Ottawa – Page 10 – OttawaVeloOutaouais

GCTC Bike-a-Thon

Founded in 1975, the Great Canadian Theatre Company is Ottawa’s longest established independent English professional theatre company. I and a group of fellow GCTC board members with the help of theatre staff, are organising the first annual GCTC Bike-a-Thon to raise funds to go towards mounting upcoming productions. It all takes place early in the morning on Sunday, September 15th.

This Spring I test rode the following route with Eric Coates, GCTC’s new Artistic Director AND avid cyclist. I recently re-visited the route to celebrate the recent launch of our fundraising website and to blab about it in this blog!

It’s a participaction / distance achievement type of bike-a-thon i.e. not a race. Very laid back. In keeping with the bee icon on the cover of next season’s program and posters, all the riders are encouraged to wear whatever yellow and black combo’s they can pull from their wardrobe. Rumour has it some may even sport wings and antenna. The Bike-a-Thon will start from the Irving Greenberg Theatre located at the corner of Holland and Wellington St W, home of the GCTC.

We will ride east on Wellington and head north on Parkdale to where it joins the Ottawa River Pathway.

Where Parkdale meets the Ottawa River Pathway

Continuing east along the pathway we will be treated to such wonderful sights as this…

… and this, where the path follows the edge of the river and continues behind Parliament Hill.

We will leave the Ottawa River and climb up beside the Rideau Canal locks between Parliament Hill and the Chateau Laurier.

After passing under Sapper’s Bridge…

… we will pull up to our good friends at the National Arts Centre.

Once we’ve paused long enough for everyone to catch their breath after the climb up from the river, we will continue along the Rideau Canal where one is treated to glorious views such as this.

The path circles around Dows Lake and weaves its way through the Arboretum.

Path on the other side of Dows Lake — Around Dows Lake

One more short climb up beside the locks across from Carleton University before our route takes us through the Experimental Farm.

A section of the route that runs parallel to Fisher wanders through a stand of tall majestic trees like so.

The route then crosses Carling and follows the bike lanes along Island Park Drive, like so.

A few blocks east along Byron Avenue.

Then one block north along Holland, and voila! – We arrive at the finish line back at the GCTC.

So dear friends, bikers, and readers, if any of you may be interested in helping fund the great art created at the GCTC, as well as indirectly promote biking as a wonderful activity within our area, please visit the Bike-a-Thon site and follow the instructions.

Happy trails!

Chunks of Old Buildings – round 2

Last November I posted a tour of various architectural ruins that have been selectively placed throughout the city. Since then I’ve discovered a few others so I came up with this second route which I tested out this morning.

First stop on the tour is this sculpture titled Enfin le soleil, located in the Gatineau community of Jardins Taché. It is a piece commemorating a legal struggle in the 1970’s pitting the Association des propriétaires des Jardins Taché against the development of a high-rise that was constructed despite not meeting zoning requirements. The Association des propriétaires persevered and the building was demolished. Two sections of reinforced concrete were recuperated from the demolition and incorporated into this piece.

Second stop is a short distance down river just off the Sentier des Voyageurs. They are steel pipes from an EB Eddy facility, recovered in 1977 during construction of a nearby park and arranged within the landscape as reminders of the area’s industrial past.

Third stop is Strathcona’s Folly, a play structure created in 1992 by artist Stephen Brathwaite, located in Strathcona Park along the Rideau River. It incorporates architectural details from a number of heritage buildings throughout Ottawa, as described on a bronze plaque mounted within the piece.

And finally, this Gothic Revivalist detail sits on the grass behind the Confederation Building, just to the west of Parliament Hill. There used to be a few others lying about with gargoyle motifs but I didn’t notice them on this occasion.

So there you have it – a few more strategically placed architectural remains commemorating the past within our ever changing built environments.

First Nations – Part II

On January 2nd I described a tour of various locations and monuments within the National Capital Region that are of particular significance or reference to the First Nations. Since then I have learnt of a few others, including one that eluded me on the first tour – the bronze sculpture of an Anishinabe Scout. Here is the route I followed to visit these additional locations.

First stop, 299 Montreal Road where stands the recently completed Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health, designed by architect Douglas Cardinal who also designed the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau.

Second stop is the sculpture of the Anishinabe Scout at the northern tip of Majors Hill Park, tucked behind the small heritage stone building. The first image also shows the statue of Champlain in the distance up on Nepean Point. The sculpture was originally installed at the base of the plinth upon which Champlain stands but was relocated to its present site in 1996 at the request of Ovide Mercredi, former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. UPDATE: December 2018 – Just discovered a very good mini-doc on the history of this sculpture.

My final stop was along the Ottawa River Pathway, just east of Island Park Drive where this recently installed circular arrangement of stones is located. It is titled the Kitchissippi Medecine Wheel and is the work a fellow named Tim. UPDATE – Summer 2015: The installation is no longer there, but it’s still a great spot to visit, overlooking the Ottawa River.

This description of the piece is mounted to a wooden post just to the right of the wheel.

Bike commute to Briargreen

Briargreen is a small community within Nepean built in the 1960’s which has been described as a ‘snapshot’ of mid-century architecture in Ottawa. Those who live there are fortunate to have two fabulous bike commute routes into town that are almost entirely along bike paths. Here they are. The blue line is the route I followed from Centretown to get there. Purple line is the alternate route.

Blue route first – Centretown to Briargreen. Cutting through the Experimental Farm is a bit tricky these days while they are doing construction work along Cow Lane, so I followed the pathway along the NCC Scenic Driveway, then turned onto the gravel path through the small section of woods that runs parallel to Fisher. UPDATE Summer 2014: The path along Cow Lane is all fixed up (see red line on map) which permits avoiding riding along the speediest section of the NCC Scenic Drive.

This brings you to the Experimental Farm Pathway which is presently being dug up as well just east of Fisher Avenue, but fear not. You can follow this very well trodden path on the right to Fisher.

Cross Fisher to Kent Street and weave your way to Kingston St. There is a path where Kingston crosses Hollington Ave that gets you back on to the Experimental Farm Pathway. One thing I love about this and many other sections of the recreational paths is how they look onto people’s backyards where the landscaping tends to be more relaxed and personal, like this garden being guarded by an interesting scarecrow.

Follow the Experimental Farm Pathway until Woodroffe Avenue, and cross to where it becomes the Pinecrest Creek Pathway. Follow along until you come to a turn off that takes you across the bus transitway. Take this turnoff.

Now things get a little tricky just south of Baseline Road where the path jogs around an OC Transpo parking lot. This jog in the path is confusing because it opens up to a huge parking lot with no directional signs to help you distinguish what is parking vs road vs sidewalk vs pathway. While trying to figure this out I noticed most folks don’t bother with this mini detour and just ride infront of the bus parking rather than go around, as shown here and indicated by the short pink line on the above map (zoom in).

You can go that-away.... or that-away! — You can go that-away…. or that-away!

If you do take the path, versus cutting in front of the OC Transpo parking, the photo below shows where it turns once beyond the bus parking.

Direction of path around Baseline bus stop — Direction of path south of the Baseline bus stop

Continue along the path until you come to this turn off which will bring you to Summerwalk Place Lane.

Weave your way to Centrepoint Drive, and cross over to Marble Arch Crescent. Follow Marble Arch Crescent until it elbows south. There on the right you will notice this short path link which will takes you right through to Briargreen!

Path link from Marble Arch Crescent into Briarcliffe

Here’s a well preserved mid-century modern dwelling that caught my eye.

Mid century modern in Briarcliffe — Mid century modern in Briargreen

The alternative bike commute (purple line) turns north along Watsons Creek Pathway where it joins the Ottawa River Pathway. It’s slightly longer but very scenic with fewer roads to cross. If you are gonig downtown continue along the Ottawa River Pathway. If you are coming into town via the blue line route continue along the pathway that runs along the canal from Dow’s Lake.

On that note, if anyone requires info on a safe bike commute from, or to any specific location within Ottawa or Gatineau please text me below and I would be pleased to try and help out.

Happy commuting!

Biking to Acorn Creek Garden Farm to Pick Strawberries

Every year we head over to Acorn Creek Garden Farm for some strawberry picking. This year I biked there and met up with Carla and the kids who drove. Here is the route I followed.

It’s a relatively flat 30 km ride almost entirely along recreational pathways BUT I recommend doing so early on a Saturday or Sunday morning, as things get a little tricky riding through parts of Kanata and along Richardson Side Road.

I headed out along the Ottawa River Pathway and followed it all the way to Carling Avenue at the beginning of Andrew Haydon Park.

Where to turn off the Ottawa River Pathway

I got off the Ottawa River Pathway at this spot by turning left across Carling and onto Watts Creek Pathway. The path gets a little convoluted where it reaches Holly Acres Road. I crossed Holly Acres Road and rode down Aero Drive for a short distance to where Watts Creek Pathway continues to the left, like so.

Path ends at Holly Acres......... and continues down Aero Drive — Path ends at Holly Acres……… and continues down Aero Drive

I continued along Watts Creek Pathway to where it crosses Corkstown Road. On the other side of Corkstown Road the path becomes gravel. There is also a directional sign suggesting you bike along Corkstown Road. I prefer the gravel path, however it can get a bit mucky during rainy weather especially where the path reaches Moodie Drive. On this occasion I should have followed the road.

Path meets Corkstown Road....... and puddle along gravel path where I got my soaker — Path meets Corkstown Road……. and puddle along gravel path where I got my soaker

I crossed Moodie, and got back on Watts Creek Pathway.

Where the apth continues on the other side of Moodie — Where the path continues on the other side of Moodie

Further along there is a turn off with a sign pointing to Carling Avenue. I ignored it and continued under this train bridge.

There is another fork in the road further along with a sign pointing towards March Road. I ignored it as well and stayed right to continue through this tunnel under March Road.

Watts Creek Pathway, which is maintained by the NCC, ends on the other side of this tunnel at Petrie Lane. I crossed Petrie Lane and followed this path for a bit.

There are very few directional signs throughout this part of Kanata. I assume they were originally developed by the local community whose residents were in little need of directional signs. As such you pretty much have to go on instinct to find your way around the area. For example the path I found myself on splits off in many directions. I took the middle path indicated by the big white arrow on the photo below.

This brought me to Teron Road which has a bike lane.

I followed Teron Road south to Campeau Drive. It too has bike lanes, but they disappear a hundred yards before and after each intersection. There is a paved path running along Campeau Drive as well. I’ve heard say that paved paths can be interpreted as multi-use paths, so take your pick.

Bike lane along Campeau Drive........... intersections not included. — Bike lane along Campeau Drive……….. intersections not included.

I found myself deep in Car Land – those buffer zones surrounding most North American cities where one rarely sees a human outside a vehicule, other than transferring from their parked car to whatever building they drove to, however bike lanes such as these encourage a more diverse mix of users that are good for local business.

I followed Campeau Drive to Terry Fox Drive. I turned right onto Terry Fox Drive, which has nice generous bike lanes like so.

Terry Fox Drive Bike Lane, intersections included!

I turned left onto Richardson Side Road and followed it for around 2 km’s to Old Creek Road. Richardson Side Road is a straight two laner with packed gravel shoulders. I felt safe riding on the road at 10 am Saturday morning. Cars slowed down and gave me lots of room as they passed. I suppose those in a hurry take the Queensway that runs parallel to Richardson Road just half a kilometre south. However there must be some speeders to warrant a stop sign this big.

I tested out the gravel shoulder which wasn’t too bad if you don’t feel comfortable biking on the road. I would have felt comfortable doing so as the distance along Richardson Road is only for 2 kilometres. I do suggest biking out early on a weekend morning. That way you are sure to avoid most, if not all traffic along this narrow side road. Acorn Creek Farm opens little after 8am.

Road vs gravel shoulder (Bravo generous driver!)

I turned onto Oak Creek Road which was fine – hardly any traffic at all.

Truth be told, by the time I pulled into the farm parking lot Carla and the kids had finished picking and purchasing all the strawberries we needed. The kids thought that was very funny. If you are planning on heading out to pick strawberries bring good bug spray, and wear long sleeves and pants. There were swarms of mosquitoes this year because of all the rain. Wear rubber boots too. This year the pick-your-own patch is about a kilometer walk into the field. But it’s worth it – the strawberries are very yummy.

Biking to Trailer Pork Boys from Centretown

UPDATE 2017: It seems Trailer Pork Boys has been closed since 2014, but I’ll leave this post up for nostalgia, or for anyone needing directions for a destination within the same area.

Now why, you may ask, why would I suggest a bike route to a food truck located in a big parking lot at the very busy traffic corner of Carling and Merivale? Well I probably never would have, until I read on Twittersphere how one of the Trailer Pork Boys caught someone on a stolen bike belonging to one of his buddies at Tall Tree Cycles. I’m fond of Tall Tree after they gave me great advice on a bike for my daughter and my Brooks saddle, but I was most impressed with the bike salvaging heroics displayed by the quick thinking Pork Boy. But the clincher were these great reviews on Foodies. Now I REALLY had a hankerin’ fer a pulled pork sandwich! But how to bike there safely from Centretown? Well, here’s how. Blue line’s how I got there, orange line was my ride back.

The route there is a bit circuitous, but pulled pork sandwich is a meal you have to earn! Follow the O-Train bike path to Prince of Wales Drive, then cut through the parking lot in front of this rapidly disappearing big Sir John Carling Building They are in the process of tearing it down. UPDATE 2017: They blew up the building and ripped up the parking lot, but there’s a desire line path short cut through the grass you can take in place.

The short cut avoiding Prince of Wales to the National Capital Commission Scenic Driveway goes past the historic William Saunders building and the Experimental Farm heritage greenhouses.

William Saunders Building and Greenhouses

There is a bike path with lots of shady trees running along the NCC Scenic Driveway, starting just beyond the big red barn.

Big Red Barn............... and Shady Path — Big Red Barn………………………….and Shady Path

Cross Fisher Avenue and weave your way through quiet residential streets as shown on the map, which will bring you to Merivale Road right across the street from our destination, the Trailer Pork Boys!

I arrived just before they open at 11:30. There were a couple of people ahead of me, so I had time to relax a bit at one of their parasol’d pic-nic tables and take in the scenery, such as this elegant old Ottawa Hydro-Electric Sub Station no. 3 across Carling Avenue, juxtaposed beside the hyper functional electro wire and truss infrastructure.

And this is the pulled pork sandwich I had for lunch. Very yummy indeed. You will need to take advantage of the roll of paper towels provided at the pic nic table. The pulled pork poutine looked very scrumptious too but I’d have to come up with a much longer bike route to earn one of those.

Another more direct route to the Trailer Pork Boys, as indicated by the orange line on the map, is mostly the way recommended by our pulled-pork-chef-and-swiped-bike-spotter par excellence, which he rides to work from his home in Hintonburg.

There is a bike lane along Merivale north of Carling, but it disappears just before going under the Queensway, so rather than stick to Merivale I cut through the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Hospital parking lot. A few curbs to hop if you do. Tricky call. I would probably continue along Merivale, as our biker-chef most likely does, if the traffic was light. Either way will take you to Island Park Drive.

Merivale bike lane disapearing as it goes under the Queensway

I’ve always felt comfortable riding on the bike lanes along Island Park Drive regardless of the time of day.

Island Park eventually crosses the bike path along Byron which I followed home in the manner described in this post.

So, I highly recommend the Trailer Pork Boys for their great food AND their love of bikes!

Biking to the Westboro Superstore from Centretown

Centretowners are blessed with a multitude of fine grocery stores where they can purchase all sorts of unique yummy stuff, be it homemade dumplings on Somerset, or stuffed sausages on Preston. But many Centretowners also need to get to a store that sells the staples at reasonable prices. The Real Canadian Superstore in Westboro is the closest, but it can be a nerve wracking bike ride to get there, especially during regular shopping hours. Instinct would suggest riding down Wellington St W, which turns into Richmond Rd. It is the oldest westwardly street in the region, retaining it’s narrow layout, lined with heritage buildings and historical anecdotes. But over time it has morphed from a human scale promenade to a car traffic, not-very-bike-friendly, ‘artery’. Most surrounding streets have much fewer cars and more room to safely bike along. Here are two suggested bike friendly routes that weave their way through such less travelled vehicular veins, one I take to get there (in orange), the other I follow to get back to Centretown (in blue).

Assuming all Centretown biker’s have discovered their favorite way to get to the O-train bike path, this route starts along the path at the base of the long incline on the south side of the Somerset bridge.

Head on up the incline to Somerset, cross the street, ride along the bike lane over the bridge, and take this mini-flight of stairs (bike trough included) down to Breezehill Ave N on the north side of the bridge, right beside Takaki’s.

Mini stairs with ramp at Somerset and Takaki's — Mini stairs with ramp at Somerset and Takaki’s

You can avoid Somerset/Wellington by weaving your way to Armstrong St, as shown on the map. (n.b. If you choose to return along this route there is a bike lane along the short stretch of Garland St which is otherwise a one way heading north). Big bonus to this route is you get to go right past Parkdale Market and pick up any farmer fresh produce that might be on your shopping list.

You’re going to eventually have to cross Wellington. I suggest you do so at Caroline and Wellington. It isn’t a direct crossing, as per the photo below, so walk your bike all of 10 yards or so to the lights.

On the other side of Wellington you will find yourself on Harmer Avenue. Continue along Harmer to Byron, then follow the paved path that runs along Byron. This is one of the most civilized paths in Ottawa, accommodating a harmonious mix of bikers, dog walkers, kids walking/biking to school, etc.

From this path you can pop right through to the Superstore parking lot and weave your way to the bike racks at the western corner of the store on Richmond.

Et voila!

Now, how do you get all of THIS back to Centretown?!

Chaque à son gout (big back pack; trailer; cargo bike; etc), but I recommend expandable panniers like these ones. They are also excellent for touring. And buy your milk at the Shoppers Drug Mart at Bank along the Laurier bike lane. Cheaper, and avoids those heavy milk bags taking up valuable pannier real estate.

OK, alternative route #2 – heading home.

Cross Richmond Rd (which was Wellington further East) at Kirkwood.

At the end of Kirkwood take this path link to W. Village Private. Assume W. Village is the name of a distinguished Canadian soldier and carry right on through.

Cross busy Scott to Lanark Ave.

Lanark eventually veers West, which isn’t where you want to go, so hop the sidewalk over to Latchford Road, like so. Fear not, the sidewalk is ramped on both sides.

Weave you way easterly along quiet streets shown on the map until you reach Carleton Ave. Head north along the link to the Ottawa River Pathway. Here’s the elegant Parkway underpass that gets you to the river.

Follow the Ottawa River Pathway all the way to the turn off to the O-Train path, and head on home. Whoda thunk grocery shopping could be so much fun?

Bike Ride to Stony Swamp to View the Incredible Remains of Last Summer’s Forest Fire

On two previous occasions I’ve tried to check out the remains of last summer’s Stony Swamp forest fire, as described here and here, but was denied access to the site. So when Pedro suggested we ride out there Sunday morning I thought OK, let’s try again! Well man-oh-man it was definitely worth it. Here’s how it went.

Blue line is how we got there. Orange line is the route home.

On my previous trips to the swamp I headed out along the Ottawa River Pathway, but this time we scouted out a route through the Experimental Farm, and made it all the way, mostly along paths, without ever having to ride along a busy road. The trickiest part was figuring out how to get from the end of the Experimental Farm Pathway at Woodroffe to Stony Swamp. It helped that Pedro almost grew up in the area during his teen years. Here he is in front of the house he lived in on Hobart Crescent.

Pedro in his old 'hood — Pedro in his old ‘hood

OK, straight to the site of the forest fire. It was mind blowing. Check it out.

The path from the pond through the area affected by the fire is covered in this mulch, which requires extra energy to bike through, although it shouldn’t take too long before it’s all packed down.

We chose to head home along the Ottawa River, taking advantage of NCC’s Sunday Bike Days to ride on the parkway devoid of vehicles.

Pedro taught me about drafting. Mostly me behind him. Now he’s a much stronger rider than I, so we kept up a pace that was challenging but didn’t leave me exhausted. Nor did he make me feel like I was holding him back. It was a whole lot of fun. I highly recommend everyone get themselves a bike buddy like Pedro.

Andrew King’s Tee Tour

Local guy Andrew King has put out two clever series of t-shirts with screen prints borrowing from some Ottawa sign graphics from yesteryear. Here’s a tour with images of the signs that still exist from his first series of tees.

First stop, Jules Patry, as seen from the Somerset Bridge over the O-Train tracks. It’s on the southern facing wall of the City Centre building. On his web page Andrew acknowledges the tongue-in-cheek typo on his shirt, Pastry vs Patry, because most folks do mistakenly think it reads as Pastry, or Party. EDIT 2017 – The Jules Patry sign is long gone.

Speaking of City Centre, There used to be big distinct channel letters on the hi-rise part of the building, but they’ve been removed! Fortunately they are depicted on another one of Andrew’s t-shirts from the same series.

Stop #2 – West Park Bowling on Somerset near Holland Ave. Great sign, great bowling alley.

Next stop – Civic Pharmacy on Carling. Love it.

And finally, the Elphin. Hope they replace his foot.

Andrew’s t-shirt designs help remind us how these and other great heritage signs are to be cherished, and how much they contribute to the city’s character.

Bruce Garner – A bicycle tour of his sculptures, Part 2

After posting my first bike tour of Bruce Garner’s sculptures in and around downtown Ottawa, his wife Tamaya got in touch and generously forwarded me locations of a number of other pieces throughout Ottawa I didn’t know of, or didn’t realise were his creations. Pleased as punch, I subsequently put together this second tour.

First stop – Children of the Wind, tucked off of Wellington across the street from the Library and Archives Canada building.

The next two are in Lowertown. To get there I rode along the Voyageur Pathway on the Quebec side.

Phoenix is located on the lawn of a private home at 152 St Patrick St.

Succor is located a few blocks north at the entrance to the Elizabeth Bruyère Centre.

Next stop – Ulysses, in the courtyard of the University of Ottawa Arts building. A majestic grouping of figures in a wonderful setting. This has become my favorite of Bruce’s sculptures.

The final sculpture on the tour is Play Pals, located in Brewer Park.

There is also a sculpture Tamaya mentioned located downtown in the World Exchange Plaza, titled Moon Fragments, which I did not include on the tour as it is indoors, however I have marked its location on the map below, along with all of Bruce’s sculptures from tours 1 and 2, for those who may wish to plot a bike or walking tour of their own.{“type”:”block”,”srcClientIds”:[“5373212b-4257-4464-a624-cf1336ce3ca9″],”srcRootClientId”:””}

UPDATE – July 2018: While biking through Barrhaven I discovered this work by Bruce, located on the south-west corner of Malvern Drive and Greenbank Road. I’ve added it to the map below.

UPDATE – March 2021: Here is another wonderful sculpture by Bruce from 1975 located in Ambleside Park, as noted by Tania Garner-Tomas in the comments. Thank you Tania! I’ve added it’s location to the map below.

Thank you Bruce.