Cycling in Ottawa Archives - Page 3 of 9 - Hans on the Bike

Retracing the First Train into Ottawa: the Bytown & Prescott Railway

September 10, 2023 Hansonthebike 7

Reading Time: 10 minutesMr. Walter Shanly (1817-1899), a civil engineer, touched the ground to inspect the land underneath his snow shoes. He was on a mission: recently he, and a group of investors, had agreed on building the first railway track into Bytown (now Ottawa), all the way from Prescott on the St. Lawrence river, to connect the lumbertown on the Ottawa River with the ports in Prescott. A distance of about 50 miles (80 km). Not everyone was excited about their plans though and it had taken time to get the funds together. Thomas McKay, who built Rideau Hall, put forward money [Read more…]

A close up of an old train brdige with teh letters chief William Commanda bridge super exposed on the image

Prince of Wales Bridge Reopens as Active Transportation Bridge with New Name

August 5, 2023 Hansonthebike 6

Reading Time: 8 minutesA large piece of new active transportation infrastructure finally opened yesterday. Here is all the background you want to read about the historic Prince of Wales bridge, now the Chief William Commanda bridge, connecting Ottawa with Gatineau and an easier gateway to Gatineau Park.

When and where are the NCC bike days 2023 in Ottawa?

May 14, 2023 Hansonthebike 5

Reading Time: 2 minutesHere is a table with an overview when and where you can bike, roll, walk on NCC roads in 2023 in Ottawa and Gatineau Park without having to share the road with cars and trucks.

A 19 km bike ride through Old Nepean

October 16, 2022 Hansonthebike 3

Reading Time: 5 minutesCycling in the old suburb of Nepean can be surprising. Here is a 19 km loop that is 85% of multi use pathways.

A view over the Ottawa river from Petrie Island

A 30 km cycling loop in Orléans (Ontario)

October 5, 2022 Hansonthebike 6

Reading Time: 6 minutesEarly September, Karen and I finally made it to Orléans (in Ontario). We cycled a 30 km loop with a short 5 km side tour to Petrie Island, mostly on pathways, and a bit on residential roads. Orléans could use more cycling infrastructure though as there are missing links. Hopefully with the arrival of LRT more cycling infrastructure will be added.

Gatineau in 99th percentile of 2022 People for Bikes City Ratings

August 23, 2022 Hansonthebike 1

Reading Time: 4 minutesGatineau, across the river, scores high in the 2022 @PeopleforBikes city ratings. But look what happens if Gatineau and Ottawa are seen as a one National Capital Region, as the locals do: It has a similar rating as Vancouver, based on available data.