Let's Go Ride a Bike!

Dear Competitors:

Many of you are eager to take in the sights in and around Kingston, and one of the best (and cheapest) ways to do it will be to rent a bike. If you're interested, there are several places in Kingston to rent one for a day or the entire week. We are also aiming to set up a group bike tour during the measurement day. Check out the following suggestions for places to acquire some wheels:

Ahoy Rentals

Cycle Path

Frontenac Cycle and Sports

Algonquin Park

Nature porn!

As well as having some great cities, the province of Ontario is also famous for its fantastic parks, one of the most famous being Algonquin Park. If you love the outdoors, you have to make time to go see it. Algonquin is about four hours drive Northwest of Kingston, and is a lovely spot to camp, canoe, hike, pick berries, bicycle, swim in clean lakes, and see all sorts of wild animals, like moose, beavers, foxes, fish, and the wildest animals of all - other Canadians.

Unlike the typical Australian animal, this moose doesn't want to kill you.

If you aren't travelling with your camping gear, you can also rent some. Wikipedia has a great entry about Algonquin with more pictures.

You should also be aware that Algonquin books up pretty fast in the summer, so if you're interested, reserve something as soon as possible!

It's Mr. Canoehead!

Other useful links:

Algonquin Park Eco-Lodge (a great place to stay in the park)

Voyageur Quest (they'll arrange canoe trips and other excursions in the park for you)

Bartlett Lodge (an upscale place ($$$) to stay in the park)

Kingston: an Introduction

Kingston is a little city about 200 km East of Toronto, and 200 km West of Ottawa. With a population of about 120,000 people, Kingston is the home of Queen's University, Fort Henry (a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which we'll be touring), and the famous 1,000 Islands (which we'll be seeing on a dinner cruise).

The Thousand Islands (just take our word for it that there are 1,000 of them)

Being a university town, Kingston is full of cheap and cheerful places to eat. Some of my favourites (from my school days) are the Sleepless Goat (great for vegetarians and vegans), Mekong, Windmills, and Luke's. All of these restaurants are located along Kingston's main street - Princess street, which also has heaps of cute little stores. Throughout the week, Kingston also has a farmer's market in the Market Square, with great local produce on sale.

Oooh, pretty!

Other Links:

The Haunted Walking Tour of Kingston (ooooh, scaaary)

Maps of Kingston

The Wikipedia entry on Kingston (Apparently there are a lot of buildings made from limestone.)

Niagara Falls

Some of you want to make the 2008 Worlds into a proper holiday, so we'll be making suggestions for what to do with the family while they're here.

Niagara Falls is probably the most obvious thing to see while you are in Ontario. The city of Niagara is about 2 hours drive West of Toronto (4 hours West of Kingston), and the Falls are one of the most spectacular sights we have to offer. The surrounding area is also great to tour, as the wineries in Niagara on the Lake produce most of Canada's famous ice wine. A nice way to spend a day is to rent a bike and drink yourself silly.

The Falls

But back to the awesome Falls - this wonder of nature generates power for a lot of us Ontarians (and some mooching Americans). The Falls are over 176 feet tall, with 150,000 gallons of water per second rushing down its mighty walls. And guess what - Neil, your ICA Chairman, has promised that if we get more than 50 competitors at the Worlds, he'll sail his new Schappi boat down this mighty rush of furious water. So what are you waiting for? Book your trip now!

Schappi versus the Falls - who will win?