Biking to Ikea and Lee Valley From Centretown

I rode out to Ikea and Lee Valley to pick up some items for this summer’s production of Shakespeare’s  The Tempest, being performed by A Company of Fools. I designed the set. It opens next week and will be performed in parks around the city throughout the summer. Check out their show calendar to see when there is a performance in a park near you! 

This bike route is an update to one originally posted in the summer of 2012. I followed the Ottawa River Pathway and the Pinecrest Creek Pathway as far as Iris Street on the way there, and then the Experimental Farm Pathway back. A lovely loop.

The overall route hasn’t changed much over the last ten years, however the ongoing construction of the LRT extension heading west along the SJAM Parkway, and then south along the transit way, has resulted in a dog’s breakfast of mini-detours along the Pinecrest Creek Pathway. The detours aren’t too drastic, just very zig-zaggy and choppy. I hope the bike infrastructure will be the same as before, or better, once all construction is completed. Until then, I anticipate this messy bit will remain for a couple of years to come.

Love these service pavilions at Westboro Beach, designed by architect James Strutt. They remind me of Don Quixote’s windmills.  Check out other bike tours that visit buildings Strutt designed around the region by clicking here.

The Ottawa River Pathway isn’t being drastically affected by the construction. If you like construction sites, look left. If you like majestic rivers, look right.

This is the type of choppy detour you may expect to find along the Pinecrest Creek Pathway.

Heading back along the Experimental Farm Pathway, just east of Woodroffe Avenue, they are installing what seems to be a huge reservoir. Looking forward to see what becomes of that.

So there you go. Happy trails!