Author: ottawavelo

Today I had to drop off an eight foot long clear plastic tube to Les Ateliers du Théâtre de l’Île in Gatineau, to be incorporated into a set I designed. A section of path I usually take to get there is still covered in snow, as I learnt from Jambes-Folles, an intrepid local rider who has also taken the 30 Days of Biking pledge. So I followed her Tweeted advice on a safe alternate route. Merci Jambes-Folles!

Blue line shows the route that got me to Les Ateliers. Curiosity got the best of me, so I took the snowy route back, i.e, the red line, that takes you under the bridge.

How does one carry an eight foot long plastic tube on a bike? I strap long light items such as this to the side of my big red camping back pack. This technique works for cross country skiis and painting easels as well. The only precaution is to avoid low hanging branches and distracted drivers mouthing,’What the..!’.

And away we go, down the Laurier bike lane as far as Bay Street, then north along the Bay St bike lane to Wellington where the path rolls over Portage Bridge. The bike counter installed last year by the NCC is on but the display is stuck at zero. Fear not – according to Jambes-Folles the machine is still tallying the number of riders crossing the bridge on this site she forwarded to me.

On the Gatineau side, just before reaching the Rue Laurier intersection, I usually dip right onto the Voyageurs Pathway which you can follow under the bridge, but that’s where it’s snowed in, so, On J-F’s advice, I crossed at the lights and followed this path on the south side of Rue Laurier heading West until it joined the Voyageurs Pathway further on. This alternate path gets a little narrow for a very short section closer to where it joins the Voyageur Pathway, so should you come across a pedestrian along that stretch, walking your bike would be a safe bet.

I normally ride up Rue Eddy but I discovered it’s closed at Rue Wellington due to construction, so I rode up Leduc instead, which is a better option anyway, as it’s a quieter street.

Les Ateliers, which you can read more about on this post, is located at the corner of Rue Garneau and Leduc.

Tube delivered, time to head home. There are lots of squat temporary stop signs like this throughout downtown Gatineau these days to watch out for.

I had a bit of extra time so I chose to test out the path under the bridge. It is indeed icy, mushy and difficult to ride along. Should be good in a week or so if the warm weather keeps up.

Once back on the Ottawa side of the bridge I decided to check out the snowiness of the Ottawa River Pathway. It was worse. Coupled with the shattered bottles strewn all over under the bridge I recommend waiting until most of the snow has melted and the glass all swept up.

Part of the goal of my blogging throughout the 30 Days of Biking was to recommend safe routes to go about daily tasks in the region. On the way back I instinctively rode up Nanny Goat Hill along Bronson. This is not a safe thing to do, particularly at the corner of Bronson and Slater where cars roar up the hill, sometimes clipping the edge of the sidewalk. If you go this way I suggest pushing your bike along the sidewalk on the east side of Bronson. An even safer alternative, as suggested by the green line on the above map, would be to ride on the bike path along Albert to Empress St. At the end of Empress there is a set of stairs with bike ramps to push your bike up, as described in this ramp tour post.

Et voila, mission accomplie!

Hockey season is over, so this afternoon my son and I rode to Old Ottawa South and dropped off his team jerseys to be re-used by another player next season. This is the second time in my 30 Days of Biking adventures that I’ve pedaled to Old Ottawa South. The first was on day 3, however this time we followed a slightly longer route that avoids the not-so-safe Bank St bridge over the canal. Here’s how.

First we biked to and through the Experimental Farm, as described in this post, and crossed the Rideau Canal at the Hartwell Locks.

We cut through the Carleton University Campus, where we noticed this self serve bike repair stand against the wall of the School of Architecture. Good idea.

We then pedalled across Brewer Park along paths to Ottawa South, dropped off the jerseys, then followed the same route to get home as per my previous day 3 outing. A fine day for a bicycle ride.

Today I rode to the Ottawa South Community Centre to fill out a spring registration. Could have done so online, but I needed a task which included getting in the saddle for day three of the 30 Days of Biking challenge!

Starting from the Chinatown Arch at Cambridge and Somerset, you could ride east along Somerset to the bike path along Percy, but crossing Bronson at Somerset is harrowing for cyclists and pedestrians alike. Modalmom recommended crossing Bronson at Arlington, as it has become a much safer and quieter place to cross since a traffic light was added to this intersection. I tested it out, and the theory proved true.

I rode along Arlington to Percy and followed the bike path under the Queensway. The path ends on the other side, but Percy’s still a safe street to ride along through the Glebe to Fifth Avenue. From Fifth I wiggled my way along residential streets as shown on the above map to the corner of Wilton and Bank. Now this route to get to the Ottawa South Community Centre would be perfect, if not for the Bank Street bridge over the Rideau Canal. Cars love to fly over this old pont, making for a tense traverse.

The Ottawa South Community Centre is housed in an old fire station.Built in 1921 on Sunnyside Avenue, it was designed by W.F. Noffke in the Spanish Colonial Style. The inside has recently been completely renovated into a slick contemporary looking facility. The person who served me at the front desk was very very helpful. Success!

The route home (in red on the map) is a couple of kilometers longer than the one I took to get there, but avoids having to cross the Bank St Bridge. I continued down Sunnyside and made my way to Echo Drive. Echo runs parallel to the canal, just above Colonel By Drive. It is a quiet street, popular with cyclists, pedestrians and joggers.

I crossed the parkway at Clegg Street to the Rideau Canal Pathway.

After riding up and over the pedestrian/bike bridge at Somerset I continued along the path that runs on the north side of the canal. To avoid riding along Laurier between the canal and Elgin I cut through Confederation Park to where the Laurier Bike Lane starts on the west side of Elgin. From there it was smooth sailing all the way home. Ta-da!

A quick look at a map will tell you the most direct route from Chinatown to Hintonburg is straight down Somerset and Wellington St West. However there are a few nasty spots along that artery. Here, as travelled today on day two of my 30 Days of Biking pledge, are my preferred routes there and back.

One of the many reasons living in Chinatown is so great is the wonderful selection of produce stores and restaurants. There is also a lot of quick turnover street parking along the stretch between Bronson and Preston, and not much room on the road to share with traffic, lest a door on a parked car swing open. I am very vigilant when I approach parked cars. I check to see if there is anyone sitting in the passenger seat, making sure there is sufficient time to stop, just in case. School of hard knocks. I’ve been doored. It sucks. Once beyond Preston there is reprieve with a recently introduced bike lane on the bridge over the train tracks. Unfortunately the bike lane ends on the other side of the bridge like so.

From then on Somerset/Wellington West becomes very narrow, busy and dangerous, with lots of on street parking. I avoid it all by taking this short flight of steps, immediately to the right of the sign shown in the above photo.

I then ride along quiet Breezehill Ave, cross Bayview Road, and turn right on Garland to Armstrong. Armstrong is a great east/west street that runs parallel to crazy Wellington. Nice and calm.

I turn onto McCormick St to get to the Royal Bank on Wellington. This takes you past Right Bike, the wonderful bike sharing group, whose headquarters happen to be on McCormick.

My route back is indicated in red on the above map. Garland is a one way heading north for cars, but there is a lane for cyclists heading south. There is also a new LCBO at the corner of Garland and Somerset, which I took advantage of and popped in to buy a bottle of wine to have with supper!

one of the most treacherous spots along Somerset is the south west corner at Preston St, as so vividly described in this bloggers post. For some reason, perhaps because of the extra turning lane at this corner, drivers become goofy dangerous and impatient to turn south onto Preston. When riding home with my kids from Devonshire school on Breezehill I would avoid the corner by turning right onto the Public Works laneway, that turns into a mini underpass below Somerset through to City Centre. The underpass is quite narrow so extra caution is required to make sure no cars are coming the other way.

I then take a combination of quiet streets, as indicated on the above map, over to Primrose. There’s a pedestrian light to get you across busy Booth St. Now the minor hick with this solution to avoiding the corner of Somerset&Preston is having to carry your bike up this set of stairs. If you’ve ever lived in a second or third floor apartment this should be easy-peasy.

At the top of the stairs there is a lane that takes you up to where Primrose continues.

Ta-da!

30 Days of Biking is a great big borderless global event whereby participants pledge to cycle every day throughout the month of April. With this years pledge I’m going to try and scope out safe bike routes around town to run errands.

This morning my daughter rushed off to school without her lunch, setting up my first of 30 Days of Biking adventures – mid day meal delivery to Lisgar Collegiate!

To get to the school I rode along Nepean Street, a quiet one way heading east, as indicated by the blue line on the attached map. But first I had to bike along Bronson for a short distance to get from where Primrose ends to where Nepean Street begins. Bronson is four lanes with cars and trucks rushing north/south. If you cross just as the light at Primrose and Bronson turn green, you should have enough time to ride the short distance along Bronson to Nepean St before the light switches. If this is at all nerve wracking, pushing your bike along the sidewalk in front of the Bronson Centre works too.

Nepean St is truncated just east of Percy St, but you can ride through the elementary school parking lot and down a short lane way to rejoin Nepean St a block over at Bay. Stay left of the chain that is sometimes strung across the lane way.

Nepean St is narrow and filled with speed bumps which keeps traffic safe and civilized. Continue all the way down Nepean to and across Elgin St. On the other side of Elgin St there’s a path you can follow right to the eastern side of City Hall. Turn right when you reach the wall with the big Ottawa logo and continue along the path over to Lisgar Street.

Turn left on Lisgar and ride to the end where you’ll arrive at the school. What a fabulous heritage building. Last spring it was one of the Doors Open Ottawa tours, which I highly recommend if it is on the list for this years event.

Lunch box delivered, I headed back along Lisgar Street which is a narrow one way heading west with traffic calming speed bumps similar to Nepean Street. Ride down Lisgar all the way to Bronson. Once at Bronson I usually dismount and walk the few yards north along the sidewalk to the traffic light which takes you back across to Primrose. Et voila!

This winter I wanted to figure out a safe early morning bike loop. Here’s what I came up with.

Our tour starts at the Chinatown arch, corner of Somerset and Cambridge Street North.

Riding through the winter includes experiencing lots of varied surface conditions – ie, slushy, icy, snowy, dry, etc. The sweetest surface for an early morning ride (6 a.m.’ish) is after a light overnight snowfall with an accumulation of an inch or two, preceded by a few days of dry weather. At that hour the snow plows haven’t done their rounds on side streets, making for a heavenly ride.

The tour joins the Laurier Bike Lane at it’s western end. By 6 am the city usually has it cleared and salted.

The bike lane ends at Elgin, replaced with sharrows painted on the edge of Laurier Street. The usefulness of sharrows are questionable in the best of conditions. In the winter these ones are often covered in snow, forcing cyclists into traffic at this terrible corner, so if there’s any traffic I suggest walking your bike half a block to the plaza in front of City Hall and ride along the path to Cartier St on the other side of City Hall. (UPDATE Sept 2014 – the Laurier bike lane has been extended between Elgin and the bridge over the canal. Here’s hoping it will be plowed. Stay tuned!).

Continue along Cartier St to Somerset St. Turn left on Somerset and cross the pedestrian/bike bridge over the canal. Get on the path along the canal and head south away from downtown. The NCC does a great job clearing the paths on either side of the canal. They had yet to get to them in time for this outing, but a light accumulation over a dry surface is just the way I like it.

Push your bike over the canal locks at Carleton University.

Cross Prince of Wales and ride through the Experimental Farm down to Prince of Wales and Preston Street.

To avoid riding along Preston Street and Carling Avenue, cut through the park along the path north of Dow’s lake to Booth street. This path isn’t cleared but it is so well trodden that it is usually rideable. Worst case you may have to dismount and push your bike to Carling and Booth. Ride along Booth St and turn up Arlington just after going under the Queensway. Continue along side streets to Cambridge.

For a longer ride you can continue on the cleared path on the north side of the canal, as suggested by the red line on the map.

Et voila! Hopefully the city and NCC will expand on snow clearing initiatives along existing paths, such as the Laurier Bike Lane and Rideau Canal Pathways, for more safe and wonderful riding in winters to come.