Cyclo-tourists reputed by Canadian hosts to be "toity" divas

[Nick H.]

News from Nova Scotia. Apparently "catering to cyclists has been compared to providing for the backstage demands of a pop-music diva". Hmmm. Are we a pain in the arse? Sometimes I've had opposition to my insistence on keeping my bike in the room.

Cycle-Tourists: Not the toity consumer group they’re made out to be. With fall around the corner, cycling clubs around the province are organizing some spectacular rides highlighting the best this region has to offer. Whether it’s climbing the Highlands on the Cabot Trail, casually rolling and perhaps sampling wine along the pristine Harvest Moon trail in the Annapolis Valley, or checking out some of the most authentic fishing villages along the Rum Runners Trail, Nova Scotia is establishing itself as a hidden gem in the cycling world. The Guardian Newspaper for example has awarded the Cabot Trail among it’s top three cycling destinations in the world in 2018. Exit surveys also indicate that 84% of people that visited Nova Scotia report the province to be excellent or above average as a cycling destination.

So how can local businesses and workplaces attract more revenue from cycle-tourists visiting the region? This year, Bicycle Nova Scotia’s Bike Friendly Business program has been helping businesses do just that: highlight establishments that are able to cater to the needs of cyclists and help entrepreneurs newly interested in attracting this demographic. The benefits are clear. With high education and income levels, cyclists are willing to pay more for accommodations restaurants, shops and attractions where they feel not only accepted, but supported.

As an organization, in 2018 Bicycle Nova Scotia has heard from touring groups from Maine and New York looking for unique Maritime experiences. This aligns with data that notes Americans still rank cycling as the top two to four most participated activities. Paired with the differential between the Canadian and US dollar, businesses can work with Nova Scotia’s iconic towns and villages to lure Americans, and Europeans to the region. It’s not rocket science or reinventing the wheel. The needs you had as a teen rider or young adult cyclist are still some of the more productive measures businesses can take to attract cyclists. Accomodations have to be comfortable with the idea of providing secure or in-room overnight parking for individuals or groups that are touring. Shops and services ought to be open to extending Maritime hospitality to cyclists looking for access to cold water and clean washrooms. Attractions can do their part by providing ample places for riders to rest up during longer tours. A picnic table or bench in the shade is all it takes.

For whatever reason, catering to cyclists has been compared to providing for the backstage demands of a pop-music diva. It’s time for businesses to get over that assertion and look at touring cyclists as any other patron at their establishment: someone looking for a safe place to rest, a great place to eat, and somewhere that showcases the rich history that Nova Scotia has to offer. There are resources out there that can help you, and the Bike Friendly Business program offered by Bicycle Nova Scotia is one way we can help!

Bicycle Nova Scotia (BNS) is the province’s administrating body for competitive cycling and advocates for improving the profile and safety of cycling, both in a competitive and noncompetitive capacity. Along with our community partners, BNS is a leader in expanding the Nova Scotia Blue Route: a continuous network of designated bicycle routes on roads, streets and trails spanning the province to encourage local riders to explore what Nova Scotia has to offer, and to attract more cycle tourism to our great province.

[perpetual dan]

In some ways our needs are different to a car based tourist. Portion control is rarely welcome for a start. I don’t expect to take my bike to my room, but do want it to be somewhere safe - which involves more than a patch of tarmac.

I’m also quite aware that at the end of the day I’m often a bit grubby, trying to manage four bags and two bottles and so try to make an effort to be considerate. Does that come over needy?

[mzjo]

They seem to have a mainly USAnian clientele. Perhaps Trumpista are more complicated than "normal" human beings, although I am sure that doesn't go for the majority from south of the 49th parallel.

[Peat]

I think it just comes an inability to comprehend what someone else values.

In my youth, before my cycling days, my folks used to run a B&B, mainly hosting travelling businessmen in the week and ramblers at the weekends. I remember easily offended mother scoffing about a couple of touring cyclists who 'turned their noses up' at the open-sided, leaky roofed shed that my much neglected bicycle lived, that was offered as somewhere to put their bikes. We lived on a farm, so they asked if it would be possible to keep them in another, dry & locked, building instead.

Having toured, I now totally understand the anxiety of finding somewhere safe to put your, when on tour, most valuable possession.

[Pickled Onion]

Yes, indeed. Most places I stay are incredibly helpful, I think I'm a fairly undemanding guest but somewhere safe to store the bike is essential. It may look like a toy made out of gas pipes and held together with rubber bands but the replacement cost would be a couple of orders of magnitude more than it looks. The loss of it would basically end the holiday and make getting home incredibly complicated.

There have been a couple of remote places where the owners have seen this attitude as a sleight on the trustworthiness of the locals "just leave it there it'll still be there in the morning!" I'm 99.9% sure it would have been, but does that make me a diva or just risk-averse?

[quixoticgeek]

Yes, indeed. Most places I stay are incredibly helpful, I think I'm a fairly undemanding guest but somewhere safe to store the bike is essential. It may look like a toy made out of gas pipes and held together with rubber bands but the replacement cost would be a couple of orders of magnitude more than it looks. The loss of it would basically end the holiday and make getting home incredibly complicated.

Agreed.

There have been a couple of remote places where the owners have seen this attitude as a sleight on the trustworthiness of the locals "just leave it there it'll still be there in the morning!" I'm 99.9% sure it would have been, but does that make me a diva or just risk-averse?

Often the argument of "But I've got a load of food in the bags, I'd like to keep it away from animals" works (used this to allow my bike to go into the room with me, rather than be in the barn with the mice).

I had one hotel where they allowed me to put the bike in a luggage room give me strange looks when I put the lock on the bike, "but it's safe in here" "my insurance requires it be locked when I'm not near it" "ah ok".

I'd hope I'm not a diva about my bike when travelling, but I do find that my what I look for in a hotel doesn't seem to match with what modern hotel designers think is a good design... I'd like a power socket next to the bed, that doesn't turn off if I leave the room (so I can leave stuff charging while I goto the bar), or doesn't turn off when the light goes out (one rider on TABR had this last year, nothing charged over night once he turned the light out!), A sink with a functioning plug (so I can wash my shorts), a radiator or at least a heated towel rail (so I can dry said shorts). A lot of modern hotels seem to think air based heating is the ideal solution, where as I'd rather a nice radiator I can dry my stuff on... Oh, and not cycle touring specific but it seems modern hotel fashion is for 26 lights in the room, each controlled by a non obvious switch, or switch combination...

J

[ElyDave]

Take a travel plug with you, or use your shorts to bung the hole enough.

I've had no issues asking for somewhere safe, only one request to "please don't ock it to that pipe, it's the soil pipe and it's a bit fragile, DAMHIKT".  That was on Islay where i was 100% certain it would have been safe if not locked up (unlikely anyone could ride it more than 100yds), but as with QG, the insurance requires locking.

[mattc]

Regarding heated towel rails (, lack of heat therein):

Yes, this has annoyed me on many trips! It's especially common in UK hotels to have a rail that is clearly FITTED with heating but there's no way to turn it on  (is it a timer? Have they disabled them for "green" reasons? Do they all break down 3 weeks after installation??)

[Tyrolean hotels only turn on their drying rooms in the ski season  ]

Still, you can sympathise - most guests don't wash their clothes in their room, and encouraging it would lead to damp patches and ensuing problems, I guess.

meanwhile, in Germany last year, my well-bred travel guide/wheelman convinced me that good air-con is actually better at drying shorts overnight than hanging them somewhere warm. So there's a silver lining here somewhere.

(every trip I've made to Europe has seen me hang shorts on the balcony* rail outside, resulting in a 3am thunderstorm  )

*this is usually the communal walkway rail, but anyway ...

[Phil W]

In mountain huts any drying room usually has a dehumidifier in there.  Much better than heat for getting your stuff dry.

[MartinC]

.......... I'd like a power socket next to the bed, that doesn't turn off if I leave the room (so I can leave stuff charging while I goto the bar)..................

Most (but not all) devices that switch on the power when you put the key card in it are worked optically so any card placed in it will put the lights and power on.

[DaveReading]

Most (but not all) devices that switch on the power when you put the key card in it are worked optically so any card placed in it will put the lights and power on.

There was a rash of articles in most of the dailies about a year ago with this astounding discovery.  I think, by the way, that these devices tend to be mechanical (you can usually feel a bit of resistance when you insert the card) rather than optical.

I'll try next time with my transparent credit card and report back.   

[mattc]

9/10 thread for useful advice this. My next trip will be with a transparent credit-card, mainly joining up mountain huts 

Travel far, my fellow toity divas!

[ElyDave]

A small piece of cardboard also usually works, I think I've even used a business card successfully.

[Mrs Pingu]

A small piece of cardboard also usually works, I think I've even used a business card successfully.

I've torn up the folded card that the key card comes in and used that successfully.