experiences such tours provide. Local companies offer relatively inexpensive, themed cycling tours to make a few hours of easy riding memorable, and provide a glimpse of what touring the Alsace or Loire Valley might be like.
Niagara Wine Tours International offers daily guided bicycle tours featuring many of Niagara-on-the-Lake's most interesting boutique wineries.
Marynissen Estates, with Canada's oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines; Strewn Winery with Canada's only winery cooking school; Dom Vagner, Canada's smallest winery; and, other equally unique wineries may be included in any day's itinerary.
Similar tours to the bench winery area around Beamsville start from Ball's Falls so participants needn't climb the escarpment to enjoy their day.
As well as the Niagara-on-the-Lake area, Steve Bauer Bike Tours will introduce you to the Jordan/Vineland bench group of wineries; Steve's backyard as a young racer. Hilly terrain and wonderful vistas of Lake Ontario and the Toronto skyline may help you envision this company's Tour de France heritage between stops at quality wineries such as Flat Rock Cellars and Vineland Estates.
Steve Bauer Bicycle Tours will customize a tour for groups of 10 or more to any Niagara areas of interest, and I suspect at whatever pace you might choose.
Niagara is a cornerstone of Canadian history, and the peninsula is awash with significant sites. Pedalling the back roads as a member of Niagara Bicycles and Outfitters' Magical History Tour is a great way to catch all you missed in history class.
As your guide, writer and Niagara historian Michael Rilstone will make the War of 1812, the United Empire Loyalists, and the birth of Canada come alive between wine tasting and snack stops. They'll even rent you a shaft drive bicycle, proffering a new entry for your cycling resumé.
From time to time, into every cyclist's life, must come a beer. Zoom Leisure offers a pub and winery tour that begins with beer and chips, featuring local brews and their history, at Niagara-on-the-Lake's Irish Harp Pub.
Riders then zoom off for wine tasting at three local wineries. A tour for "versatile palettes" is their description. Pre-ride hydration would be cyclist vernacular.
Most of these companies also offer self-guided tours. They'll provide you with maps, perhaps a lunch, and helpful local knowledge and you may discover roads new to you. Self-guided tours are a less expensive alternative, but are a bit like going to the prom alone: you were there, but you sure missed the best parts of the night.
As I write this, I'm thinking of our good friends Tom and Joanne in Burlington. The last time we invited them for a visit, Tom's response was, "Not if you make us ride or hike."
When I call tonight and suggest the four of us try a leisurely, 30-kilometre winery tour on plush comfort bikes, I know his answer will be a quick "Sounds good!"
Too rainy to ride one day? Visit the Pedaling History Bicycle Museum in Orchard Park, N.Y., for something different.
John Swart (eswart3@cogeco.ca) is a local cycling and running enthusiast.