Along a Bike Route: the Royal Canadian Navy Monument in Ottawa

2012 06 29 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Hans Moor 8 — The monument is on a peninsula called Richmond Landing in the Ottawa River. A gentle path slopes towards the monument.

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In March, I posted a picture of our new Royal Canadian Navy Monument here in Ottawa. I have noticed a lot of traffic to my blog from people who were looking for pictures of the monument.

Last week, we were out for a bike ride with our friend André, who for the first time in five years, took his bike down from the attic of his garage and started cycling again. And to make the news even better, he also commutes to work again (for the insiders, he lives in Westboro and loves the bike lanes on Scott). It took me a year and a half of gentle prodding to convince him that the commute downtown is very doable. He is now completely revamping his bike and knowing him, it will look like new again. He was also doing his math and discovered that 9 months of the year on the bike instead of a transit pass saves him considerable money. As the stock market is moving down or sideways, one has to find other ways to save for retirement.

So to reconnect him with the great cycling opportunities in Ottawa, we took him for a spin and dropped by at the Navy Monument once again. Here is a handful of pictures for those not living in Ottawa (and I would guess many (former) Navy folks are not living in a land locked area) so that you get an idea of what the surroundings are. It is noteworthy to mention that it is not easy to reach by car. The best way to visit is to park near a Bixi bike station and take a bike for a few hours or park at the war museum and walk to Richmond Landing in the Ottawa river. Or rent a bike at one of the down town bike renal outlets and explore the area. The site and the path from the War Museum are all very wheel chair accessible. Enjoy.

2012 06 29 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Hans Moor 1 — There is a field in front of the monument which allows for ceremonies.

2012 06 29 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Hans Moor 2 — The flag pole is on the left in the picture.

2012 06 29 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Hans Moor 4 — Our friend André wonders how the ball is balanced. It gives a good idea how big the Canadian Navy monument is.

2012 06 29 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Hans Moor 5 — The numerous battles are carved in the monument. This one says Okinawa 1945. The reason why you see the name twice is because the bottom one is the French version, which in this case is the same obviously.

2012 06 29 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Hans Moor 3 — If you are standing with your back to the monument, you have a great view over the Ottawa River. At the far end -sort of above the pathway- you can see the Library of Parliament, saved from a fire in February 1916 that destroyed most of the Centre Block of Parliament. The larger building that is closer, is the Supreme Court of Canada in Art Deco style.

2012 06 29 Urban Commuter Ottawa - Hans Moor 6 — The NCC closed its visitors centre -which I still find a loss- and placed signs instead. This one is near the Navy Monument and allows people with smart phones to listen to more back ground information.

Since I don’t have a smartphone, I simply took a picture and scanned the bar code back home from the LCD screen of my camera with my IPod that has the QR code scanner. It will show an informative clip with photos and a voice-over by the designer ( just over 4 minutes).