2025 Ontario by Bike – Bicycle Friendly Business Awards – Award Winners
Congratulations to the 2025 “Best Bicycle Friendly Businesses” in Ontario.
We are pleased to announce our Bicycle Friendly Business Award Winners for 2025.
The following businesses were selected to win the Ontario By Bike award for their efforts in and excelling at providing services and a welcome to cyclists visiting their locations as well as supporting cycling within their community. A winner was selected from each of the 13 tourism regions in Ontario, plus a recognition award was given to the best bike related businesses for each region, where nominated, as these businesses provide an important service supporting cycle tourists.
Each business will be featured in an issue of our monthly e-newsletter March to October 2025. See archive and subscribe HERE.
We encourage you to plan a visit, and cycle by to find out more yourself and first hand.
Ontario’s Southwest / RTO1
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: North 42 Degrees Estate Winery / Serenity Lavender Farm Inc. – Colchester
This pair of businesses are an outstanding attraction on the Lake Erie shore in Essex County. Hundreds of cyclists every year enjoy the outdoor wine tastings and spectacular views, plus the onsite restaurant with a Michelin trained chef, takeaway treats, and weekly events and art workshops. The adjacent Serenity Lavender Farm has over 40 varieties of lavender set against the vineyard, and a variety of products available at their shop.
Visit the winery and lavender farm on the Wine Trail cycling route, a 41km mixed trail and road route through this exciting wine growing region just southeast of Windsor. Enjoy the scenic Waterfront Trail cycling and a cluster of wineries along Highway 50, stop at Colchester Beach (very close to North 42), enjoy the quiet Chrysler Greenway trail, and visit nearby Kingsville’s historic downtown.
Best Bike Business: London Bicycle Cafe – London
London Bicycle Café is a full-service bike shop offering excellent customer service and repairs, a beautiful shop featuring commuters, e-bikes, and cargo bikes to move the whole family. They also have an espresso bar with the best patio in town, next to Ivey Park and the Thames Valley Parkway. The shop was named London’s Small Business of the Year in 2024 and is excited to officially launch its Bikes For Business Pilot Program, offering bikes on loan to businesses for employees to use.
Niagara Region / RTO2
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: Residence & Conference Centre – Niagara-on-the-Lake
RCC Niagara-on-the-Lake is open May to August each year and offers cyclists affordable and spacious suites with easy access to the area’s scenic trails. Standout offerings include multiple bike storage options, an outdoor bike wash and when available wine passes for groups to visit the Niagara College Wine Visitor + Education Centre, where you can sample local wines.
Residence & Conference Centre is the perfect place for a night’s stay exploring the 140km Greater Niagara Circle Route, which links the Niagara River Recreational Trail, Welland Canals Parkway Trail, the Friendship Trail, and the on and off-road Waterfront Trail.
Best Bike Business: County Cycle – Beamsville
County Cycle in Beamsville has an excellent reputation in the community with 13 years of friendly customer service, technical know-how and a carefully curated selection of Canadian bike brands. The full-service shop offers bike rentals, water, snacks, repairs, a washroom, coffee, retail, which is really all you could want as a cycle tourist! They see thousands of local cyclists and hundreds of cyclists visiting the region each year.
Hamilton Halton Brant / RTO3
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: Arlington Hotel – Paris
The Arlington Hotel is a restored, historic hotel right in the heart of Paris, Ontario, a village with ‘old-world’ charm on the picturesque Grand River. The hotel offers 23 uniquely decorated rooms, grand architectural details and provides secure, indoor bike parking while you stay.
Paris’ historic charm, scenic routes, and easy access to trails like the SC Johnson Trail south to Brantford and the Cambridge to Paris Rail Trail make it a perfect spot for a ride. The trail ride north to Cambridge follows the Grand River through beautiful Carolinian forests with many river lookouts, while heading south to Brantford offers must-visit cultural and historic sites like Brantford’s art gallery, Alexander Graham Bell’s homestead, and important indigenous cultural sites like the Mohawk Chapel and Woodland Cultural Centre.
Best Bike Business: Trek Bicycle Burlington – Burlington
Trek Bicycle Burlington sells quality bikes and gear from a variety of Trek-affiliated makes and models, including accessories and parts from all types of manufacturers, with customer service that goes above and beyond to provide personalized and attentive service. The shop offers service on all bicycles with a quick turnaround time. Check out the local rides section of their website for everything from road and gravel rides to shorter family-friendly trail rides in the Burlington area.
Huron, Perth, Waterloo & Wellington / RTO4
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: Hotel Lux – Blyth
Hotel Lux is a luxury hotel in the heart of Blyth, a village on the Goderich to Guelph (G2G) Rail Trail. With a patio, soaker tubs in their largest suite, bike storage, charging and repair tools, it is a perfect place to stop after a day’s riding. Lux also proudly donated towards the recently completed Blyth Tunnel and trail construction and are always excited to see new and return cyclists visiting.
Cycling the G2G Rail Trail this season? Make Blyth your home base for a couple days exploring the trail. Located 36km east of Goderich, it also makes a great first or last overnight on a linear multi-day tour. With an acclaimed craft brewery, festival theatre, and local shops and restaurants, Blyth is certainly a town worth a visit. Check out our Travellers’ Tales webpage and recent blogs for more details on planning your ride.
Best Bike Business: River City Cycle Rentals – Kitchener
River City Cycle Tours offers a full range bike rentals, packaged self-guided bike tours, plus bike rentals and tours for private businesses. As a locally funded and grass roots community project, they are passionate about the Kitchener and Waterloo Region and helping visitors experience their local culture. They see a ton of visitors including those headed to the Hydrocut to mountain bike, folks making their way to St. Jacobs by bike and cyclists taking part in their brewery tour.
Greater Toronto Area / RTO5
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: Green Press – Port Credit/Mississauga
Located in downtown Port Credit, a beautiful waterfront community in Mississauga, Green Press is a family owned business with multiple locations, offering freshly made organic cold pressed juices, healthy foods, pantry items, salads, and smoothies. They are committed to having a positive environmental footprint, with bike parking close by and a bottle recycling program for their juices.
Visit the Green Press on a scenic ride from downtown Toronto to Port Credit, cycling a portion of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail on the Toronto Waterfront West Adventure, a 37km cycling itinerary with some incredible view points across Lake Ontario, swimming spots in Mississauga at Marie Curtis Park and Lakefront Promenade Park, and a visit to the pretty waterfront community of Port Credit with lots of refreshment options.
Best Bike Business: Toronto Bicycle Tours & Events – Toronto
Toronto Bicycle Tours & Events specializes in providing unique team-building experiences, fun family outings, outdoor social events, and award-winning tours showcasing our province’s largest city. They host experiences that feature Toronto’s vibrant culture, history and food, led by expert local guides who love the city and have backgrounds and interests that span across architecture, urban affairs, transportation, politics, history, sports, art, music, and the environment. Open every season of the year.
York Durham Headwaters / RTO6
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: Tyrone Mills – Tyrone/Bowmanville
Tyrone Mills is major cyclist hub in Durham Region, a country store and water-operated mill located in a beautiful setting, full of charm and character. The mill is a unique destination, offering a variety of food, beverage, and locally made artisanal products, including renowned fresh apple cider doughnuts. Visitors are often surprised to learn they can purchase flour produced at the mill. It’s also an ideal place to stop on the weekends in the warmer months when they have their wood-fired pizza oven going. In addition to delicious offerings and friendly staff, there are plenty of bicycle friendly amenities including a bike rack out front and a bike pump and repair tool stand.
Tyrone Mills is located on the Greenbelt Route, a signed 475km cycling route through Ontario’s Greenbelt, protected farmlands and natural areas, stretching from Niagara to Northumberland County. The mill is also the start and end point of the Durham Tourism Apple Capital Loop, a 28km on-road cycling loop that showcases the beautiful orchards and apple products of this scenic part of Durham Region, just north of Bowmanville.
Best Bike Business: Different Spokes Caledon & Brampton Bike Hub
Different Spokes Caledon & Brampton Bike Hub is a cooperative bike hub open to people of all ages and backgrounds, with volunteers and staff who are passionate about safe cycling in Ontario. Located in Brampton, but with pop up locations in Caledon along the Caledon Trailway, the bike hub offers maps, sightseeing and tour suggestions, seminars and workshops, bike parking, bike repair assistance, free air, and encourages cyclists of all types to get riding. The Town of Caledon supports the hub’s ‘BikeWrx’ pop-ups at various times from spring till fall as part of its commitment to being a bicycle friendly community.
Bruce Grey Simcoe / RTO7
Due to volume of nominations, we have selected two winners in our general award category: Accommodations, Food Services and Attractions.
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: Bowering Lodge/Eagle Adventures – Blue Mountains
Bowering Lodge is located on a beautiful forested property on the Niagara Escarpment, just 20km from Blue Mountain Village, with apartment suites and campsites that can be booked. Through their Eagle Adventures company, they arrange outdoor activities like mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing and caving, and more. They even have 2.5km of trails on their property that can be explored.
The lodge is in the heart of bike friendly territory with easy access to mountain biking next door at the Kolapore Wilderness Trails, downhill terrain at Blue Mountain and top-notch paved and gravel road riding. They support two major bikepacking events annually, including hosting the No Winter Maintenance Bike Rally in June and provide support and an aid station for the 800km BT 700, bringing together cyclists from all over the world.
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: Three Sheets Craft Brewing – Port Elgin
Three Sheets Brewing is a craft brewery located in the heart of Port Elgin/Saugeen Shores, boasting the best patio sunset views around. They see cyclists visiting all year long from large group rides, long-haul cycle tourists to beer tours, and make sure each have their water bottles full and tires have air. The brewery has seasonal food trucks, games and also partners with Gran Fondo Lake Huron, hosting parts of the event at the brewery.
The brewery is located metres away from the North Shore Trail, a paved 6km separated trail that hugs the Lake Huron shoreline from Port Elgin to Southampton, offering stunning lake vistas and views of Chantry Island. This scenic part of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail is on our Ontario By Bike Ride itinerary – Huron Coast Explorer, a three day, two overnight ride that was originally hosted in 2024, which can now be explored as a self-guided itinerary.
Best Bike Business: Bike Stop of Orillia – Orillia
The Bike Stop of Orillia offers bicycle sales, service and rentals of both traditional bikes and e-bikes, plus nutrition products available and free water bottle refilling. Offering friendly, honest service and being located only a block away from the Oro-Medonte Rail Trail, they are a regular stop for cyclists on the Simcoe County Loop Trail looking for a snack, water refill or repair. They prioritize cycle tourists for repairs to get them back on track as quickly as possible. E-bike rentals have been popular for tourists visiting the area who want to tackle a longer rail trail ride or the local hilly terrain.
Kawarthas Northumberland / RTO8
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: 100 Acre Brewing Company Inc. – Peterborough
One of Peterborough’s newest breweries, 100 Acre Brewing Co. has quickly built a reputation in the cycling community, with cycling events and fundraisers, bike parking, and discounted beer for those cycling to the brewery. The brewery has a fun, cottage-like feel with open green spaces, and often hosts live music at their location on the southeast side of town near the Lang-Hastings / Trans Canada Trail.
While the brewery hosts a number of ride events and fundraisers, new in 2025 is the 100 Acre Gravel Race on June 1, an event with 60km and 100km distances that will combine the competition and thrill of road racing on partially closed roads, along with the excitement and adventure of gravel riding on some of the most beautiful roads and trails in central Ontario. The epic routes of rolling hills and punchy climbs will finish off with food and beverages at the brewery.
Best Bike Business: Century Cycle – Colbourne
Century Cycle is a stop for many cyclists travelling through Northumberland County, conveniently located along the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail in Colborne. As one of few bike shops in the region, they fill a much needed service including on-the-spot repairs, water bottle top-ups, nourishment, serving the many local cyclists and those travelling along Lake Ontario – including cycle tourists from France, Australia and the United States on tours along and around Lake Ontario.
South Eastern Ontario / RTO9
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: Grenville Park – Johnstown
Grenville Park is a popular campground for cyclists, located in Johnstown, just east of the town of Prescott in south eastern Ontario. They offer $10 per person, camping options for self-supported cyclists, in an open tent area by the beach, with beautiful St. Lawrence views and free electricity for charging in their recreational hall. They see hundreds of cyclists each year, and have hosted riders on the Friends for Life Bike Rally, an annual ride supporting people living with HIV/AIDS in Toronto, Kingston and Montreal.
Located along the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail, a signed cross-provincial cycle touring route following Ontario’s Great Lakes on a mix of roads and trails. Hundreds if not thousands of cyclists follow this route on various cycling adventures, from multi-day tours between Toronto and Montreal, riders completing binational cycling adventures around Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, or day trippers looking for scenic cycling routes. The Waterfront Trail has many self-guided tours and featured trips to discover scenic rides on this incredible route.
Best Bike Business: Ideal Bike – Wellington
Ideal Bike Wellington is one of two Ideal Bike locations, with the Wellington shop focusing on bike rentals, making it easy to get out and ride the nearby Millennium Trail and explore beautiful Prince Edward County, by bike. They have a great range of traditional comfort bikes, pedal assist e-bikes, gravel and adventure bikes, tandems, and even trailers so the whole family can get riding. At the store, pick up a copy of their map showing cycling routes across the county for all ability levels. Rentals can be booked in advance and run from daily to weekly rates. You can also visit their full-service location and shop in Belleville.
Ottawa & Countryside / RTO10
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: The Mill Tavern – Ottawa
With amble bike parking, outdoor seating perfect for enjoying a post-ride meal, a menu offering hearty, nutritious meals and a welcoming atmosphere for cyclists, The Mill Tavern loves seeing the cycling community come together at their classic English pub on Manotick’s main street, just 25km south of downtown Ottawa on the Rideau River.
The 56km Manotick South & West route follows paved country roads starting and ending in the village of Manotick, which is a great spot to start and end your ride with excellent restaurants and cafes. Visit Watson’s Mill, a historic flour and gristmill, still in operation today and book a stop in at Strathmere Country Retreat post-ride with a 6,000 sq ft spa.
Ontario’s Highlands / RTO11
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: Stalwart Brewing Company – Carleton Place
During the warmer months, you will see cyclists every day visiting Stalwart Brewing Company, located in Carleton Place’s heritage downtown core. With a welcoming atmosphere, cycling-inspired art, the brewery is an avid supporter and host of cycling events in the community, like the Candy Burner ride, donating funds raised to the local food bank.
The brewery is not far off the Ottawa Valley Recreational Trail, which is also part of the Trans Canada Trail. Carleton Place is a major trail hub, connected by trails to Ottawa, Smiths Falls, Arnprior and Kingston. Visit Carleton Place on the new self-guided multi-day cycling adventure CycleMORE: Mississippi & Ottawa Rivers Experience, connecting Ottawa’s greenways to picturesque small towns west of the city. Or enjoy a self-guided version of our Lanark Trail Tour.
Explorers’ Edge / RTO12
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: Missing Link Adventure Tours / Santosha Farm – Burk’s Falls
Located in the Almaguin Highlands region east of Parry Sound, this unique cyclist friendly accommodation offers custom retreat options, on-site trails and meal plans from their co-located veggie farm, on a beautiful property with forests, fields and wetlands. They offer packaged retreats and camps like the Gravel Grazer, highlighting local food and gravel riding and their Intro Bikepacking Weekend, which creates a supported environment for bikepacking-curious folks. They also help organize and support cycling events in the region.
Missing Link Adventure Tours designs routes and itineraries that highlight the physical and natural ruggedness of the region, while supporting success, learning and growth. Their routes showcase the Nipissing Ghost Road, many local attractions, and Mikisew Provincial Park. Why not check out the beautiful gravel riding in the area on the upcoming Parry Sound Bikes Off The Rails Gravel Party, August 24, 2025
Northern Ontario / RTO13
Best Bicycle Friendly Business: Loco Beanz – Manitowaning
An outpost of Manitoulin Island’s first ever coffee house, located in beautiful Manitowaning on the eastern shore of the island, Loco Beanz is a hub for cyclists crossing the island, either on a self-supported tour, or on one of the extraordinary tours and events hosted by the Manitoulin Island Cycling Advocates (MICA). Stop in for super friendly service, grilled paninis, a breakfast sandwich, or a delicious premium coffee.
The cafe has hosted rest stops on the Manitoulin Passage Ride, with at times up to 50 riders enjoying the atmosphere and facilities. While this year’s ride is based further west in Mindemoya, spend an extra day of riding from bay-side Manitowaning on the 51km Sheguiandah-Ten Mile Point Loop, taking in the area’s rolling hills, views of inland Lake Manitou, and enjoying the museums and a historic mill along the way.
Best Bike Business: Jack’s Ski & Bike Shack – Elliot Lake
Working to develop the Northern Ontario town between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury as a hub for cycling and tourism, this family-run shop offers same day repairs and has assisted cyclists crossing the country with repairs to get them rolling again. After 20 years operating Little Ed’s Ski & Bike Shop in Collingwood, Jack is proud to serve the growing Elliot Lake community with bike and ski service, sales, and rentals. Elliot Lake is a major hub on the Deer Trail touring route.