Ottawa – Page 14 – OttawaVeloOutaouais

Bike Ride to Vanier for brunch at Fontenelle!

The blue line is my ride before lunch. Red line is post feast.

After reading this delicious review of the Vanier Snack Shack, Carla suggested we meet there for lunch after my son’s Sunday practice at nearby Grandmaître arena. I got there first, but it was CLOSED! ‘Let’s go to Fontenelle then.” she suggested after I told her the sad news. “Fonte-where?” you ask, as did I. Well folks, if you’ve never been, you are in for a big-brunch treat. Extremely friendly, tasty generous helpings, and very reasonably priced. Click here to read what the Ottawa Breakfast Club has to say about this fine old fashioned diner. UPDATE July 2016: The original owners have sold the restaurant after 60 years of operation. The breakfast menu is still pretty much the same, however the interior has been completely renovated to a more modern look.

Oof – time to earn that feast! So I headed east on Montreal Road to check out some uncharted streets. First, a visit to the small area called Fairhaven which Urbsite describes as, “… a woodsy enclave of the early 1950s where Ottawa’s most progressive architects had designed modern houses for themselves.”. Great time of year to check them out, as the trees that camouflage these low-rise modernist dwellings are now leafless.

While following a little path starting at the corner of Lang’s Road and Greenhill Way I happened upon what I think is an old quarry.

I then biked through this newer development on the other side of Montreal Road.

I also cut across La Cité Collegiale campus before meandering through Vanier on the way home.

PS – While trying to find more info on Fairhaven I discovered this blog – ‘Mid-Century Modern Ottawa. A celebration of Mid-Century Modern (MCM) residential design in Ottawa‘. It’s like being in a candy store.

Brewer Park, The Rideau River Nature Trail, Innes Road, and the Ottawa River Pathway

A long ride yesterday, first to Brewer Park Arena where my son had a morning game. The route I followed to get there goes around Dow’s Lake, through the Arboretum, over the canal at the locks across from Carleton University, and through the campus, without having to travel along absolutely awful Bronson.

At Dow’s Lake stands this giant fellow with two hats raised in greeting. This is the Netherlands Canada Liberation Monument. His twin is standing in Apeldoom, Holland, hats raised as well. They do so in commemoration of the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers in the liberation of the Netherlands in WWII.

After the game (win!) I headed off to the Home Depot on Cyrville Road in search of the perfect plywood, as described in my previous post. I biked over to the Rideau River and rolled along the path that hugs its north shore.

The path morphs into the wonderful Rideau River Nature Trail just beyond Smyth Road. Most of the trail is dirt path, with interpretive panels interspersed along the way.

Rideau River Trail — Rideau River Nature Trail

The trail goes as far as the Transitway bridge which includes a bike path across the river.

To get to the other side of the 417 I would recommend the route I’ve hi-lited in red, versus the one I continued along in blue, and here’s why.

This is the shared pathway along Innes starting at St Laurent Boulevard.

At Windmill Lane, just before crossing over the 417, the bike path turns into this….

Just beyond the 417 East off-ramp, the bridge over the highway looks like this….

In desperation pedestrians and bicyclists alike must have forged the precarious dirt path hugging the guard rail to avoid being hit by speeding traffic flying along Innes. This madness continues until just beyond the 417 West off-ramp, where the bike lane picks up again.

The route I recommend, hi-lited in red, takes you to the Cyrville Road bridge over the 417. No bike lane, but the traffic is slightly calmer and there are no off-ramps to contend with. That said, getting across the 417 by bike in this area is dangerous no matter how you slice it.

After finding what I was after at Home Depot I continued east along the Innes bike lane, and happened upon the Detention Centre that has recently been in the news. Guards and staff have been accused of not properly attending to a woman in custody while she was giving birth, as described in this article.

I eventually headed north along the Greenbelt Pathway, re-visiting fields that just a short while ago were abloom with wild flowers. “Come back… come back again next year….”, whispered the wind as it blew through the tall dry grass. No wait. Sorry, it just went, “swoosh… swoosh… swoosh….”. Very beautiful none-the-less.

Blowing grass — Wind blowing through the tall dry grass

The Greenbelt Pathway ends at the Ottawa River Pathway which I followed all the way to Rockcliffe.

There’s been construction along the Rockliffe Parkway for quite some time but now they’ve introduced temporary bike lanes through the construction zone which I took advantage of. UPDATE– April 2015: The new bike lane along the Parkway has been finished for awhile and it is very nice,

Temporary bike path along Rockliffe Parkway

Hello November.

Carlingwood Mall via Crestview

Last Wednesday night I attended the Citizens For Safe Cycling AGM where Olivia Chow made a strong argument for truck sideguards. The keynote speaker Ralph Bueler presented loads of great facts and observations towards enhancing the presence of bicycling in urban communities. For example I learnt that the more bicyclists there are out there the safer it is for all of us. Strength in numbers. So here’s hoping that this blog encourages folks to travel and commute via pedal power, like those living in the neighbourhood of Crestview!

There were some streets in Crestview that I had yet to visit, so that’s where I headed Wednesday morning. The red line shows the route I followed to get there. The blue line is how I got home.

On the way there I biked through the Arboretum and along the canal which is in the process of being drained for the winter.

Hogs locks — Looking down the canal from the locks at Hogs Back

Here is a very accomplished mural located in General Burns Park I discovered en route.
UPDATE: Fall 2015 – Sadly the mural is no more. It’s been scraped down to a bare cinder block wall.

Crestview is a residential community with big old power lines cutting through north to south.

Consisting of mostly single detached dwellings, some of the houses date back to the mid 40’s. This one caught my eye. Even with recent vinyl siding, it has managed to maintain it’s mid-century modern look.

On the way back I stopped off at Value Village on the corner of Clyde and Baseline to find props for a play. The very kind woman at the cashier told me exactly where to find the one prop that was eluding me. “Carlingwood Mall! Just head down Clyde Avenue, which becomes Maitland, then turn up Carling and you’re there!”…… After thanking her I headed out to my bike and consulted my trusty map. Bicyclists unfortunately have to avoid Maitland and Carling if they can as they are filled with aggressive speeding cars. My map shows Clyde Avenue chopped in two just north of where I was. My instincts told me there must be a link accessible by bike that joins the two sections, so I decided to try my luck.

Clyde ends where it meets the Experimental Farm Pathway, however there is this little dirt trail that continues north, veering off to the right.

Making my way carefully along this muddy path I happened upon… an old ski tow?

The path opened onto a hill which must indeed have been a ski hill in the not too distant past.

I made my way down and joined the northern section of Clyde Avenue. Looking south at this vertical cliff, I came to understand why Clyde was chopped in two.

Wove my way through residential streets north of Carling to the Carlingwood Mall, found what I needed, and pedalled home along our majestic Ottawa River.

To market, to market, Ottawa side. Home again, home again, Gatineau ride!

Perfect Fall afternoon for a leisurely ride, so Carla and I set off for the Byward Market with panniers ready to be filled.

canal — Great view of the Rideau Canal locks looking up from the Ottawa River

Behind the National Gallery sits this wonderfully playful sculpture called Majestic, yet it’s playfulness shields gloomier origins. All of the lamp posts that have been combined to create this piece originally illuminated various streets of New Orleans but were blown over by Hurricane Katrina.

After locking our bikes in the market, we shopped! Our goal was to buy sausages at Nicastro’s, but we also wound up getting yummy brussel sprouts, beets, and pie pumpkins from some of the various market stalls, such as the one in the photo below. Carla designed the Byward Market graphic identity and it’s various environmental graphics applications as seen on the lamp post and the seasonal banners up above, as well as all the street signs throughout the market area.

If you require visiting the facilities while meandering through the Market Mall, you will need to go upstairs, which will afford you great views of this wonderful sculpture by Victor Tolgesy.

We biked across the Alexandra Bridge and headed home along the Gatineau Side. Check out theses amazingly red leaved bushes along the edge of the Museum of Civilization.

Carla was very smart to have packed a thermos of tea, which we paused to share at this spot along the river.

I love this sculpture by Phyllis Kurtz Fine that sits on the edge of the path before arriving at the Portage Bridge. It stands proud but isn’t overpowering. It’s smooth curve and elongated slits with rounded ends soften the rawness of the rusting steel it is made of. A play of contrasts.

steel — Commentary, by Phyllis Kurtz Fine

UPDATE: April 2014 – Because this route requires riding along the section of Murray Street between Mackenzie and Parent which can get pretty frantic with traffic rushing over the Alexandra Bridge, I often prefer riding up through Major’s Hill Park and locking my bike to the fence at the top of the stairs that lead down to the market, as described in this post.

Ghost Bike Commemorating David Tyler Brown

I’ve been wanting to visit the ghost bike at the intersection of Innes and Bantree. That’s where David Tyler Brown died in a senseless accident in early September. I wanted to pay my respects, and try to shed a little light on how such a tragic accident could occur at this location. Yesterday I needed to go to the Home Depot in that neighbourhood, so I chose a route that brought me past his ghost bike.

I left from La Nouvèlle Scène on King Edward Avenue where a set I designed for the play Albertine en cinq temps was being installed.

At the corner of Innes and St Laurent I entered No Mans Land. I encountered only one other person not encased in a four-or-more wheeled vehicle – a guy walking along Innes who definitely looked like he wished he were somewhere else. Here’s what the intersection of Innes and Bantree looks like.

And here is the bike.

There is a very well written article here, which describes the bike and surrounding commemorative elements which touch upon the life of David Tyler Brown.

I chose a Sunday to ride out this way to avoid the trucks that own this landscape. Here is a panorama taken further down Bantree.

Unfortunately my iPhone ran out of juice after taking these images.

I’m a pretty confident biker, but riding through this area was scary, even on a Sunday. The lack of drainage along Sheffield Road created huge puddles that forced me to ride in the middle of the road. I hit a rut while turning my head to check for oncoming traffic at the top of Sheffield Road, which caused me to fall off my bike. I’m OK, just broke my rear light and bell. Stupid of me, really. Being so anxious about the road conditions contributed to my error. Effort is required to make this area safer for bicyclists, such as those who wish to commute by bike.

Needless to say, I was very relieved to get to the end of Walkley Road where I followed a gravel trail.

The route I would recommend taking to get to this area is the one I followed on the way back, hi-lited in green on the above map. Anderson Road and Innes Road on the East side of the 417 have bicycle lanes. Cyrville Road isn’t great, but it’s the safest way to get to the other side of the 417.

Regina Lane Mural

Some local communities are having success in addressing crime and safety issues through the creation of public art murals initiated by the Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre. One impressive work located down Regina Lane was unveiled in late September. House of PainT Festival of Urban Arts and Culture was involved. Yesterday morning I biked over and checked it out. Lots to take in. While in the area I also took the opportunity to cover a few yet-to-be-explored streets on the south side of Carling.

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Images of the mural in its early stages of creation can be found on this site.

And here is the completed work. I wound up having to shoot a bunch of pictures and splicing them together to create one cohesive image. Click on it a couple of times to zoom in and get a good view of the entire piece. I highly recommend heading over and taking a look.

On the way back I noticed that the channel of water just before the Mill restaurant has been emptied. At the bottom there is a smaller channel carved out of the rock, partially covered by old timbers which look like they’ve been there for a long time.

I believe this channel acts as a reservoir for No.2 Generating Station, which houses some of the oldest operating hydro-electric equipment in Canada.

I visited the station a couple of years ago during the annual Doors Open weekend in June and remember the phenomenal power of the water rushing through by the rotational velocity of the huge turbines and the very loud humming noise they create. This clip gives you an idea of what it looks like inside.

Barbara Ann Scott Arena

Carla was lying in bed early Monday morning reading the news on her iPhone.
“Oh my God!,” the tone of her voice snapped me out of my half sleep.
“What’s wrong?”, I asked.
“Barbara Ann Scott died!”.

Carla designed the Barbara Ann Scott Gallery exhibit in city hall that opened in August. In the process we came to appreciate how, as a young skater from Ottawa, this remarkable and gracious woman became such an admired national hero. The exhibit commemorates her achievements and has on display many of the awards and memorabilia she donated to the city, including her 1948 Olympic gold medal. (UPDATE -2018: After an extended run at City Hall the exhibit ended, however interpretive elements on the life and accomplishments of Barabara Ann Scott are now on displayed in the entrance foyer of the Barbara Ann Scott Arena)

There is an arena on Baseline Road named in her honour, so yesterday rode out from Centretown to find it.

After stopping off at Fabricland, I pedalled down Baseline Road towards the arena. There is a short section of bike lane just beyond Woodroffe, as well as a shared bus/bike lane along another stretch, but for the most part there’s not much room to manoeuvre between the curb and fast moving cars. The alternate line on the above map is the route I recommend taking to avoid Baseline.

All hockey parents know how to get to the Barbara Ann Scott Arena, but signage identifying it as such is hard to find. Here it is as seen from the sidewalk along Baseline.

The quiet residential streets surrounding the arena appear to have been developed in the fifties, with lots of big mature trees providing a colourful canopy of Fall leaves – a fine area to bike through at this time of year.

I’ve heard we northerners are more at peace with the cycle of life and its various stages; birth, growth, death, rebirth, because we experience the change of seasons in such strong contrast. Maybe, but the third stage still hurts.

R.I.P. B.A.S.

Almonte Farmers Market for some of Steve & Uta’s Yummy Bread

Want some great sourdough bread? Well then next Saturday head to Almonte’s Fartmers Market and grab a loaf or two from Steve & Uta. That’s what I did yesterday morning. The blue line shows how I got there.

Robertson Road and Hazeldean Road is mostly malls and burbs, so I suggest biking along the Trans Canada Trail from Bells Corners to the other end of Kanata, as I’ve hi-lited on the above map in purple. I did however stop in at Bushtakah in Kanata to buy some bike gloves.

Just before the bridge over the Trans Canada Highway, three deer ran beside me for about a hundred yards before turning away from the road. See those white bums in the distance? That’s them.

I biked along a combination of hard packed dirt and paved roads from the Hazeldean/Spruce Ridge intersection as far as March Road. This shot is a good indication of the surrounding scenery. LOTS of square timber houses along the way.

Happened upon this auction along Corkery Road. They seem to be quite popular in the countryside.

We all went to one in Perth earlier this summer for the first time. It was lots of fun. Scored a silky tiger striped pillow and a framed print for $2! Kept the pillow for the car and sold the frame at the Shanghai Restaurant garage sale…. but I digress.

March Road has a narrow shoulder and fast moving cars, so it might be a wiser choice to continue down Old Almonte Road and weave your way west along quieter streets to Almonte.

Here are Steve and Uta in action. Uta is a great artist who will be creating an installation at FieldWorks next year. She also created the incredible head dress China Doll wore in this years Pride Parade.

After purchasing two loaves and tucking them away in my panniers, I went for a stroll through beautiful Almonte. Here’s a sample of sites to take in.

post office — Old Post Office, circa 1891

There is a short picturesque walkway along the Mississippi River with lots of interpretive panels explaining the defining role it has played in the history of the town. Nice views too, like this.

Carla and the kids joined me at the market, we ate, toured, shopped and headed home. Fine ride, great destination, excellent bread!

Prince of Wales Drive During the Day

I often bike along Prince of Wales Drive on my early morning and weekend rides as it’s a convenient route to areas south of Ottawa. It has wide shoulders most of the way and the traffic is light at those times. Yesterday I went for a ride at noon to cover some short streets off of Prince of Wales between Hog’s Back and Hunt Club Road. Here’s how it went.

The painting within the tympanum over the garage of this house just south of the Hog’s Back intersection always attracts my attention whenever I go by, so this time I paused to take a closer look.

Decorated tympanum — Not your typical tympanum

The angel appears to be receiving a violin lesson from an older man. The black wings could be interpreted as a symbol of imperfection as he attempts to master his instrument. The woman embracing the sleeping infant adds to a theme of nurturing.

The first side street I biked down was Rideau Heights Drive. This blunt channel letter sign communicates loud and clearly to travellers heading into town along Prince of Wales. UPDATE Dec.6 – Someone has since changed the sign to a poor shadow of it’s former glory! ‘sniff’

Down the road beyond a whole mess of big new houses is this small campsite with lots of camping trailers.

Not much of a view looking north from the campsite towards a fuel company’s truck parking lot, but they did have this great old steel wheeled model parked out by the street.

Continuing along Prince of Wales, I turned up Hunt Club Road to check out Laser Street and Grudwara Road. Nothing of visual interest to report here, unless you’re a fan of giant inflatable ATV’s.

Heading back into town I ventured down Wellsmere Crescent, Stephanie Ave and Rideau Shore Crescent hoping to catch a glimpse of the Rideau River, but the view is blocked by houses like these.

So, would I recommend riding along this section of Prince of Wales? Early in the morning yes, otherwise no. It is bike-able, thanks to the generous shoulders along most of the way, but the traffic is really aggressive during the day. Lots of trucks too. Prince of Wales and Hunt Club came fifth in the rating of most dangerous intersections in the city last year with 30 accidents. Hunt Club and Riverside just over the bridge was the runaway champ with a whopping 53! UPDATE: Jan 2017 – Still the worst intersection according to the latest statistics – 60 crashes in 2015. Prince of Wales & Hunt Club also tied for 5th once again, up from 0 to 36 crashes.

Heatherington Neighbourhood via Fabricland

There are a few streets in the Heatherington neighbourhood I still hadn’t travelled down, so that’s where I biked to on Saturday morning. But first I had to go to the theatre for a meeting, and then to Fabricland on Walkley Road to buy a whole lot of canvas.

The Heatherington neighbourhood has seen troubled times, such as this guns and ammo seizure in August. However I have always felt very safe biking through the neighbourhood.

A lot of the houses are similar to these ones on Heatherington Avenue.

There’s this sprawling electric transformer depot.

And there are these great murals covering all four sides of a small service building in the centre of Fairlea Park.

There have also been successful community based initiatives to deal with problems in the area.

On the way home I discovered an unmarked path leading through Pleasant Park Woods off of Rhodes Crescent.

There are alot of trails throughout these woods I didn’t know existed. Can’t wait to check them out.