We’ll have one layover day on this tour in Toronto, Canada to give our bodies a chance to recover. We’ll also have time to explore this fascinating city, which proudly proclaims itself to be the most diverse and safest in the world. 52 miles average per day.

DAY 12: We end our tour with a short ride back on the Erie Canalway Trail into Rochester, NY. With any luck, the prominent west wind will provide us with a wonderful tailwind back to our starting hotel. After packing up your bike and enjoying a final picnic lunch, you can take the complimentary hotel shuttle to the airport anytime after noon. 20 miles.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

• Womantours Hdq.
• Erie Canalway Trail
• Niagara Falls State Park
• Waterfront Trail on the Canadian shores of the lake
• Toronto attractions: Chinatown, CN Tower, Royal Ontario Museum, Harbourfront Centre, Distillery District

REGISTRATION DETAILS: To sign up for the Around Lake Ontario Tour, we require a $400 deposit. The balance of the tour cost will be due 75 days prior to the tour start.

DISCOUNTS: The first 6 women to sign up for the Around Lake Ontario tour will receive a 5% discount off the tour price. Also, if this is your second tour within 6 months with us, we’ll give you another 10% discount. If you’ve already traveled with us and bring a new friend to do this tour with you, you’ll each receive a 5% discount. All told, you can have up to a total of 15% in discounts for this tour.

SAG VOLUNTEERS: We use 3 volunteers to drive a support Subaru Outback vehicle during this tour. Each driver works once every third day (for a total of 3 times,) supporting the riders until the last rider finishes cycling for the day. She provides food, drinks, flat tire assistance and moral support, and becomes an integral part in the success of the tour. In return, each volunteer receives a discount of 40% off the full tour price. If you’re interested in a position, please email or call us.

Join us as we begin the first in our series of tours circumnavigating America’s Great Lakes. We start with the smallest one. Lake Ontario is about 200 miles long and 50 miles wide, with shores surrounded by rural farmland. Its banks are also home to one of Canada’s most fascinating cities - Toronto, and one of the world’s most beautiful waterfalls - Niagara Falls. If you like to ride a lot of miles and stay in comfortable, but not fancy, hotels, then this is the tour for you.

DAY 1: We meet in Rochester, NY, home to worldwide WomanTours headquarters. We’ll start our tour at 2:00pm with an orientation, followed by a bike prep and then dinner together. 0 miles.

DAYS 2-11: We’ll run this tour as we do our cross-country tours. After a light, nutritionally balanced buffet breakfast, we’ll pack our bike bags with snacks, and make sure we have an extra layer of clothing and perhaps a rain jacket with us.

We’ll ride out of Rochester on the paved Erie Canalway Trail. Once out of the city, the landscape will quickly turn into rural flat farmland full of apple orchards and cow pastures.

We’ll support this tour with our Subaru SAG vehicle that holds water, snacks, tire repair tools and a first aid kit. Even if you don’t need anything, you can stop to chat and talk about the wonderful tailwind or the panoramic view. On some of the days of this tour, there are extensive bike paths and we’ll also use a sweep rider to be sure everyone is in safely in at the end of the day.

Lunch is on your own during the day if you want something heartier than the snacks out of our SAG vehicle. We encourage you to stop and get a taste of the local fare and gossip.

Once at our hotel, you’ll find your luggage, (delivered earlier by the WomanTours van and trailer,) and check-in to your room. We rotate roommates every night, unless you’ve requested the upgrade for a single room. There will be time to shower before dinner and perhaps take a dip in the hotel pool.

Most of our motels will be AAA-rated or better, and most of us will be in double occupancy rooms. If anyone has experienced bike problems during the day, we’ll use the time before dinner to work with the guide to fix it.

Then we’ll eat dinner outside together, scrumptiously prepared for us by our traveling chef. She’ll make several different dishes so everyone is sure to find something she loves. We serve it family-style, and there’s always plenty for everyone. After dinner, the guide holds a map meeting to discuss the highlights of the day and to go over the details of the next day’s route.

Epic Tour: Around Lake Ontario 2013 Itinerary