A good friend of ours arranged a biking wine tour for her birthday celebrations one year.  I was up for the fun but not enthusiastic about the wine part as, at 35, I had never acquired a taste for it. I know, bonkers.

Over the years, I had also lost my connection to my bike. My Norco Bush Pilot – a somewhat unfortunate name. I have had my purple Pilot since the beginning of university, possibly the end of high school. We had occasional rides together over the years but those rides didn’t feel as joyful as they did when I was a kid. Oh, the freedom my bicycle offered me at 13.

We travelled to the beautiful Niagara wine region and we were all set up thanks to another great friend of mine and his amazing wine tour company. We were matched with our bikes for the day and we set out for our adventure. Biking along the back roads and along the paths with friends that have been in my life since grade school sparked something in me. I felt the freedom and happiness and innocence of my 13 year old self. I was joyful and I have been riding my bike as often as I can ever since.

I have also been drinking wine ever since. The experience of the bikes, the beautiful wineries and sampling and sipping of all of the wines finally made me understand why everyone else was so obsessed with it. I stuck to Rieslings and ice wines all day and I am still ‘stuck’ there.

The only unfortunate part of the tour was my choice of outfit. I had carefully selected the cutest orange jumpsuit. It was the perfect combination of fun and casual with a little bit of sophistication. It was a hot sunny day and upon arrival at the first winery, one of my wine companions pointed out that I had sweat marks showing – from the rear. The wine got thrown back a lot more quickly for the rest of the day.

Have you tried a bike and wine tour?

A bit more…If you book a tour, tell Matt that Lori sent you 🙂