Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL)
The 6 of us – Janet, Margaret, Betty, Irene, Debbie and I (Sonya) met up in Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL) at a winery!! Thanks to Debbie we got a complimentary private tour and tasting at Pillitteri Winery Our guide was fabulous!! We learned a lot about the winery and the wines, and we drank a LOT of wine!!!
We stayed at an AirBnB in NOTL, just a 10 minute walk from the old town. We were going to make a reservation at a favorite of mine – the Olde Angel Inn but they don’t take reservations on a Sunday. We had nice yard space at our AirBnB, so decided to just stay in. We ordered in pizza from Bistro Six One in town. It was really good – nice thin crust and crispy!!
Bike Rental
When first planning I thought we could find bike rentals in Port Colborne. That seemed like a good place to start our trip from. I contacted Pedal Bike Shop and got lucky to speak with AJ. He and I chatted for almost an hour and he gave me a lot of information.
– that it would be difficult to find any e-bike rentals anywhere along the circle tour other than NOTL. They just don’t have the market for it to keep that many bikes, where NOTL is very touristy.
So I found Zoom Leisure Bikes. Ben at the shop was very helpful in providing the info on the bike rental, but also information on the route to get from the bike shop to the trail on the Welland canal. The only time we will be on the road will be the stretch from NOTL to Port Weller where we will get the Welland Canal Trail. He gave us a an alternate route (from the bike map), taking us on Niagara Stone Road to East West Line, which he says has a wide shoulder, and than takes you to lakeshore where there is a wider shoulder.
We reserved our bikes months ago (even though he said for a Monday in September we probably didn’t have to since they have many e-bikes)
– 5 day rental is $280 + HST
– he emailed me liability waivers that we had to sign
– if we need panniers, they rent them for $5 each, so $10 for a set. They are 20 litres each. They are not waterproof, so if getting a lot of rain you will want to bring a rain pack cover.
at the highest setting you will get 70 kms off a battery
– if we require service on the trip, they may come out depending on where we are. Or they may send us to another shop (e.g. Welland, Fort Erie, etc.). The best is CAA, which provides great road side service, which I am a member so we are well covered.
– he will let us park 1 or 2 cars in their parking lot for the week (but only since it is during the week and not the busy summer)
– they have helmets (the good adjustable ones) and locks, both are included in your rental.
– they do not have water bottle holders or phone holders (so I brought my own)
– rear-view mirror. I bought a velcro one so that I could put it on my bike. I find it difficult to ride without a mirror, since I am so used to it. It is much safer to see what is coming up behind you!
– one thing I found odd, is that for charging the actual bikes, the bike needs to be near the outlet. When we were in Europe, we would just take the battery off, and bring it up to our rooms and charge it there. The batteries on Zoom’s e-bikes do not come off for charging. It was a bit of a challenge to find accommodations, for safe storage of 6 bikes and having a place for us to plug them all in.
– there is a site you might find helpful Cycle & Stay.
Recommendations
AJ from the Port Colborne bike shop gave me recommendations for accommodations, things to do and places to eat.
– That when we arrive in Port Colborne, to take an “extra leg” in town, so that we go to historic West Street – where everything is happening!
– he introduced me to Judith at Tallwood Manor, the B & B we are staying at.
– he said Ridgeway is really nice and if eating there 335 on the Ridge is nice, and also Brimstone Brewing.
– Restaurants in Port Colborne he recommended are Smokin’ Budha, Brewery Breakwall, and Lock Wood Pizza.
– If stopping in Welland he said Black Sheep Coffee shop on Main Street is a nice place to stop.
– he also said for a about a 15 minute detour, we could do a stop in Crystal Beach which is really nice. This brings back memories of my childhood, as each year we went to the big amusement park “Crystal Beach” which had the best roller coaster (the Comet) and the greatest waterslides! I found it the Comet (the name of the roller coaster) – it is now at the Great Escape park in Queensbury, New York. I just read that the ferris wheel was moved to Centreville on Toronto Island and is still going strong!
Our Day 1 Adventures!
We went to the bike shop to try out the bikes, see if our personal panniers would fit, and pick up the panniers needed so that we could pack them at at AirBnB and be ready to go in the morning.
We spent the night playing games!! 10,000 dice game, Hearts, and 1,2,3 Bang Bang!!!
Irene was the big winner of all the games and took all our money!!! Tomorrow night we will just have to win it back.
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