OttawaVeloOutaouais

Biking the K&P Trail from Barryvale to Flower Station

Back in 1871 during the glory days of Canadian railway building, a bunch of businessmen decided it was time to lay down some tracks starting from Kingston to gain access to lumber and mineral resources in the north. The plan was to go as far as Pembroke, thus the Kingston and Pembroke (K&P) Railway was born. Built between 1872 and 1883, it got as far as Renfrew for a total of 103 miles.

As the country’s reliance on railways fell into decline so did the K&P, eventually succumbing to stages of disuse and dismantlement between 1962 and 1986. Since then there have been a number of efforts to convert sections of the old railway bed into recreational trails. A popular multi-use path heads 15km north from Kingston. Another maintained section of the old railway extends south from Barryvale on Calabogie Lake, a portion of which I biked along over the Labour Day weekend. Here’s how it went.

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Barryvale was a flag stop named after the Barry family who lived here. It is now home to the Calabogie Highlands Golf Resort. There’s a sign on the edge of the trail that reads, ‘Fiddler’s Green. Off Roaders Welcomed‘. Fiddler’s Green is the resort’s restaurant. The Off Roaders being welcomed no doubt include cyclists, but, based on the majority trail users I encountered, it’s primarily targeted towards All Terrain Vehicule (ATV) enthusiasts and, in the winter, snowmobilers.

The trail also doubles as an access road to cottages, particularly along the section between Barryvale and Tatty Hill Road along Calabogie Lake.

The trail narrows slightly south of Tatty Hill Road and becomes a bit rougher, but nothing my regular hybrid bike couldn’t handle.

Typical width and condition of trail south of Tatty Hill Road

The trail meandered past hills and lakes without any noticeable inclines, as dictated by the needs of the original trains. Signs along the route mentioned logging trucks as another user of the trail, although I didn’t happen upon any over the course of my ride.

There was plenty of space on the trail to share with the ATV’s I occasionally encountered, however I would stop on the edge of the path and let them pass to allow the dust to settle before I carried on. I was always greeted with a friendly wave as they passed by.

I did happen upon a few other cyclists. The roughest sections of the trail were those that passed through swampy areas. I’m guessing, the stones have to be larger for draining purposes. All were bike-able except the last section before Flower Station where the fist sized rocks required that I dismount and push my bike a hundred meters or so. Mountain bikes could handle it. This was also, conveniently, the point where I had to turn around and head back.

Google Maps suggests the maintained path continues as far south as Wilbur.

So, overall I would say it was a fine ride. Excellent in terms of scenery. I have ridden another section of the K&P trail north of the 401 to Clarendon Station but it was in much rougher shape than the one described in this post.

For those interested in a bike route from Ottawa to Calabogie check out this post.

Et voila!

chuggachugga..CHOO CHOO!!...chuggachuggachugga... — chuggachugga..CHOO CHOO…chuggachuggachugga…

Bike commute from Aviation Parkway & Montreal Road to Downtown – Option 2

In the Spring of 2014 I posted a bike commute route from the intersection of Aviation Parkway & Montreal Road to downtown which you can check out by clicking here.

This summer two new lengths of bike lanes along busy roads have been introduced that allow for a less circuitous route. The first set of new lanes are along St Laurent Boulevard, linking previously existing bike lanes that run along Montreal Road and Hemlock Road, which turns into Beechwood Avenue.

UPDATE 2018 : Bike lanes have been added to the full length of Beechwood, indentified by the purple line on the map, which allows for a slightly less circuitous route than the one described below.

The second set of new lanes encountered on this outing are along Sussex Drive that complete an important bike link from downtown to the Ottawa River Pathway.

I tried out the route one morning last week during commute hour. Here’s how it went.

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There are bike lanes along Montreal Road that end at St Laurent Boulevard heading west.

DCIM100GOPRO — Bike lane along Montreal Road

I turned north on St Laurent and rode down the freshly painted bike lanes.

Here’s a clip of my ride along the new bike lane along St Laurent heading north.

I turned left onto Hemlock Road and followed the bike lane to where it ends at Putman Avenue.

Headed west along Putnam then left down Vaughan Street, both quiet residential streets through New Edinburgh.

Vaughan ends at Crichton Street. A short jog west along Crichton took me to a gravel path that links to the Rideau River Eastern Pathway.

Gravel path off Crichton that leads to.....the Rideau River Pathway — Gravel path off Crichton that leads to…..the Rideau River Eastern Pathway

This brings you to the bike lanes along Sussex Avenue. Turn left onto Sussex towards downtown.

I then turned in to the parking lane of the National Gallery and cut across the plaza where one can admire Louise Bourgeois’ sculpture Maman.

Here’s another clip, this time of the new section of bike lane along Sussex heading in to town.

I then crossed at the signalized pedestrian crosswalk over to the bike lanes that run along Majors Hill Park. Before crossing the Alexandra Bridge (which would be a fine thing to do if your commute was to Gatineau) I turned left onto the road that goes down to where the Rideau Canal meets the Ottawa River and walked my bike over the second set of locks. From there one can follow the Ottawa River Pathway to points further west along the river, or bike up along the canal towards the NAC and the rest of downtown.

Et voila!

Biking to Blue Skies Music Festival from Ottawa – Route #3

Blue Skies Music Festival is a wonderful three day event that takes place on the first weekend of August in Clarendon Station. For the third consecutive year I’ve biked down to the site, exploring different routes each time (click here for route #2, and click here for route #1). This year I cheated a bit on the way out of town. I’ve been wanting to try the OC Transpo Rack&Roll for quite some time, whereby you mount your bike on a rack attached to the front grill of the bus. So, at 5:25 a.m. I caught the 96 at Lebretton Flats and bussed it out to Kanata. I was nervous using the Rack&Roll for the first time however after studying an online video the night before, as well as following instructions printed on the rack itself, it was relieved to find it all very clear and straightforward.

The blue line on the following map is the route I rode to Blue Skies. The purple lines are alterations followed on the way back.

After the bus driver dropped me of at the Kanata Centrum Shopping Centre I rode along Terry Fox Drive which has bike lanes.

I turned west onto Richardson Side Road ~~– two narrow straightaways of crazy speeding truck traffic and soft gravel shoulders.~~

UPDATE – August 2018: Very pleased to discover that generous paved shoulders have been added along Richardson Side Road between Terry Fox Drive and David Manchester Road, narrowing to about 1 meter along the bridge over the Trans-Canada Highway.

Once across the bridge over the Trans-Canada Highway I was very pleased to turn off onto David Manchester Road.

I then headed west along Old Almonte Road, which alternated between packed gravel and paved surfacing. It was very pleasant ride all the way to Ramsay Concession 12.

Next time I would continue all the way along Almonte Road to Mississippi Mills, rather than via March Road, as suggested by the purple line on the above map which I followed on the way back from the festival.

I took the advice of a theatre colleague who lives in Almonte and popped in to Baker Bob’s just off Mill Street for a tasty snack & coffee.

Baker Bob's in Almonte — Baker Bob’s in Almonte

I headed west out of Almonte along Wolf Grove Road. This was a another extended white knuckle riding stretch of road, i.e. two lanes of fast moving traffic with minimal or no paved shoulder. I had to ride off onto the gravel shoulder a couple of times, like when the big ass Winnebego roared up behind me as a cement truck flew by in the opposite direction. On such occasions I use my trusted rear view mirror to assess what’s coming up fast, and whether they look like they have time and room to safely get around me.

I exited off Wolf Grove Road onto quiet Purdy Road.

The roads to Herrons Mills and the 511 were a combination of paved and gravel surfaces along farms and woodland.

North on 511 took me to Watson’s Corners Road, another paved two laner but with much less frantic traffic. Everyone slowed down as they drove up behind me and passed only when they were sure there was lots of room to do so. Why do driving behaviours change on various rural roads, even though their physical arrangements are similar? I don’t know.

Watson's Corners Road just west of the 511 — Watson’s Corners Road just west of the 511

I was soon in need of a big lunch break. The sun was beating down, the hills were mostly up hilly, and the strong easterly wind had been in my face for quite some time. Fortunately the Dalhousie Lake Restaurant down the road at the eastern edge of Dalhousie Lake was open and very hospitable. Even offered to fill my water bottle without my having to ask.

After a yummy lunch I worked my way over to McDonalds Corner Road and continued west. McDonalds Corner Road was another two laner which became the Elphin-Maberly Road. Parts of this section were freshly paved. The white stone gravel along the shoulder created a very dense surface, more so than most typical gravel or sand shoulders. The harder the shoulder, the safer the bail-out.

I turned off Elphin Maberly onto Robertsville Road, a packed gravel road that went up and down all the way to the 509.

I turned south onto the 509, which is another two lanes of very speedy intermittent traffic.

I made it to Clarendon Station by 2:45.

I followed the same route back to Ottawa early Monday morning, apart from a short cut to the 509 from Clarendon along School House Road, the short section along Old Almonte Road as previously mentioned, and the portion covered by my bus ride to Kanata. I made very good time on the return trip because the wind was at my back, and Ottawa is at a lower elevation by 162m, so mostly downhill.

Here’s a painting by artist Janet MacKay, inspired by an image I included in last years post. Many of Janet’s works draw upon and capture the rich contrasts evident in the landscape of Frontenac County where the festival takes place. She spends much of the year painting at her cottage nearby on Sharbot Lake.

Et voila!

Big moon over main stage — Big moon over Blue Skies main stage

Bike Loop Through Gatineau Park to Old Chelsea

This post was updated in Spring 2020 to include the bike lanes added to most of Chemin de la Mine between the Gatineau Park Pathway and Notch Road, as well as along Notch Road, in 2019.

The village of Old Chelsea is a popular destination for visitors to Gatineau Park. They have a great information centre, some short hiking trails, and a favourite ice cream parlour, amongst other amenities and attractions. The following is a loop starting from parking lot 3 (P3 on all the maps) at the southern end of the park that mostly follows the Gatineau Park Pathway towards Old Chelsea. On the way back the route goes along the Gatineau Parkway. A separate route from Ottawa to P3 can be found by clicking here.

Southern entrance to Gatineau Park at P3

I hopped onto the Gatineau Park Pathway at the northern end of P3 and followed it all the way to Chemin de la Mine. The pathway was a smooth pleasant ride with just a couple of small hills to climb.

I accessed Chemin de la Mine from the pathway and continued north.

Access to Chemin de la Mine from the Gatineau Park Pathway

The first 100 yards or so along Chemin de la Mine from the Pathway is a narrower paved shoulder but it becomes a bike lane like so.

Bike lane along Chemin de la Mine added in 2019

The bike lane disappears for a stretch just before it ends at Notch Road. I hope they add this missing section of bike lane as soon as possible.

Turn right onto the bike lane along Notch Road.

Notch road ends at Chemin de Kingsmere which has a fine semi-protected bike lane leading in to Old Chelsea.

A short distance north along Chemin Scott took me to La Cigale, popular for it’s yummy ice cream.

AND they have the funkiest go-hut around!

A short distance north sits the Gatineau Park Visitor Centre.

Within the visitor centre is a great little exhibit describing the park, but ask the front counter because it isn’t obvious when you walk in.

From the Visitor Info staff I discovered that on Saturday mornings the Gatineau Parkway is closed to vehicular traffic between Chemin de lac-Meech and Promenade Champlain. Not wanting to re-visit the road conditions along Notch Road and Chemin de la Mine, I chose this option, fully cognizant of the serious climb I was in for.

Meech Lake Road has a fine bike lane that led me to the Parkway.

I must say, nothing approaches heavenly biking than the Gatineau Parkway sans cars. Apart from the freedom of not worrying about getting run over, the Parkways surface is in spectacular condition. It isn’t cleared or salted in the winter, keeping it from becoming the bumpier roads we northerners accept as standard. I switched into low-low gear and floated up the steady incline.

Riding along the carless Gatineau Parkway

Traffic re-appeared where the parkway meets Promenade Champlain, however even drivers with lead feet gave ample space to the great number of cyclists along the parkway.

Cars passing cyclists along Gatineau Parkway

There is a nice resting spot at Pink Lake.

Then it’s down the long hill back to P3.

Et Voila!

On Sunday mornings the Gatineau Parkway starting from P3 is closed to traffic, as is Promenade Champlain.

Ride down Leitrim Road in memory of Andy Nevin

While cycling along Leitrim Road on the morning of Sunday June 28th, Andy Nevin was struck and killed by someone driving a white pick-up truck. The driver fled the scene of the collision and has yet to be apprehended. Andy was a father of two young boys. He was on his way to fix up a house his family were moving into just down the road from their previous home. Update – July 8 – 39 year old man arrested in hit & run death of Andy Nevin.

This past Sunday morning Patrick and I rode along Leitrim Road in an attempt to try to come to terms with this senselessness tragedy. For many there is an overwhelming feeling of apprehension that follow such horrible events. I know people who have given up riding after a friend or loved one was killed or injured while cycling, even though it remains one of the healthiest ways to get around. But when something like this occurs, facts and stats often seem meaningless.

This ride is in memory of Andy Nevin who should never have lost his life on that early Sunday morning.

Blue line is the route we followed to get there. Red is the stretch we rode along Leitrim Road. Purple line is how we got back.

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We joined Leitrim where it crosses Bowesville Road on the south side of the airport and headed east as far as Albion Road.

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Here’s our ride down Leitrim

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Most cars passed us at speeds well above the posted limits. Drivers seem to have a propensity to speed along popular commuter routes such as Leitrim. In such cases relying on signs alone to get drivers to maintain safe speeds is not effective. As Leitrim is a popular commuter route for drivers, so should it be made safe enough for who wish to do so by bike. Leitrim is also the only way to access the northern trailhead of the Osgoode Multi-Use Pathway.

Visiting the Strutt House by Bike

James Strutt was an Ottawa based Modernist architect and professor at Carleton University. He designed a number of local jewels, including the Trinity United Church, and the Westboro Beach pavilions. My sister was one of his students and has fond memories of how everyone loved his class because of the passion he had for his subject and the support he gave to all his undergraduates.

This summer I rode to the house he designed for his family along Chemin de la Montagne on the western edge of Gatineau Park, popularly known as The Strutt House. A day after my ride the National Capital Commission, in partnership with the Strutt Foundation, announced their intentions to preserve the building and have it open to visitors in time for Canada’s 150th birthday celebration in 2017.

UPDATE 2017: I re-visited the Strutt House with friends and was given a great tour by the Strutt Foundation. An account of that ride, and the huge improvements to accessing the site since this post, can be found here.

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This route begins on the Quebec side of the Portage Bridge and follows multi-use-paths all the way along the Ottawa River up through Gatineau Park as far as the info kiosk indicated by the red marker on the above map.

Multi-Use Path heading up through Gatineau Park

On Sunday morning the parkway is closed to motorized vehicles beyond this point. It’s in great condition for riding because they close the parkway in late fall, saving it from the freezing and thawing cycles that wreak havoc on all other roads plowed and salted throughout the winter.

After a healthy climb one arrives at the Notch Road overpass. There’s a short dirt path off to the right just before the overpass that I followed down to access Notch Road.

Path from the Gatineau Parkway down to Notch Road — Path from the Gatineau Parkway …. to Notch Road

Notch Road is a steep narrow incline down to Chemin de la Montagne.

Unfortunately Chemin de la Montagne is an unavoidable road with little or no shoulder room to ride along and lots of reckless speeding traffic.

A short distance along Chemin De la Montagne is a gravel driveway with a corrugated metal canopy structure off to the left.

Short driveway to the right off Chemin de la Montagne

A long set of wooden stairs to the right of this structure takes you up to The Strutt House.

The exterior of The house is in need of major restoration, so the recent announcement from the NCC and the Strutt Foundation to do just that is very timely. In the process of restoring this valuable work of architecture I hope efforts will be made to provide safe bike access to the site.

Bike Commute from Woodroffe & Carling to Kanata where Herzberg Road turns into Terry Fox Drive

Laura was asking about a bike commute route from the intersection of Woodroffe and Carling Avenues to approximately where Herzberg Road becomes Terry Fox Drive in Kanata. Here’s the route I tested.

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Carling & Woodroffe is a busy extended traffic intersection – not the most pleasant place to hang out on a bicycle, so I cut through the parking lot to the north to get to Woodland Ave.

And away we go! Arrow points across parking lot towards Woodland Ave

I then zig-zagged my way along quiet residential streets to the northern end of Edgeworth Avenue. There I crossed at the traffic lights to the north side of Richmond. Richmond is usually busy however there are bike lanes that run alongside where it goes up and over the SJAM Parkway.

Taking the bike lane along Richmond Road

I then turned north off Richmond onto Regina Lane.

Regina Lane is one way so the return trip would require crossing Richmond a block further west at the lights at Assaly Street, as suggested by the green line on the above map.

I then wove my way north-westerly along residential streets to a path just off Lincoln Heights Road that leads to the Ottawa River Pathway.

I followed the Ottawa River Pathway west all the way to the cross lights at Carling.

Crosswalk at Carling from Ottawa River Pathway to the start of Watts Creek Pathway — Crosswalk at Carling and the Ottawa River Pathway

On the opposite side of Carling the path becomes Watts Creek Pathway. There is another signalized crosswalk where the path meets Holly Acres Road.

Crosswalk at Watts Creek Pathway and Holly Acres Road

On the other side of Holly Acres I rode along Aero Drive for a hundred yards or so before continuing on Watts Creek pathway.

Watts Creek Pathway continuing a short distance along Aero Drive

Watts Creek Pathway rolls along very nicely through wooded area at times within sight of the Queensway.

Once arrived at Corkstown Road the path continues as a packed gravel path on the opposite side of the street for a short distance as far as Moodie Drive. Many choose to ride along Corkstown Road, but it doesn’t have a shoulder and many cars like to speed along this street, so if it isn’t raining or too mucky I take to the path. UPDATE 2017: A great new paved path has been created replacing the packed gravel path! So, no need to bike along Corkstown Road.

Watts Creek Pathway at Corkstown Road with view of the gravel path across the street

Across Moodie Drive, Watts Creek Pathway continues a short distance along Corkstown Road.

View across Moodie towards continuation of Watts Creek Pathway a short distance along Corkstown Road

I continued along the path under the train tracks versus taking the split towards Carling.

A bit further on I took the exit off the path at the sign indicating Burke Road.

There’s a short section of packed gravel path on the way to to Burke Road.

Short section of gravel path on the way to Burke Road

Burke Road is very short before connecting to Carling Avenue.

There’s a mostly packed gravel & dirt path across Carling from Burke Road. It can get muddy if it’s raining but otherwise, it’s lots of fun to ride along through a forested area and past a golf course.

Start of path on north side of Carling opposite Burke Road

At one point there’s an unmarked left turn onto a narrow path. I missed it the first time round, which wasn’t a big deal because the path reaches Herzberg Road just a bit further on, which you can take back to Terry Fox Drive, as suggested by the pink line on the above map.

I prefer the short narrow path because it goes by this great old abandoned barn before arriving at where Herzberg Road becomes Terry Fox Drive.

Once arrived at Terry Fox Drive there’s a bike lane I followed the rest of the way to our final destination.

On the way back, rather than take the gravel path, I followed the bike lane along Terry Fox Drive/Hertzberg Road, then along Carling back to Burke Road, as indicated by the purple line on the above map.

If I’m riding at a time when there isn’t much traffic I may choose to continue along the Carling bike lane beyond the Burke Road turn, however where Carling passes under the train tracks the bike lanes disappear, like so. It’s location is indicated by the green drop pin on the above map.

The Carling SQUEEZE!!! — The Carling Avenue SQUEEZE!!!

Carling has a lot of speeding traffic, so I usually get back on Burke Road to avoid this tight spot.

Et voila!

Dear reader, if you know of anyone else who is looking for a bike route to work please feel free to forward them this promo:

Bike Link From the Voyageurs Pathway to the Lac-des-Fées Pathway

The Lac-des-Fées Parkway runs along the eastern edge of Gatineau Park. A multi-use pathway runs parallel to it, then curls in to the park at Rue Gamelin, eventually meeting up with the Gatineau Park Pathway. It’a a good commuter route for those living adjacent to the park, as well as a slightly less arduous access to the park than the Gatineau Park Pathway, albeit not as scenic. The tricky part is how to access The Lac-des-Fées Pathway from the south, more specifically the Voyageurs Pathway that runs along the mighty Ottawa River. Here’s how.

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Riding along the Voyageurs Pathway heading west there’s a sign indicating Rue Millar.

Link off Voyageurs Pathway to Rue Millar

Right across Rue Millar there’s a path through cozy little Parc Baker.

Path through Parc Baker (photo doesn't show it, but there's a bike rack & picnic table nestled in there) — Path through Parc Baker (photo doesn’t show it, but there’s a bike rack & picnic table nestled in there)

The path through Parc Baker brings you to Boulevard Alexandre-Taché, one of the worst roads to ride along in the entire Outaouais. Fortunately Alexandre-Taché needn’t be followed for very long, and there’s a sidewalk to follow that goes over the train tracks.

Just beyond the tracks there’s a desire line path that crosses in front of the Salaberry Armory.

Desire line path from Alexandre-Taché intront of the armoury heading towards Boulevard St-Joseph — Desire line path from Alexandre-Taché infront of the armoury heading towards Boulevard St-Joseph

This leads to Boulevard St-Joseph, another less than spectacular riding experience, with many-a-pothole and cross town traffic, but far less insane than Alexandre-Taché. It also requires following for just a short stint before arriving at the FIP sign pointing to Promenade du Lac-des-Fées along quiet residential Rue Duquesne.

Riding along Boulevard St Joseph just before turing on to Rue Duquesne

Then, hop! – you’re onto the Lac-des-Fées Pathway.

Southern start of the Lac-des-Fées Pathway

On the way back things get a little convoluted as Rue Duquesne is a one way heading west. This requires weaving one block south to Rue Graham, as indicated by the purple line on the above map, and the photo below.

Dipsy-do to get to Rue Graham heading back

Et voila!

Biking along Cyrville Road from Overbrook to Pineview

UPDATE- May, 2017: New bike lanes have been introduced along Cyrville Road, thus addressing many of Élise’s concerns described below. Her’s was a great description of the ‘before’ conditions. The new bike lanes along Cyrville are described in this post.

Bike access to the community of Pineview from areas west and north of it is very limited. The Trans-Canada Highway divides it from the west, while the Queensway separates it from the north. I’ve described one option that requires walking your bike over the Blair Transitway pedestrian bridge and carrying it down a set of stairs or taking the elevator at the north end of the bridge. Oof! Another access over the Trans-Canada along Innes is very dangerous and foolhardy to bike along, as described in this post. The other option is to ride along Cyrville Road over both the Queensway and the Trans-Canada. It unfortunately is less than stellar, with intermittent sections of bike lanes, gravel shoulders, rough road conditions, and lots of speeding car and truck traffic.

Élise lives in Pineview and recently described the ride along Cyrville road from Overbrook to Pineview in a series of Tweets. She was very kind to let me re-post them in sequence below. I’ve included a map charting where she took the photos along the route.

Her tweets did elicit a reaction from her city councillor who responded with encouraging signals he is pushing for safe cycling infrastructure to be introduced along the length of this important access to Pineview. Until such time, here’s what riders have to contend with.

All text and photos below credited to Élise Gauthier.

Photo 1: Getting onto Cyrville from Ogilvie. The bike lane suddenly appears.

Photo 2: Then you find this weird not-quite-a-bike-lane, where cars can park.

Photo 3: On the Cyrville bridge, a surprisingly nice segregated bike lane.

Photo 4: Here I have a choice: scary gravel & huge potholes on the shoulder, or big trucks?

Is this meant to be a bike lane?.... — Photo 5: Is this meant to be a bike lane?….

Couldn't stop on 2nd bridge, but where am I expected to ride here? — Photo 6: Couldn’t stop on 2nd bridge, but where am I expected to ride here?

Photo 7: Ah, back to a nice, safe bike lane. And thus ends my death defying bike ride. It’s worth noting I saw four other cyclists, so I’m not alone.

Riding to Costco in Gatineau

Of all the Costco’s in the region, the one in Gatineau is the most accessible by bike from neighbourhoods in and around downtown Ottawa. A couple of riders who regularly pedal out there were very kind to let me tag along on their latest shopping adventure. (Update – Biking to the Costco on Innes from areas closer to downtown is pretty good too since bike lanes were added along Cyrville Road. Click here for a route there from Overbrook).

Because everything is sold in bulk at Costco, I put out a request for suggestions on which bike trailers would best be able to handle a big load. The overwhelming favourite were those manufactured by Wike out of Guelph Ontario. Giacomo was very kind to lend me his Heavy Duty Flatbed Bike Trailer he uses to roast his Bike Hibachi Pigskin Pork Tenderloin. It performed extremely well on this Costco test ride.

Here’s how it all panned out. Blue line is the way we got there. Purple line is how we got back.

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We started off from the Woonerf on Cambridge St North in Centretown.

Yes indeed. There are six big Rubbermaid bins on the back of JP's trailer. — Yes indeed. There are SIX big Rubbermaid bins on the back of that trailer.

We accessed the Ottawa River Pathway at the bottom of Nanny Goat Hill and followed multi-use paths all the way to Pointe-Gatineau on the east side of the Gatineau River.

UPDATE 2020 – Rue St-Antoine running parallel to Rue Greber is a relatively quite street with bike lanes that lead all the way to the back of the Costco. This route is depicted on the above map.

I loaded as much as I would have on a typical car run and even had room for more, especially if I had brought rear rack panniers.

Loaded up and raring to go! — Packed with room to spare

Mr One Wheel Drive managed to load 237 lbs (!) on his custom made trailer, like so.

The bike path along Boulevard de la Gappe described in this post passes by the Costco one block north so we followed it on the way back.

I managed to click this final image as we headed over the Rapid-Transit bridge before it got dark.

The path network gets a little labyrinthian from Lac Leamy to downtown Gatineau. I’ve heard all efforts at introducing directional signage through this maze have been covered up with spray paint, so a couple of dry runs with Google Maps in hand is highly recommended.

Et voila!

Update – Patrick filmed a subsequent trip we made to Costco following the purple route, which turned out like so!