About

GranFondo

  • GranFondo means “Big Foundation” much like what shapes the Alp’s & Dolomites & Pyrenees
  • The GranFondo challenges riders with ascents of 12% to 20% over 15,000′ in a day’s effort
  • Presents a “Big-Ride” w/start lines of 10,000+ riders at iconic events
  • Offers timed sections to challenge your will to compete, but it is not a race nor a tour
  • GranFondo origonated XC skiing & running within Italy & France, with the concept later expanding into cycling
  • Demands 100+ miles, yet provides Corto/Medio distances for the masses to experience the Festas
  • Offers a pure-Euro look and feel with festas before during and after the ride

The Italians are ‘tifosi’ over the Maratona while the French “rendre folle” to ride L’Etape & LaMarmotte. They are called "cyclo-sportives", mostly staged over famous routes across mountain passes inspiring events like GranFondoWhistler, KingRidgeGranFondo and the TourdeVictoria. We in Ottawa have caught the craze…… grazie Italia…. but the common link is a gruppo searching for a challenge beyond a long days’ ride…. presenting  GranFondoOttawa! With the look & feel of a tour event offering arches and banners and a hyped up start, feed-zones, peloton’s, break-away’s and ending with Festa’s & Expo’s, enjoying food & drink debating who did what on which bike along the route they just conquered.

 

Why GranFondo

The cure that ales any ride is the escape with variety- so choose your challenge!
~ CortoFondo, MedioFondo, GranFondo, or SuperFondo - you choose! GranFondo Ottawa is happy to offer [4] route options to challenge your will to prepare!
~ Ride hard, race, or tackle the Quad Crak’n Challenge! Bring a friend or make news ones at this well attended event. Make it a goal & reap the rewards of good health and       good times.
~ Feed beyond the norm…. this is the goal/event you've been looking for to stoke the internal fire to spin, or ride a trainer ahead of the Big-Ride.
~ GranFondoOttawa offers a hassle free alternative to crating a bike and flocking afar while satisfying the urge to experience a Fondo.
~ Experience the Lower Ottawa Valley along beautiful quiet rural rolling roads, enjoying a well-supported ride and together creating an annual cycling Festa.
~ We will help you train, provide a plan with nutritional tips and host weekday and weekend rides up to the day of the Fondo.
 

Stomp the pedals, feel the power, think big-ride, GranFondo!

Why ReggioCapitale

Our routes quickly & safely escape the City limits with Police escorts until we reach quiet country roads riding through crop producing areas alongside river banks & vistas [some] having evolved into suburbs, [some] resisting change, offering welcome stretches under the shade of aged Oak & Maple trees.

The CortoFondo route passes alongside The Marshes golf course and around preserved Federal lands as we head towards the Ottawa River through a blend of horse farms and the mansions of Dunrobin and then skirts the river communities before making our way back flanked by the rocky outcrops of Carp before heading back into North Kanata and making our way back to the start/finish area. There are a few gentle climbs and 1-2 descents to mix things up which helps keep the ride interesting.

The Medio/Gran/Supr routes ride South-West on a wide shoulder from Kanata and around Stittsville to the quaint hamlet of Ashton (FeedStation), passing Beckwith Township…. crossing streams feeding rivers [shaping the textile & timber industries of Ottawa and the Valley].
Leaving Ashton, the MedioFondo heads North into Carleton Place & Appleton (FeedStation) along the Mississippi River with a long bending stretch that takes you into Almonte (FeedStation) where the GranFondo & SuprFondo routes eventually cross for the final stretch and all 3 head back from Almonte via Panmure & Carp (FeedStation) towards Kanata North to the start/finish area.

The GranFondo & SuprFondo continue from Ashton and enter Mississippi Lake cottage country, following the sweeping road around the Lake en-route to beautiful LanarkCounty and the historic town of Perth (FeedStation) and its Stewart Park Festival.Leaving Perth the GranFondo & SuprFondo routes tackle rolling hills & crossing picturesque streams of the Lanark Highlands.

The GranFondo route continues riding East and battling a few short climbs before riding through majestic LanarkVillage (FeedStation) then heading along endless gentle rollers, alongside quarries, farms and ranches as you head into Almonte (FeedStation) and then via Panmure & Carp (FeedStation) towards Kanata North to the start/finish area.

The SuprFondo heads West when it splits from the GranFondo route as you ride through the Lanark Highlands with Ontario’s best riding [endless rollers & grades pushing 14%] along twisting & winding roads passing more quaint towns, diving in and out of valley’s while taking in unbelievable scenery looping through McDonald’s Corners (FeedStation), then heads North to South Lavant Rd (FeedStation) before hitting a few short but challenging climbs into Tatlock & then rolling along into Clayton (FeedStation) before dropping in on Almonte (FeedStation) and across to Panmure and Carp (FeedStation) along more classic rural roads with golden windswept vistas on our way back to Silicon Valley North to enjoy the spoils of our efforts alongside fellow cyclists rehashing the day’s events talking about past and future trips and comparing notes on who was riding what and how fast.

 

 

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