A hidden gem in Quebec: the Levis “Parcours des Anses’ multi use pathway allows for a lovely casual ride along the St Lawrence river.

Last week, US based People for Bikes released its annual City Rankings Score for cycling. Ottawa ranks in the 91st percentile, Gatineau in the 98th percentile. The total number of cities ranked is 767. We’ll dive into the details here. The biggest surprise is perhaps that Vancouver ranks tenth, after Ottawa.

If you are looking for a shortish 32 km bike ride outside Ottawa that involves coffee, countryside and culture, this route might be exactly what you are looking for. We are visiting two historic places just west of Ottawa: Almonte and Carleton Place.

Chelsea, QC has been developing the former Hull to Wakefield train tracks into a shared community pathway since 2017. But you won’t cycle the entire track from Gatineau anytime soon due to a 1300 meter missing link that is too expensive to rebuild.

(September 13, 2021 update) The NCC Bikedays has opened several parkways earlier than usual due to COVID-19. On top of that, they are open more often. This year, the Bike Sundays are renamed to Bike Weekends. This is a welcome addition to the already at times crowded shared pathways. Colonel By will be closed to cars for a few months [Read more…]