Mississauga Cycling » Tour de Mississauga

Mississauga News covers upcoming Tour de Mississauga

MCAC — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:14:55 +0000

Mississauga News – Sept. 9, 2009
Organizers of the second annual Tour de Mississauga cycling event are on a roll.
The event, which attracted just 30 cyclists in its inaugural year, will this year offer an exhilarating ride to more than 100 riders of all ages and fitness levels.
The non-competitive cycling event is organized by the Mississauga Cycling Advisory Committee (MCAC). It leaves Sunday, Sept. 20 at 9 a.m. from J.C. Saddington Park in Port Credit.
The tour will wind its way through Rattray Marsh, spin around the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) campus on Mississauga Rd. and wind its way to the…

Cyclists on a trail bridge

Cycling Tour de Mississauga 2009

Allan Harder — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 02:08:12 +0000

The 2nd Annual Tour de Mississauga cycling adventure takes place on:

DATE: Sunday, September 20, 2009
FREE Registration @ 9:00 a.m. Departure @ 9:30 a.m.

RAIN DATE: Sunday, September 27, 2009
(an online notice will appear the night before the scheduled Tour date if there is to be a rain cancellation)

STARTS and ENDS at: J.C. Saddington Park (click for map) in Port Credit

ORGANIZED by: Mississauga Cycling Advisory Committee (MCAC)

REGISTRATION: www.mississaugacycling.ca/tour/register

ROUTE: There are so many trails and routes to discover in Mississauga that the Cycling Committee has decided to break the City into four quadrants, and design a cycling route for each that highlights points of interest and special trails in that part of the City. All four routes will lead to City Centre at some point along the way, and the resultant map of all the routes will resemble a four-leaf clover emanating from the City Centre. After a four-year cycle, Tour participants will know the entire City well!

This year, the Tour de Mississauga route will focus on the Southwest quadrant of the City. This 50 km course highlights the off-road trails and other cycling routes available throughout SW Mississauga, starting and ending in Port Credit, and featuring a free BBQ at Memorial Park near the Tour’s end, courtesy of the Sierra Club. Map and directions are now available.

We plan to break into 3 groups according to speed: the fast group may complete the route in as little as 3 hours; the middle group may come in at around 4 hours, and the more leisurely group at around 5 hours. These times include washroom and refreshment breaks along the way.

The 2009 Tour includes an amazing array of experiences: the Waterfront Trail, highlights of new trail work, routes with bike lanes, public art (murals and sculpture), gardens, a brief “bike portage” in the Rattray Marsh, spins around the University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) and Sheridan Research Park, a fantastic view of the tall buildings in the urban core as well as a loop of City Hall and the Central Library. Part of the ride will be along the Culham Trail which gets riders up close to the (currently) raging Credit River, after all the rains. The last part of the ride features an easy cruise down the brand new Confederation Parkway bike route with all its fresh paving and paint. Tunnels, bridges, natural areas and urban pavements, and rides by three (3) GO Stations: this route has got it all.

After this Tour, you’ll feel like you’ve seen the whole City, yet it is still only one quadrant! And most of the route is fairly flat: any reasonably in-shape adult will be able to complete it. There is a shorter, approx. 20 km route incorporated into the first leg of the Tour, which gives participants a chance to decide if they’d like to continue and do the whole ride, or quickly make it back to the starting point. There is also a get-off point further along.

Come out on September 20 and see what you’ve been missing — learn a great route you can ride again and again! A great way to meet other cyclists and people from all over the City.

Further details and this year’s route are being finalized. Meanwhile, check out last year’s (1st Official) Tour on the MCAC website to read about the experience and view last year’s route map and Tour instructions.

NOTE: Every September 22 is World Car Free Day. MCAC is putting theory into practice and celebrating Car Free Day by creating and riding routes through the City that will help create permanant change in transportation planning and habits. The Tour de Mississauga takes place annually on the weekend before September 22. Get out and celebrate!

1st Official Cycling Tour de Mississauga

MCAC — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:18:02 +0000

On Sunday October 19th we held our 1st “official” Tour de Mississauga Cycling Event. It turned out to be a perfect fall day for the ride – sunny and cool in the morning, warming up nicely by noon. The turnout was strong with 20-30 riders present. Thanks to Derek from Gears Cycling all bikes were checked, tires inflated and seats adjusted for this 45km epic road and trail ride. We decided to reverse the ride so that we did the on-road portion early in the morning (less traffic) and ended with the glorious section on Culham Trail along the Credit River.

Our group started the ride heading east through Port Credit and the recently completed Stavebank Park. Slowing down to catch a glimpse of a breathtaking sunrise along the lake, we watched the canoeists practising their techniques on the mouth of the Credit River. We then headed north along Stavebank through the autumn beauty of the estate homes lining the river. Passing through the tunnel under the QEW (most riders did not know of its existence!) we headed north on Camilla Road toward the Cooksville Creek Trail.

The ride wound through Cooksville Creek’s trails blanketed by golden autumn leaves which led up to Iceland and Hershey Centre. From here we travelled westward on road to the Culham Trail which winds its way back down to the Credit River. A jog off the trail and we wound up in Mayor McCallion’s home town of Streetsville where we stopped for some hot chocolate and lattes courtesy of the local Starbucks.

We’re not still in Mississauga, are we?

After encountering a string of tranquil autumn scenes, including an early morning white-tailed deer off Mississauga Road, one cyclist was caught asking, “we’re not still in Mississauga, are we?”. All the pictures we could gather really couldn’t do the event justice. You really had to be there to experience it for yourself.

Three hours into the ride and three quarters through, we gingerly headed back down to the Credit and watched the salmon fighting the headwaters upstream. The river was a classic fall scene with anglers out fishing, and hikers on the trail. We then headed out through Erindale Park to the Mississauga Road South bike lane. This led us back to Saddington Park.

Safely back, we all headed off to the Clarkson Pump (our sponsor) for some well deserved veggies, wings and liquid refreshments. The smaller group of cyclists who were featured in the Missisauga News took the shorter Tour which headed west up the Culham Trail to Streetsville. They loved it so much that they are anticipating giving the full length tour a try next year.

Our total distance travelled was 47km and the ride time with stops was about five hours. The Mississauga Cycling Advisory Committee is set to plan another grand cycling tour of Mississauga in 2009. We are expecting an even bigger group and look forward to seeing you there.

Follow the following links if you would like to follow the same enjoyable route on your own. We would love to hear your comments on the route:

Map of the 2008 Tour
Written Directions for the 2008 Tour

Sometimes Two Wheels are Better than Four

MCAC — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:07:02 +0000

Mississauga News article covering the 2008 Tour de Mississauga.