Ottawa – Page 8 – OttawaVeloOutaouais

30 Days of Biking – Day 16 : Evening errands from Chinatown to Westboro

I had a bunch of errands to take care of at the corner of Richmond and McRae in Westboro, all do-able by bike. First, a visit to Bushtakah situated on the north/east corner, where good service and reasonable prices on bike stuff can be found. I had to exchange some tire levers. On the south/west corner I stopped in to the Canadian Superstore for groceries, and on the south/west corner there’s an LCBO where I purchased a nice bottle of wine to go with supper. So, lot’s of good excuses to bike over to this active intersection, for the 16th instalment of 30 Days of Biking !

The route I followed there and back corresponds to the one described in more detail in this post, EXCEPT for one adjustment. Sometime in the history of Ottawa’s planning it was decided that all roads crossing Wellington between Huron and Island park Drive should be off set. On my original route I suggest crossing at the traffic light at Caroline and Wellington, which is still quite practical, but requires that you walk your bike 100 yards or so east to get to the light. On this post I suggest crossing Wellington at the lights located at Western Ave and cutting through the parking lot of the garage to get to Mayfair Ave on the opposite side of Wellington.

View across Wellington from lights at Western Ave to Mayfair Ave — view across Wellington from lights at Western Ave to Mayfair Ave

At the end of Western you can get dip down a short incline to get on the bike path that runs along Byron.

With my panniers all loaded up I followed the same route originally posted on the way back. With all the talk about spring flooding I was apprehensive about riding along the river, but was pleasantly surprised that the water has not covered the path as it did last year. The ice breakup on the river is quite beautiful.

Et voila.

30 Days of Biking – Day 14 : A short ride to pay the taxman, and another to learn how to fix brakes

Today I managed to squeeze in a couple of short bike errands, thus maintaining my 30 Days of Biking pledge. The first was a quick morning ride to the government drop box on Laurier. The second was an even quicker evening ride to Re-Cycles on Bronson to attend a bike fixing workshop.

There is a drop of box for federal tax stuff at 333 Laurier. That’s very convenient if you are biking along the Laurier Bike Lane. Also saves you the cost of postage.

In the evening I rode a few blocks south to Re-Cycles. Re-Cycles is a win-win sort of bike shop for those who want to learn how to fix their own bike. For a minimal hourly fee you can go in and, using their tools and the timely advice of a head mechanic, fix your bike. I’ve done so on numerous occaisions, and it’s been great. Another way to do it is go in and volunteer on fix-it nights. The time spent volunteering can be redeemed for personal use free of charge. They also have group workshops on fixing specific parts of the bike to prep you for when you go in to volunteer, as well as teach you how a bike works. Tonight I went to my first one, which was on brakes.

Re-cycles is located very close to the dangerous intersection at Bronson and Gladstone. That’s why I rode a block further south to Arlington and circled back along Bronson. I recommend avoiding Bronson altogether and arriving via Percy and McLeod. Red line’s how I rode home.

Among the many tid-bits of great info gleaned from tonights workshop was the importance of having cable cutters like these in your tool chest.

30 Days of Biking – Day 13 : Chinatown to the Coliseum

My son is a trooper. After yesterday’s 10 km loop around town I was worried it would take quite an effort to convince him to join me on a ride over to Hog’s Back Falls. Not only was he keen, he suggested we ride even further out towards Britannia Bay to a favorite store of his called Games Workshop. It recently relocated to a mini-mall beside the Coliseum Cinemas. So, for day 13 of 30 Days of Biking we saddled up and headed off!

Usually we would have ridden west along the Ottawa River Pathway starting at the Portage Bridge, but with rumours of river banks flooding, and memories of how much the path was inundated last Spring I decided to cut through Hintonburg to the bike lane along Scott. Traffic is usually less frantic on the weekend, and I didn’t want to push my luck on the distance my son could ride as it’s a more direct route than riding along the Ottawa River pathway. At the western end of Scott we followed the path along the transit-way that joins the path along the south side of the parkway. This section of bike path was fine, apart for just a few muddy puddles like so.

I did notice some cyclists riding along the path on the north side of the driveway, so when we arrived at the intersection west of Woodroffe I made the executive decision to take the parkway underpass and continue along the north side. It was great. The views of the melting ice on the river are quite spectacular.

There was only one slushy patch around Mud Lake, but otherwise the path was very rideable.

We accessed Carling from Burland St, which was a bit of a mistake. We should have done so one block west at Kempster where there is a traffic light. On the ride home I was reminded of how windy it can get along the river, particularly in the spring when there are no leaves to dampen the wind. It was really strong, but still the boy braved on. On the way back we also noticed patches of trees with the bottom portions of the bark freshly chewed off. Hope they survive.

So, all in all, a fine outing indeed. I am very proud of my lad.

30 Days of Biking – Day 12 : 10 km loop along O-Train path, Rideau Canal, and Laurier Bike Lane

A fine day for a ride on day 12 of 30 Days of Biking! Here’s the route my son and I followed on this sunny Saturday.

Took the stairs that join the upper and lower sections of Primrose Avenue, then wove our way over to the O-Trian path behind City Centre.

The O-Train path is in great shape, apart for a patch of ice under the Somerset bridge and muddiness where the path isn’t paved between Beech and Prince of Wales.

The path along the Canal was filled with folks jogging, strolling or biking. Years ago I passed a man walking his elephant in this spot just east of Dow’s Lake. I kid you not! This was back when the Ex was held at Landsdowne Park. It was a hot day so the trainer was taking the elephant for a swim in Dow’s Lake.

Once downtown we turned off the path and rode through Confederation Park to get to the Laurier Bike Lane. My son made a quick stop into Fandom II, and I dropped off some library books before continuing along the Laurier Bike Lane. Before the lanes were installed I would never have let my son bike down Laurier. A fine example of how bike infrastructure is good for business.

30 Days of Biking – Day 11 : West, North, South & East from Chinatown

Day 11 of 30 Days of Biking saw me riding all over the map. Blue lines are the routes that got me to where I was going, red lines are slight alterations to get me home.

First foray was westwardly to deal with a domestic emergency – no TP in the house! Off to Giant Tiger on Wellington. Probably could have gone to the Indian Store on the corner, but I’m also on the lookout for a 15″ sphere as part a set I’m designing, so I checked out what GT had in stock. No luck, but TP was acquired!

Next direction: North to Les ateliers du Théâtre de l’Île in Gatineau for a production meeting on said mentioned set.

Next: South. Technically, it wasn’t a ride, but it did involve bikes. My son and I walked a couple of my old frames with bits attached to donate to Re-Cycles on Bronson.

Couple of old reliables off to find another home.

Finally: East when I rushed to City Hall to attend an evening presentation on urban critters. I was rushing because I took longer than I had hoped to replace my front studded tire for the studless one that came with the bike. Yes folks, a sure sign that Spring has officially sprung!

30 Days of Biking – Day 10 : Riding to the Canadian Museum of History

For day 10 of 30 Days of Biking Carla and I rode to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau. On the way back I scoped out the snowiness of the Voyageurs Pathway between the museum and the Portage Bridge along the Ottawa River.

To get to the museum we rode over Portage Bridge and along Rue Laurier on the north side of the museum (blue line on the above map).

On the way back I got on the Voyageurs Path along the river (red line), which is cleared….

Oooh goodie - no snow! — Oooh goodie – no snow!

… until just west of the museum, where you will encounter this pile of mush, then patches of slushy ice beyond.
BUT, I predict, it will be all gone by the weekend. UPDATE – Spring 2018: This section of the Voyageurs Pathway is closed until at least the Fall of 2018 as the NCC has not finished repairing the damages caused by last Spring’s flooding.

Pile of mush..... and icy patch. — Pile of mush….. and icy patch.

I took a peek under the Portage Bridge on the Quebec side and am pleased to confirm that it is good to go, apart from this little bit of slush, but it’s manageable and minutes away from disappearing.

No such luck for the path under the bridge on the Ontario side. It’s still mucky and filled with broken glass under the bridge.

Et voila!

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.

Et voila!

30 Days of Biking – Day 5: Chinatown to Westboro

A group called Westboro Beach On the Move organised an afternoon series of biking events, so on this the 5th instalment of 30 Days of Biking I took the opportunity to ride over and check it out!

From Chinatown I rode over to Armstrong in the manner desctibed in this post. I crossed Parkdale Avenue at the traffic light. I then turned north onto Hamilton where Orange Gallery is located.

Turned left onto Spencer St and continued west, taking advantage of the traffic light to cross busy Holland Ave., then right onto Carleton to get to the traffic light at Scott. I then continued westwardly on the bike lane that runs alongside Scott.

Scott ends at Churchill. I veered left on Churchill to Madison Avenue where the event was taking place. It was great – there was an OC Transpo bus to show how to mount my bike on it’s Rack and Roll stand. Great to have a dry run. Gave me confidence to give it a try for real! The OC Transpo driver was very helpful.

I had hoped to take advantage of their free tune-ups but hadn’t reserved a spot. I did manage to participate in a muscle stretching workshop, where we were shown a great bunch of exercises to limber up and help prepare muscles important for riding.

‘Twas a fine outing.

30 Days of Biking – Day 4: Off to see some ordered destruction

The huge Sir John Carling Building located on the edge of the Experimental Farm is being demolished, and they are being very meticulous about it. Various materials are sorted into piles of debris in what was once a vast parking lot. It’s all visually stunning, so early on day 4 of my 30 Days of Biking adventure I biked over there and took photos.

Update – July 13, 2014: The Sir John Carling Building came tumbling down early this morning in spectacular fashion in a controlled explosion.

I followed the route described in this post in reverse with one minor change. Rather than ride diagonally across Commissioners Park from Booth and Carling to the corner of Preston and the Queen Elizabeth Driveway over a packed path, which is presently mush, I cut straight over to the Queen Elizabeth Driveway from Booth along a cleared path. Didn’t know they plowed this link. Then I followed the Recreational Pathway along Dows Lake to Preston & Queen Elizabeth.

Path from Booth&Carling to Dow's Lake — Path from Booth&Carling to Dow’s Lake

Sir John Carling Building, or at least what’s left of it, is located a short ways up Prince of Wales Drive.

Et voila!

Winter ride to Champlain Park to see the ‘Trees as Witness to History’ outdoor exhibit

The neighbourhood of Champlain Park, located just west of Tunney’s Pasture, is home to some of the oldest forest born trees in Ottawa, including a number of magnificent bur oaks that are more than 200 years old. A recently installed interpretive exhibit on the exterior wall of the Champlain Park field house, titled ‘Trees as Witness to History’, displays a section of one Champlain Oak that grew along Northwestern Ave up until 2011. I highly recommend riding by and checking it out.

Here’s a winter ride to get there from Chinatown. Once beyond the Somerset bridge over the O-train tracks, the route weaves it’s way along quiet residential streets.

Clicking on this link takes you to a map showing the location of surviving trees from the bur oak forest in and around Champlain Park.