Trail cycling can be a common route choice, or a one time ride and the Greater Niagara Circle Route is among my favourites. It is a well maintained trail with a potential place to stop nearly every 5 kilometers for lunch or a break, meaning if you're not tired yet just roll on to the next stop. It is also separated from urban disturbances along most of the trail, so you can listen to a small portable radio without headphones. I know, most of the cyclists aren't interested in the stop and go or radio when I see them racing down the paved trail - but there are some leisure riders among the people.

What works best for me is to go clockwise around the trails and enjoy the leisurely full kilometer downhill in Thorold/St.Catharines while slowly marching uphill while enjoying the beauty of the Niagara river in the City of Niagara Falls.

Most bike shops in and around the Niagara Region should have all the information that you need about the Niagara Trails system, which routes are universal and which routes are for mountain bikes. This includes Goods Cycle and Sports in Welland, Niagara Cycle Works in Niagara Falls, and Liberty Cycle in St. Catharines.

One of the most controversial things about the circle route is the "Wheels Yield to Heels" Movement, which vandalizes the trail and has some pedestrians blocking the path on occasion. The truth is that they have a right to be angry about some of the "spandex" cyclists that go too fast, and the e-bikes that probably do not belong on the trail. What they need to remember though is that the Region of Niagara built the trail for cyclists. Of course pedestrians and equestrians are welcome, but the funding was really a part of public interest from cyclists for a safe beautiful space, and from motorists that now see a significant reduction in sport cyclists ("spandex") on public roads. If the pedestrians would like a speed limit enforced, I can get behind that. If the pedestrians want to ban bikes from the Niagara cycling trail, I think they need to do their homework.

It can be hard to find relevant information about the trail since the Regional Website and Attractions websites change the information and the URLs so frequently that individuals are the only ones with steady information for travelers. It's no big deal, with every rename comes another revamp.

Hope to see you on the trail this summer.