Valley Cycle Tours named top tourist attraction in the Ottawa Valley
Valley Cycle Tours has been named best in tourism by the Ottawa Valley Tourist Association ahead of summer.
The Beachburg, Ont. business provides personalized guided and self-guided bicycle tours throughout the Ottawa Valley along with shuttle service.
Owner Cindy Jamieson also runs the Whitewater Inn in Beachburg and says she was proud to receive the award, noting all the challenges she had to maneuver during the two years of the pandemic.
"Incorporating stays at the inn as well once that opened up," Jamieson tells CTV News. "And offering fun food nights and just trying to do whatever I could to make it work."
Riders can sign up for day trips or weekend long adventures. Customers can bring their own bicycles or Valley Cycle Tours has options for rent.
"We have some e-bikes now as well, some gravel bikes," says Jamieson. "But definitely the most popular bikes we have are the touring bikes that are good for gravel or asphalt."
Travelling from Ottawa to spend the weekend in Beachburg, Lucie Quinn brought her pedal-assisted bicycle for the tours
"We were looking for a weekend getaway not too far from home, but out of our area and some place that we though could have a little bit of diversity," says Quinn.
"Walking, biking, all kinds of activities," said Quinn of the reasons they were convinced to spend the weekend in Beachburg. "So that just kind of amped us up and peaked the curiosity because it wasn't just one thing."
Being a local to the region and taking tours out herself, Jamieson believes it's her personal service that has provided her best year of business yet.
"There's a huge demand now from the international crowd who want these small experiences," the cycling expert explains. "They want to be in a small hotel, they want small groups, and they want one on one service of what their experience will be."
But the Owner of Valley Cycle Tours adds that it is not necessarily the cycling itself that has created so much success for her, but rather the attraction of the valley and all there is to see and learn.
"There's so much history here in the Ottawa Valley because of the Ottawa River," says Jamieson. "Right down to Champlain's story of so much discovery of Canada, and I think a lot of Canadians were taking a second look during the pandemic."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.