Lifelong Cyclists Lead Cycle the Erie Canal

This is a continuation in a series of articles highlighting some of the talented individuals helping guide our Cycle the Hudson Valley and Cycle the Erie Canal bike tours in 2024. Without the dedicated support of guides, volunteers, riders, and staff, our fully-supported tours wouldn’t be half as magical–or anticipated–as they are.

Paul Kingsbury and Lori Liskovec are lifelong cyclists from Elmira NY. They're also no strangers to the bike industry and tourism worlds: Paul has owned a bike shop for more than four decades, and both Paul and Lori bring backgrounds as bike tour managers and guides, having worked on two wheels all over the U.S.. While they are well-traveled, their first and true love is cycling in New York State… especially along the Erie Canalway Trail.

While their shared love of the Erie Canalway Trail makes them shoe-ins for helping to lead this year’s CTEC, it is certainly not their only bona fides!

Paul and Lori have headed up the Bike Mechanic Team for Cycle the Erie Canal (CTEC) for over 10 years now, and are well-known to many of our returning riders and volunteers as the key “fix it” team. When Al (of April and Al) decided to retire from leading Cycle the Erie Canal, with April retiring shortly after, Paul and Lori were ready for the call to jump in in an expanded role of support for their beloved tour. It was Lori and Paul's love for the riders, communities, and most of all the wonderful family of volunteers, that spurred them on to step up and take on the BIG task of helping to organize a successful and fun 2024 CTEC. Their excitement at keeping this much-loved, fully-supported tour the flagship community event it is known to be is palpable!

But they’re not just focused on maintenance. From a new block party in Empire State Trail Town Rome to our favorite historians rejoining the ride, Paul and Lori are committed to building on what makes CTEC the tour that our riders coming back, year-after-year. Without a doubt, Paul and Lori know every inch of the way from Buffalo to Albany! But don’t take our word for it–register today and experience the magic of Cycle the Erie Canal for yourself!

Cycle the Erie Canal (July 7- 14th!) is PTNY’s signature 8-day, 400-mile, fully-supported annual cycling event, now in its 26th year! We hope you’ll join Paul, Lori, and the rest of the PTNY Team for Cycle the Erie Canal this year. Learn more at https://www.ptny.org/cycle-the-erie-canal