Cycling

cycling in Ottawa

NCC Bike Sundays: 10 Great Summer Pics

August 1, 2011 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 3 minutesFor a North European, closing the road for people to cycle feels a bit odd; people simply cycle every day everywhere over there. As long as you have to close roads, you obviously have a (perceived) safety issue among the population. However, North Americans consider cycling still mostly a sport (although it is changing), which you do in an enclosed environment, like on track, in a hall, or in this case a closed circuit. Canada’s National Capital Commission has been closing a number of parkways (kind of beautified roads, with lots of landscaping to impress locals and foreign dignitaries alike) [Read more…]

The small outdoors: 10 patios on Laurier (and 2 bonus food trucks)

July 19, 2011 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 3 minutesAt first glance, Laurier Ave in Ottawa might come across as a concrete jungle-like street with uninspiring buildings. But in the end, it’s the people who ‘make’ a street: there are a number of coffee places and restaurants with outdoor terraces. I went out at lunch time and found 12 places with a terrace to watch the world go by and see cyclists in particular. Watching the world go by It is quite fun to see that virtually every few minutes someone cycles by, usually very calmly. Added bonus, you can keep an eye on your bike if you are [Read more…]

Opening Laurier Bike Lane in style

July 10, 2011 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 4 minutesApproximately 150 people gathered on the hot Sunday afternoon of July 10th, 2011 to witness the opening of the Laurier Bike Lane, which runs through downtown Ottawa. This bike lane is the first one of its kind in downtown Ottawa, to accomodate cylists who are not yet comfortable sharing the road with the hectic downtown traffic. City staff and cycling advocates have been successfully joining forces over the last two years to establish the long awaited down town cycling improvement. The lane came out under budget and ahead of schedule so that it could be enjoyed in the summer. The City’s bike lane [Read more…]

Tuning up Place Vanier

June 7, 2011 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 2 minutesPlace Vanier is struggling with bike theft. The bikes are parked outside and individual attempts to get the manager to make more space for cyclists inside have not resulted in anything positive. Some individuals are now joining forces in a working group to get the management to pay more attention to the fact that it is already 2011. A prime locations for cyclists, on the Rideau River with its wonderful paths, Place Vanier management is not pulling its weight. The only inside parking is a miserable ten bike wheel bender bike rack under the stairs, with barely any space to [Read more…]

Capital Velo Fest Ottawa a Relaxed Affair

June 4, 2011 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 3 minutesToday was a gorgeous day for Capital Velo Fest, the first bicycle festival in Ottawa. The weather was cooperating, the 60% change of showers never came and the twenty or so booths of companies and organisations like Envirocentre, Citizens for Safe Cycling and the Ottawa Bicycle Club attracted enough people to make it a nice social outing. Although most visitors were cyclists already, there was new stuff to see for them too. Especially the two cargo bikes, brought in by Tall Tree Bicycles, attracted a lot of attention, as did the recumbent bikes of Ergo Cycles in Ottawa. Everyone agreed [Read more…]

Successful Hintonburg Kids Ride

May 28, 2011 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 2 minutesThere is hope. A new generation of cyclists is taking to the roads. Kathleen Wilker organised a kids ride on May 28th from the Hintonburg Community Centre to the Parkdale Market and Arts Fair. Despite a somewhat gray morning, a few dozen kids and their parents came out for the ride of less than one kilometer. Kathleen gets it. No need for grants, no large advertising campaigns, just roll up the sleeves and organise a neighbourhood event. A very simple ride for the kids and T-shirts for the best decorated bikes made this a nice community event that doesn’t cost [Read more…]

NCC study on winter pathway usage

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

Reading Time: 2 minutesThe 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…]

Shifting Gears in Halifax

May 9, 2011 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 2 minutesLast week I visited Halifax for a series of talks about cycling. Halifax cycling enthousiasts are working hard on developing a cycling culture. Obviously, without an NCC to build paths, budgets are somewhat tighter. However, Nova Scotia (and Halifax) are slowly becoming a better cycling place. Cyclists are pretty united in their effort to move forward. Support of City Councillor Watts (a younger version of Ottawa councillor Holmes – sorry Diane) is vital. Here are a few images of Cycling culture in Halifax. Read also more here: http://halifaxmag.com/2011/04/cover/shifting-gears

Dog on bike

February 25, 2011 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: < 1 minuteThis is kind of the ultimate Dutch bike picture. Lady who lives in the town of Bergschenhoek, a 10 minute bike ride from Rotterdam, carries her dog around in a basket on her bike. But not only that, she also has two panniers, a bag hanging off her bars and a seat cover (that is supposed to keep her seat dry when the bike is out and it rains). And of course, no helmet….

cars on bike lane in Ottawa

Cars in bike lanes at Dow’s Lake

August 10, 2010 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: < 1 minute. A few weeks ago, during the Tulip Festival or so, lots of cars where leaving the parking at Dow’s Lake. Rather than waiting, many of them used the bike lane to pass the left turning lane. When I pulled out my camera, they stopped doing it but I bet these are the same people who complain that bikes cycle on sidewalks. In autumn and spring, when traffic is busy, it happens all the time. Just before I took this picture I actually saw a girl sandwiched between two cars on the bike lane, as car-cyclist-car. Truly unbelievable.