This was a great event. I feel it would be a good idea to capitalize on it's success. I believe in future years The Town of NOTL could promote this as a special event in NOTL, like the any of our other events and perhaps get more involved.
Perhaps Parks&Rec Committee can ask Clive to report back on increasing our involvement with this event with the goal to attract additional participants and visitors to Town.
Thank you NOTL for making the 2009 Great Waterfront Trail Adventure such a
roaring success! We hosted 252 people over the 8 days most of whom live in
Ontario and discovered what a fascinating waterfront we have. Over and over
we heard from the riders how much they enjoyed getting to know the
waterfront communities and how surprised they were by its loveliness and
diversity.
Festivities began the day before the launch at Fort George with Venifest, a
concert featuring the world music of Juno-Award winner Afrafranto. The night
ended with a spectacular display of fireworks from the US.
After a filling breakfast thanks to the Friends of Fort George and a send
off by NOTL Councillor Zalepa, the cannon blasted to kick off our 730 km
journey.
Day One was fabulous! Great signage, helpful marshalling by members of the
Regional Niagara Bicycling Committee, the Niagara Freewheelers Bicycling
Touring Club, great food at the rest stops, a gourmet lunch served by
August, and interesting displays by the 20 Valley Tourism, Niagara Peninsula
CA, Ducks Unlimited and the Grimsby Historical Society.
Grimsby Mayor Bentley who rode with us in Grimsby, motivated our youngest
rider Dylan, 4 years old, to keep riding with the promise of fresh
strawberry shortcake with ice cream in Grimsby. I didn't think anyone was
going to leave Grimsby owing in part to exhaustion from a strong head wind
and the great strawberry shortcake and ice cream! We finished Day one in
Hamilton's Confederation Park dining at area restaurants and patios to
celebrate the end of the first day.
Your work -- from promoting the event to creating a lasting impression on
the Adventurers is deeply appreciated-and is earning the Waterfront Trail a
reputation for being one of our Province's best places to visit and the
Adventure as being one of the best ways to do the whole thing.
A couple from California who rode this year, told me how they occasionally
come to Toronto for short weekend visits usually as part of a business trip.
Last year they found the event listing for the Adventure and were too late
to sign up. However they remembered to sign up early for 2009 and instead of
a weekend in Toronto, they spent 8-days visiting 41 communities.
They were so enthusiastic about all they had seen in the waterfront
communities. Congratulations everyone and thank you so much from everyone at
the Trust.
GREAT WATERFRONT TRAIL ADVENTURE - 250 CYCLISTS TAKE TO THE TRAIL
The Waterfront Trust would like to extend a big heartfelt thank you to all
of our partners who helped out with the Great Waterfront Trail Adventure
this year. This year's tour was another success, thanks in large part to all
of your efforts and incredible hospitality - the feedback we have been
receiving from participants so far has been outstanding. Media coverage was
excellent again this year, with spots in radio, TV and print in communities
all along the Trail. We've compiled some statistics and information about
this year's tour below for your information.
GWTA Rider Stats
252 riders (including 30 volunteers)
197 end-to-enders (including 30 volunteers)
54 part way riders
youngest rider age 4 / oldest rider age 77
average age: 45
19 participants from Quebec
25 Family Day participants (July 5th)
Trends we noticed (from pre-tour survey):
83% come from Ontario
44% describe themselves as somewhat fit; 45% very fit.
43% indicated the GWTA is their first multi-day tour
52% are training for the Adventure; 48% are using the Waterfront
Trail in this training.
82% have been on the Waterfront Trail
17% had never heard of the Trail before learning about the Adventure
Perceptions of the Trail (from pre-tour survey):
92% like that the Trail is near to water
76% like that it is easy to use for fitness and exercise
57% like that it is connected to other communities
61% don't like that the Trail is not all off-road