Tag: #explorersedge

Bring on the e-bikes!

Posted sara m

Bring on the e-Bikes E-bikes make cycling accessible to almost everyone. They come in many shapes and sizes, with differing motor types. The basic premise is that an electric motor assists as you pedal, and the amount of assistance varies depending on what assist level you select. For more about how they work, check out this article.  From a practical perspective, here are some things you can do with an e-bike: Get fit. There is research to suggest that e-bikes can contribute to meeting physical activity recommendations and increasing physical fitness.  Like regular biking, riding an e-bike likely improves mood and overall well-being as well. Have control over exercise intensity. With an e-bike, you can get outdoors and cycle without having to follow the stereotypical cyclist’s “suffer” mantra. By controlling the degree of pedal assist, you can work harder or […]

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 […]

Keep the legs spinning all winter, part 1: Give Zwift a chance!

Posted sara m

Zwift makes indoor riding suck less. A lot less. As a cyclist who disdains the trainer, I previously limited myself to one spin class per week and chose instead skiing, snowshoeing or running as winter activities – anything to get me outside and off the stationary bike. But last year, Mr. Humdinger and I decided to buy a smart trainer and try Zwift. And despite having been a confirmed skeptic known to openly eye-roll when Zwifters pontificated, I fell for the game almost instantly. I fell for the experience points, the sweat droplets, the ride-ons, the sprint and KOM/QOM challenges, the “close the gap” messages, and, I am more than a little embarrassed to say, I even fell for the garage. The garage is where you dress your avatar and buy new equipment. Of course, more kits and accessories are […]

Summer Summary and Looking Ahead to 2021

Posted sara m

Thanks for a great summer! A huge thank you to everyone who got out cycling this summer and supported local bike businesses, cafés, restaurants, breweries/wineries and all other manner of small businesses along your routes. In an obvious understatement, it has been a crazy few months.  Like almost everyone else in the tourism industry, March and April were marked by booking cancelations and sleepless nights. Fortunately, with the COVID-19 reprieve over the summer and a renewed interest in cycling, we were able to run tours. To meet 2020’s unique needs, we focused on local day and weekend trips, and custom tours. Pedal, Pints & Pubs Orillia We were really lucky that Orillia and area suddenly became home to two craft breweries this spring, where previously there had been none. This presented an opportunity to introduce a Pedal, Pints & Pubs […]

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 […]

The devil is in the details: Building the Georgian Bay-Muskoka 6 day tour

Posted sara m

The short version of this post? The Georgian Bay-Muskoka 6 day trip is cool. The last couple of weeks I have been making phone calls, sending emails, and going on field trips to finalize various details, and can confirm that this trip is a humdinger. It visits not one but two UNESCO biosphere reserves (Georgian Bay’s 30,000 Islands and the Niagara Escarpment), the oft-National-Geographic-featured Muskoka, and the world’s longest freshwater beach, Wasaga (part of Cycle Simcoe’s 7 Beaches Route). It has over 400 kilometres of cycling on scenic, mostly low-traffic roads, boutique accommodations, boat cruises, delicious food, and so much more! The trip has a soft start with a meet-up in Orillia and a van ride to Parry Sound. Then things get busy. We have to fit in a trip to the very cool Parry Sound Bikes (and a visit with the […]