Lap Of Lake Ontario (LOL) 1,000km Brevet

July 11-14, 2019


Finishers Medal


Please note that 2019 will be an evening start, and we will be using the Glenora Ferry.

This year I've moved the start from Wednesday evening to Thursday evening to avoid some of the heavy Friday traffic while going around Toronto.

Bag drop - we might have a bag drop this year. It will depend on how many riders, and how many volunteers I have. If we do, it will be to a limited number of locations. Please make your plans assuming this is a self supported ride.

There is light support planned for this year. There will be at least one vehicle on the road. We'll be carrying common repair parts and tools. Parts will be available at cost. As our goal is to have as many finishers as possible, the support vehicle will be concentrating on those at the rear of the riders.

As we will be skirting the major metropolitan city of Toronto, there will be areas where many find the traffic uncomfortably heavy. Other riders ask "what traffic?" The segment from Stouffville to Erin Mills will have the heaviest traffic.

There is a ride report, with photos, from the 2018 LOL at: RHM ride report.


NOTE: If you are thinking of riding this brevet, please contact the RBA as soon as possible!


If you wish to register, please contact me at pdusel@sprintmail.com


A list of motels on or near route may be found here: Motel list.

A list of bike shops on or near route may be found here: Bike Shops.

This is a map of the last 3/4 mile to the check in, and Start/Finish. None of the on line mapping programs show this correctly: 1000kStart.pdf

The links below will take you to higher resolution versions of the map above. These are annotated with planned controle locations.
Please keep in mind that these are preliminary, and not final!
Annotated map (Screen resolution)
Annotated map (Printer resolution)

Below are Gmaps Pedometer maps of the route, and may be zoomed in to the turn level.
Although these are believed to be accurate, there may be minor changes made after the final route drive.


Individual Controle to Controle maps:
Start Controle Map
Start http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3573577
Oswego http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3573584
Cape Vincent http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3573587
US/Canada Border http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3853301
Millhaven/Bath without Ferry http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3853382
Millhaven/Bath with Ferry http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3574150
Belleville http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3853485
Brighton http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3573398
Bowmanville
Stouffville
Hamilton (Not a controle) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3853631
Canada/US Border http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3573500
Olcott http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3573505
Charlotte http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3573572


And RWGPS:

Here are the segments from 2016.
A final route pre-ride/drive will be done about two weeks before the ride. You can expect minor changes to be made based on construction, etc. encountered on the pre-ride.
Start Controle Map
Start http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4982766
Oswego http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4983008
Cape Vincent http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4984369
US/Canada Border http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4984488
Millhaven/Bath without Ferry --
Millhaven/Bath with Ferry http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5053117
Brighton http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5053263
Bowmanville https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14742098
Stouffville https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27963930
Erin Mills http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5053507
Burlington http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5053670
Canada/US Border (Niagara Falls) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5122933
Olcott http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5122999
Charlotte http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5123056

Unofficial Cue Sheet English -- 1000LR_1.pdf
Unofficial Cue Sheet Metric -- 1000LR_1-Metric-Ferry.pdf
Note: The English cue sheet is the master. Expect minor changes to the cue sheets due to construction as we get closer to the ride start.
Although every effort will be made to keep the web cue sheets up to date, the Official Cue Sheet will be the cue sheet handed out at the start.


The Randonneurs Ontario LOL 2009 cue sheet is at: http://www.randonneursontario.ca/routes/torroutes.html

Frequently Asked Questions
Jon Levitt's ride report from the 2009 running (Toronto start)
Jon liked it so much, he's ridden several more times and is signed up for this year's running! He may be reached through me at pdusel@sprintmail.com.

Photos along the route --Photos from along, and near, the route.
Please read the captions for the location. These photos where either taken while riding, or route verifying, the LOL.

In response to questions, here's photos of my bike set up for a long unsupported brevet.
How I set up my bike for an unsupported 1000k text description to come

LOL isn't the only nice route around here, here's a few photos from my 200k and 300k rides, where we go south into the Finger Lakes region of New York. 200k-300k brevet photos

For the curious, here's a brief history of LOL A brief history of LOL

LOL 1000km Brevet Description

The LOL 1000km brevet is a RUSA sanctioned, ACP accredited brevet.

The ride starts in Ontario, NY and circles Lake Ontario in a counter clockwise direction. The route hugs the shoreline as much as practical, for best scenic enjoyment. The route is often at the waters edge and in view of the lake for much of it's distance. We pass several historic sites from the War of 1812. Cyclists from both sides of the border can pass the miles debateing who won, or lost, that campaign. In the US the ride is mostly on the Seaway Trail, a signposted, designated scenic route, with the occasional detour to avoid heavy traffic. The route goes into the Thousand Islands region before crossing into Canada on the Thousand Islands bridge, where I81 meets the Canadian border. In Canada we follow the Waterfront Trail, catching a ride across the Bay of Quint on the Glenora Ferry, down the shoreline to Newcastle, then head north around Toronto to avoid the big city congestion.

The route rejoins the lake shore just west of Mississauga, then continues around the western end of lake Ontario past Hamilton harbour to Niagara On the Lake. At this junction of river and lake, the route follows the Niagara river south on the quiet, scenic Niagara Parkway to cross the border back into the US in sight of Niagara Falls on the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls. We then rejoin the Seaway trail, following the Niagara river north back to Lake Ontario. The route follows the shoreline through small picturesque villages, picking up the Lake Ontario Parkway to Rochester, around Irondequit Bay and back to the start in Ontario, NY.

The terrain is generally flat to mildly rolling.

Two Ontarios, in two countries, two border crossings, one major world city, a route that includes Mexico and Canada, a ferry ride and a scenic route past scenic wonders known around the world, what could be better for a brevet!

If you've never cycled in a foreign country, and are considering your first PBP next year, I believe you'll find this ride an excellent training experience for cycling in France, but, likely, without the language issue!

Please read the Frequently Asked Questions for more information about the route, border crossings etc.

The ride is run in the Western/Central New York RUSA region. Please contact the RBA for more information.



Last change, Feb. 9, 2019 for the 2019 running