bike

Back from Holland – The Train System

July 29, 2015 Hansonthebike 9

Reading Time: 8 minutes Those who follow me on Twitter (@HansontheBike) got a pretty good impression of what I have been doing the last three weeks. Karen and I were in the Netherlands.  I live in Canada and although on average I go back once a year, it is often for work, which means I can only add a day or two to my trip in the weekend. We also go to other places in Europe, but we make sure we make a stop over in the Netherlands for 4 to 5 days. However, in all those 17 years I never went back for a [Read more…]

Wayfinding Signs in Ottawa

February 6, 2015 Hansonthebike 3

Reading Time: 6 minutes wayfinding in Ottawa has never impressed me. I remember there used to be a sign to Hull, I think it was on Bronson, about a foot square, that was covered by a tree branch for years, until the name ‘Hull’ ceased to exist. I am also often amazed that directional signs are put at the intersection or after an actual exit, rather than 200 meters before the exit. The photo below is a perfect example. NCC wayfinding signs Now the City of Ottawa is building a bike network, you might have noticed wayfinding signs starting to pop up. The NCC has [Read more…]

An infographic with data on Cycling in Ottawa

Infographic: Cycling in Ottawa

January 21, 2015 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 4 minutes A few years ago, I wrote -as president of our local bike advocacy group- a letter to City Council in which we mentioned that (I believe) 23,000 bike rides were counted on Laurier Bike Lane (at Metcalfe) between November 2011 and March 2012. These numbers were collected by in-ground bicycle counters. At the next council meeting (or perhaps Transportation Committee, I don’t remember), one councillor asked about these numbers; he refused to believe the numbers and city staff was tasked to come up with the numbers instead. Of course, we were using the same data source and city staff must have rolled [Read more…]

The Most Beautiful Bike Path in the World is in Liguria

September 8, 2014 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 6 minutes Mention you have been to Italy, and people usually assume you have been to Rome, Venice, Tuscany and Pisa. The odd person mentions Capri, Sicily or even the Italian Alps, but few will ever ask if you have been to Liguria. Liguria Liguria is the province that stretches from the French border, past Genua towards Cinque Terre along the Mediterranean. Think Cannes, Nice, Monaco and then start from the border at Ventimiglia along that same coast eastbound. It feels like time stood still in Liguria and that is perhaps because it is mountainous (the Alpi Maritimi); perhaps that has kept [Read more…]

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Nepean's Parks: a 19 km Bike Ride for Everyone

May 20, 2014 Hansonthebike 2

Reading Time: 5 minutes I had to bring a book back to the library and we decided to make a little outing out of it. Usually I take it back to the Main branch down town during lunch hour, but today (Victoria Day) we decided to cycle to the Centrepointe branch in Nepean, even though the Emerald Plaza branch is closer. It turned into an 19 km ride, mostly on bike paths, through parks and underneath hydro poles.   With an average speed of 14 km/hour (that included checking the map and taking some pictures) it took us about an hour and 20 minutes. [Read more…]

O train MUP

O-Train Path, Where Art Thou?

April 1, 2014 Hansonthebike 1

Reading Time: 2 minutes The O-train multi use pathway (MUP)  is delayed. And that  is no April Fool’s joke. As you remember, the first stage was built and finished last summer and stops just south of the Queensway, at Young Street, where a narrow pedestrian bridge connects the two sides of Young. Ribbons were cut, photos were made, blogs were written. And then it became quiet. Winter came early and the path was inaccessible, other than for the odd urban skier, which I guess I could cover too as Urban Commuter now I come to think of it. From Young to Carling The second phase [Read more…]

2014 Spring.Bike.Ottawa: "Understanding the Ottawa Cycling Budget" and much more.

March 19, 2014 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 3 minutes On March 22 we are holding our third Spring.Bike.Ottawa event. The purpose is to get updates on local cycling. It turns out to be an event that is appreciated. We started the event because we felt no one had a good overview of all the bike initiatives going on in Ottawa. And there are a lot. There are many people working on cycling in Ottawa, often in the background. They are doing great things with little or no money. Spring.Bike.Ottawa brings those (mostly) volunteers together. We hold the event early in the year, to make people aware that cycling is [Read more…]

Bill 173: Amending the Highway Traffic Act for Cycling

March 18, 2014 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 6 minutes Did you ever read Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act? I have to admit I have never gone through it with a dust comb, but I do flip through it once in a while. One of the oddities I found is that you don’t have to have a rear light (as I read it). Currently, you need to have a reflector or a red light. Indeed, you don’t need to have a rear light. Bill 173 is repairing a number of issues that society had already more or less accepted. Flashing Rear Lights Bill 173 is going to change that light issue. Or [Read more…]

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…]

The Town of Velsen, North Holland

February 6, 2014 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 3 minutes In all likelyhood, you have never heard of Velsen in the Netherlands. I have, but I have never been there. Today, I received a blog from BicycleDutch (written by Mark Wagenbuur) in my inbox. It is one of the few blogs I follow as it gives me a good picture of what is going on in the Netherlands. Contrary to popular belief, I am not often in the Netherlands. The last time I visited the Netherlands is already about 2 years ago and I have no plans to go there soon either. Usually I am not reblogging stuff that others [Read more…]