Cycling in Ottawa

PedalEasy Opens Storefront in Ottawa’s Bell’s Corners

June 24, 2016 Hansonthebike 2

Reading Time: 6 minutesLast week, I finally dropped in at PedalEasy, our own homegrown pedal assist e-bike manufacturer. PedalEasy started five years ago when co-founder Ron Wensel wanted to do more cycling after he survived a heart attack. Ron, a modest man who lives in Deep River, is a mechanical engineer who knows a thing or two about speed and energy. He served as the lead investigator following the Challenger Space Shuttle accident & subsequently as the lead designer of sealing for the Advanced Solid Rocket motors. After his heart attack he decided to use his inquiring mind and technology background to apply [Read more…]

A recumbent, a Paramedic and an Xtracycle. This is Ottawa in winter nowadays.....

It's Bike to Work Month

May 2, 2016 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 2 minutesMay is Bike to Work month in Ottawa. Are you counting your km’s and your saved CO2? Sign up for biketoworkottawa.ca and see how much CO2 you are saving.

8 Bike Infrastructure Improvements in Ottawa

April 28, 2016 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 5 minutesSince 2011, when Laurier Ave got segregated bike lanes, many other infrastructure projects were built in Ottawa. You may have seen a few of my images in Janette Sadik-Khan’s presentation last night (I couldn’t be there myself, but I heard there were about over 1000 people). If she didn’t use them or if you weren’t able to go, here are a few examples of the improvements the city and the NCC have made. I thought I use a ‘before’ and ‘after’ image, so you can see the difference. There are more examples, but I want to keep the post to a [Read more…]

map of Ottawa, and indicating Greely on the map

Designing the Innovative Greely Cycling Loop

December 27, 2015 Hansonthebike 2

Reading Time: 3 minutesLong considered Ottawa’s conservative heartland with black pick up trucks and Ottawa Sun readers, rural Ottawa is asking for bike infrastructure: “All our little neighbourhoods are separated by our big roads.”

Ottawa’s Urban Green from the Bike

June 30, 2015 Hansonthebike 1

Reading Time: 6 minutesOften, when I cycle through Ottawa, I wonder how people from elsewhere figure out where to cycle. A paper map is one source, Google maps another one, but that is about it. The NCC has put out signs to point to side streets or to show the name and direction of a path, and the City of Ottawa has put up some signs here and there, but there is little else. If you have never been to Ottawa before, and you plan to cycle, it can be daunting. It is probably part of the growing pains of a ‘bike friendly’ [Read more…]

Dream start of 45th NCC Sunday Bike Day Season

May 18, 2015 Hansonthebike 4

Reading Time: 5 minutesIt seemed like everyone was out cycling yesterday. Sunday May 17 was the first day of the Alcatel Lucent NCC Sunday Bike Days. The weather couldn’t have been better. Sunday, sunny, low humidity (under 40%) and 24 C/75F by 5 pm. And the numbers showed it: over 5000 bike rides were counted near Canal Ritz on the Sunday before Victoria Day Monday by the underground bike counters, and many more were cycling on the road as the paths were overcrowded. It was one of those perfect days in Ottawa. The NCC (a federal agency) closes 25 km of roads in [Read more…]

Central Experimental Farm Under Threat Once Again

November 17, 2014 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 7 minutesSo another part of the Central Experimental Farm is lopped off. I thought that heritage status would have protected the Farm from further deterioration, but no, it appears that heritage status means nothing. I have been cycling over the Farm for years and it is by far the best part of my commute. The maximum speed is 30 km/h but most drivers go faster. I’d like to see that enforced better, as it is a working farm,  but five cars on a three km stretch is still a great cycling experience. But what is more important is that when you pass through [Read more…]