30Days of Biking – Day 9: Chinatown to the Sandy Hill Community Centre

Every Wednesday night there’s a life drawing workshop at the Sandy Hill Community Centre. When I have time to go I bike there, as I did today on day 9 of 30 Days of Biking! The blue line on the map below is the route I took to get there, red line’s the slight deviation I followed to get back.

Here’s how I manage to carry my trusty easel, paper, brushes and assorted media (gouache, Caran d’ache aquarelles and pencils).

How to carry a folded up three legged easel and other painting paraphernalia

I rode down the Laurier Bike Path, cut through the square in front of City Hall, down Cartier then Somerset, over the Rideau Canal bike/pedestrian bridge, then across Colonel By Drive at the cross walk and up through Ottawa University. The only tricky spot with the easel sticking up the top of my back pack is through the transitway underpass on the east side of the canal up to Ottawa U. Just have to make sure I remember to lean forward a bit.

On the other side of the transitway the path wiggles up a switch back to Somerset St E. I continued straight on Somerset St E across King Edward. The Community Centre is just a couple of blocks down Somerest E on the right.
It’s best to access the community centre from the parking lot off of Sweetland. That’s close to where the life drawing workshop is held, and there’s a bike rack. Not my favorite kind of bike rack mind you, as it relies on your wheel versus your frame to stay up, but a bike rack none-the-less.