Winter

A Tale of Two Ottawa Retailers: Hot Chocolate Rocks

February 24, 2014 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 5 minutes This is a short case study of two different companies in Ottawa that are active on Twitter. Both use social media to get the word about their business out.  Twitter is a channel that you shouldn’t ignore in your communication mix. Although many messages get lost in the endless stream of opinions, some times some one picks up on your message and recognises your store when cycling around town. Twitter can help build your image. Neutraceuticals Liquid Nutrition is a store in the Glebe. It is a franchise of Montreal based Liquid Nutrition. They produce and sell “a fusion of naturally [Read more…]

Can you Bike, Skate and Walk to Work on Winter Bike to Work day?

February 5, 2014 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 5 minutes Next week, February 14, 2014  is Winter Bike to Work Day. It is a day to celebrate winter cycling worldwide. Winter cycling is easier said than done as cycling in winter requires some preparation. If you haven’t biked in winter -and I mean serious winter, as in -20C to -30C (-4to -22F) sans wind chill, not those -2C Copenhagen ‘winters‘ extended autumns, you are likely thinking that winter cycling is a crazy thing to do. Not really. But you need a well equipped bike, a few extra layers of clothes and serious maintenance on your bike. It is not the [Read more…]

Ottawa’s Second Annual Winter Bike Ride in Perfect Conditions

January 29, 2013 Hansonthebike 2

Reading Time: 5 minutes If you mention winter cycling, one tends to think of bearded middle aged men, who’s mission it is to prove that one can live without a car in Ottawa under any circumstance, come hell or high water, or in this case, high snow. Ottawa, for those who are not from here but perhaps from a more tropical place like Toronto, is the second coldest capital in the world, leaving to Ulanbatar the first place. Which means we have to put up with fairly chilly conditions. Temperatures can go as low as -30C and to -40C if you take the wind [Read more…]

When Ottawa Wakes up from Hibernation

March 20, 2012 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 3 minutes Talking about extremes. The Ottawa winter has been odd, to say the least. The canal wasn’t open for skating for long; on the other hand, only a week and a half ago we were still skiing in the Gatineau. All of a sudden the weather turned around and Sunday, Ottawa saw 25.1 degrees (as in 77F) . The normals are +4 (40F) max and -7 (20F) minimum for March 18. We hopped on our bikes and cycled along the canal to the Byward Market, and back along the Ottawa River via Parkdale Ave to Nepean. I have never seen so [Read more…]

Cycling in the snow….

February 6, 2012 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 3 minutes It doesn’t happen too often, but Holland was covered in snow late last week. Cyclists kept cycling, resulting in some really nice pictures of cyclists in the snow. If the “inexperienced-with-snow” Dutch can do it, teens included, we Canadians can no longer use the argument of a snowy country as a reason not to cycle. Enjoy the screen shots from the nu.nl website I took this weekend. You will notice few cars in the pictures, as many cyclists are separated from faster traffic on special bike paths or cycle through city centres with traffic calming measures. Many kids cycle to [Read more…]

Group picture winter cycling in Ottawa

Successful First Winter Family Bike Parade in Ottawa

January 23, 2012 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 4 minutes The first Ottawa Winter Family Bike Parade on January 22, 2012 attracted 50 cyclists, here posing in front of Ottawa City Hall. Commuter cycling is gaining popularity in Canada. – Photo: Paul Clarke So today was the day: Ottawa’s first ever winter bike parade. If you are not from Ottawa, you might think: “Big Deal”. But Ottawa happens to be the seconds coldest capital in the world (after Ulanbataar in Mongolia), so planning a bike ride in Ottawa made a lot of people think that we were out of our minds. But that’s just it. Today we showed that cycling [Read more…]

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Beat the Blues with the Family Winter Bike Parade

January 17, 2012 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 2 minutes When I speak to audiences in Canada, I often hear that ‘Canada is too cold for cycling‘. Obviously, that is more of a mindset than a reality. Indeed, there are days that the weather is not really cooperating, but that applies more to the poor road conditions than the temperature. Let’s face it, lots of people are out on snow mobiles, on skates on the canal in Ottawa, or on skies on the slopes of the Rockies or the cross country trails in Gatineau Park. The temperature doesn’t bother all those outdoorsy folks. During the 56 days winter bus strike [Read more…]

NCC study on winter pathway usage

May 11, 2011 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 2 minutes The NCC commissoned a study on the usage of their pathways in wintertime. Although some claim that the winters in Ottawa are ‘cold and dark’ the numbers might stun you. Here are some results: Close to four in ten (36%) Canada’s Capital Region residents aged 16 and older (some 196,000 individuals) have used a recreational pathway during the winter months. An additional two in ten residents (21%, some 114,000 individuals) say there are winter activities they would do on the pathways if they were better maintained. Winter pathway users tend to be younger, and have higher incomes than do non-users [Read more…]