Tag: #bike

How to cycle every day in April in Ontario

Posted sara m

How to cycle every day in April in Ontario The “30 days of biking” pledge is an international movement to ride every day in April, any distance, and then share your adventures online with the hashtag #30daysofbiking. It sounds easy enough! I am down to the last few days and am confident I am going to make it. I have been out every day, with some very short rides, some e-bike rides, some cruises, and some longer rides and decent workouts. All in all, the experience has been positive: it has made me more active, encouraged me to be outside in all weather, and I am feeling strong and ready to tackle the rest of the season. What was challenging? It was a challenge to go every day, especially when the weather was bad. I knew before starting that I […]

Cycling around Lake Rosseau:

Posted sara m

If you have half a day to spare, are up for spectacular scenery and challenging hills, and enjoy a charming town mid-route, then the Lake Rosseau Loop is for you. This is a route on our Georgian Bay – Muskoka 6-day trips, and has also featured in some of our custom tours. The route is about 65 kilometres and includes about 900 metres of climbing. It is a loop, so of course you can start wherever you like, but Port Carling is a good choice as it is well-serviced for any pre- and post-ride needs you may have. It has several great food and beverage choices, and you will have earned your lunch by the end of this ride! Stuff to know before heading out Start and finish in Port Carling, looping Lake Rosseau clockwise. Note that parking in Port […]

Cycling Georgian Bay Shores in Tiny & Tay: A Double Dog Route

Posted sara m

Cycling Georgian Bay Shores in Tiny & Tay: A Double Dog Route Tiny and Tay townships in Simcoe County are known for their rich history, adjacency to Georgian Bay, and… being the namesakes of dogs owned by Lady Simcoe, wife of the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. There are numerous great cycling routes in these townships, and we have merged a couple of them into a point-to-point route on our  Georgian Bay – Muskoka tour.  We start just outside of Waubashene and end in Wasaga Beach with an optional extension to Collingwood. It is mostly flat, with the notable exception of a hill out of Midland. Much of the ride is along the scenic shores of Georgian Bay. The route is about 77km one way. There is a link to the GPX file at the end of this post. […]

I BLINKED MY EYES AND SUMMER WAS OVER, BUT WHAT A RIDE IT WAS!

Posted sara m

I BLINKED MY EYES AND SUMMER WAS OVER, BUT WHAT A RIDE IT WAS! By Mathew Pettit Hey folks, Mathew here with his very own take on the SUMMER THAT WAS. I’m sure I can find a relatable audience with a few choice words here: very hot, very cold. Ups, downs. CONFUSION. But most importantly, biking. Biking? What? Aye! This has been the summer of BIKES.  For the past 8 weeks, I’ve been leading a tour of cyclists through the heart of ORILLIA, catching glimpses of the city that IS, but also WAS.  From the Mnjikaning Fish Weirs, a meeting place with historic and cultural significance dating back a certain 3000 years, to the newly renovated and beautiful Couchiching Craft Brewery. Two quite distinctly different meeting places, with different practices culturally and spiritually, albeit both meeting places nonetheless. The WAS, […]

A Healthy Dose of Fun with Private, Small Group Cycling Tours!

Posted sara m

A Healthy Dose of Fun with Private, Small Group Cycling Tours! This is the summer of the private, small group cycling tour. Move outdoors to enjoy the warm weather, spin your legs, see the sights and taste the local fare with a group of close friends. Building your own bike tour allows you to decide where you are going, when, and with whom. It keeps things fun, safe and healthy!  Add in some custom support such as luggage transfer and other services and the trip becomes relaxing, low-stress vacation for everyone. Where to ride? Ontario offers every type of cycling in every corner of the province. There are many great resources for some big picture planning, such as Cycle Simcoe, Ontario by Bike and the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail. At Humdinger Bicycle Tours, we operate in Ontario’s loosely-defined “cottage country”, […]

Sunglasses in Haliburton Cycling Route

Posted sara m

Post pandemic planning continues… This week we are checking out the Sunglasses route in  Haliburton Highlands. It is so named for its shape, and it was developed for our Hills of Huntsville & Haliburton tour. A flattish section makes an appearance on our novice-oriented Pedal, Pints & Pubs tour. The route is 68 kilometres and has almost 600 metres of climbing. It starts in the town of Minden and makes a figure 8 that includes South Lake Road, Kashagawigamog Lake Road, Gelert Road, and Bethel Road, and a wee excursion down Deep Bay Road to add on the arm of the sunglasses- see mapmyride link at the bottom of this post. As with all of our routes, this one has great scenery, including a chance to view paddlers at the Minden Whitewater Preserve. Stuff to know before you go There […]

Add some science to your goal setting

Posted sara m

Happy New Year, Happy New Decade! It seems to have become an annual tradition that I write something about goal setting and goal achievement to kick start the year. For 2020, here is an overview on what the current science says about goal setting. What is a goal? Quite simply, a goal is a target, an aim, or an objective. It is something you want to do. It is not a wish or a need, but rather a more concrete entity that results from the conscious consideration of wishes and needs. Often the goal is articulated or written, but it can also be kept in mind without being externalized. Just having a goal is believed to impact our actions. We become energized and motivated, and we focus more on activities that are relevant to the goal. Does goal setting work? […]

Rent versus Schlep

Posted sara m

If you are flying to your next cycling destination, you may be asking: Should I schlep my bike or consider bike rental once I get there? I went through some thinking on this a few years ago, crunched the numbers, and the definitive, mathematically-derived answer was to schlep the bike. We found carbon frame road bikes for ~500$ per person per week, or about $1000 Canadian dollars for a couple. Or, we could bring our own for a $50 charge on Air Canada. Done. Oh, wait. Fifty dollars each way. Per person. So the cost was now $200 versus $1000 for bike rental. Who wouldn’t schlep to save $800? We could borrow one hard case box from a friend, and rent the other from our local bike shop for $5 a day. We were up to $235, but still well […]

Considering a cycling tour in Ontario? Consider fully supported and guided!

Posted sara m

I have been an active tourism industry consumer essentially my whole life, starting in the 70s, bouncing around untethered in the very back of a fake-wood-paneled station wagon on Ontario’s Highway 401, with thousands of other eastbound families planning to spend March Break skiing in the mountains of Quebec or Vermont. Cycling tours started later, about 1992, when I went on a bike-packing trip to Denmark. It was a self-guided tour. We planned our trip around where we wanted to go in Denmark, not where the cycling would be best. I learned that Denmark is mostly, but not entirely, flat, and that the winds off the North Sea are, well, windy. Since then, I have had the joy of many cycling trips and tours, including road biking in the Netherlands and France; seeing Berlin on a cruiser bike on a […]