Tag: #bikelife

My first bikepacking trip

Posted Lisa Pottier

“Bikepacking is the synthesis of mountain biking and minimalist camping, It evokes the freedom of multi day backcountry hiking, but with the range and thrill of riding a mountain bike, It’s about exploring places less travelled, both near and far, via single tracks trails, gravel, and abandoned dirt roads.” – Wikipedia  Doesn’t this definition sound lovely and appealing? I had a feeling I would love a bikepacking adventure. As an introduction I would pick some fairly easy terrain and enjoy the quiet but adventurous vibes of being off road, more or less remotely. This promised some challenges, wild landscapes and the rewarding feeling of independence.  I started a packing list and quickly realized that carrying a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, clothes, cooking gear, water and food on a bike on trails seemed…hmm, nuts?  I pictured a heavily-loaded bike, with […]

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, […]

Climbing Hills is a Blast!

Posted Lisa Pottier

Climbing Hills is a Blast! By Lisa Pottier Are you intrigued by hills but doubt you can do it? Did you ever try one but feel you almost suffocated? Or maybe you can’t even get your head around why anyone would ever want to climb a hill on a bike, and how could that possibly could be positive? Read on to learn how I learned to love hills! Why hills are the way to go  The aesthetic Whether on a bike, hiking, or in a car, rolling or steep landscapes almost always beat flat ones as far as astonishment, surprises and character. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely love flat landscapes, but the twisty roads with varying elevations that allow last minute glimpses to a wonderful barn, lake or field are the ones that steal my heart the most. Clifftops […]

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 […]