collection of bird houses

Cycling in Haliburton, ON

September 17, 2019 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 5 minutesThe Haliburton Highlands are a special place in Ontario. It is a perfect destination for some cycling and sightseeing. W spent a day around Haliburton.

A bridge connecting with Christiania.

Copenhagen on the Bike

January 21, 2019 Hansonthebike 7

Reading Time: 7 minutesHans on the bike visited #Copenhagen and cycled around the areas outside of downtown too. Here are some impressions of Copenhagen infrastructure.

Detour towards the fence!

Trillium Pathway Phase 3 – photos

December 11, 2018 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 5 minutesThe Trillium pathway is finally finished. The third stage was landscaped and finished in September/October 2018 (project OTT-046) and completes a wonderful and safe cycling loop along the canal, the Trillium railway tracks and the Ottawa River. A cycling tourist’s dream. No refuge The original project envisioned crossing Prince of Wales via a refuge. I like refuges very much because unlike at a traffic light, you don’t have to wait in the middle of the night for traffic that isn’t there. Back in the Netherlands in the 1980’s, many lights were switched to amber after a certain hour (perhaps 10 [Read more…]

“Alexa, Don’t Send Me That Bike Shopper Pannier”

December 6, 2018 Hansonthebike 17

Reading Time: 4 minutesMay 2021 UPDATE: I ordered the panniers and had them sent to my sister’s in the Netherlands with the aim to pick them up in spring 2020. But then COVID hit and they are still sitting at my sister’s. It looks like I will not be able to pick them up until spring 2022 (!), so I ended up buying one pannier from MEC for not too much (zipper, no roll top). Orange no less, matching my bike! I am looking for a pannier to use on my trips through Ottawa. I have been using the cheapies, but eventually the [Read more…]

Cycling in Urban Sudbury, ON

November 6, 2018 Hansonthebike 2

Reading Time: 8 minutesSudbury is a city in the near north of Ontario. The distance from Ottawa is around 500 km, similar to the distance Amsterdam – Paris. It is well known for its mining activities. We once spent one night there. Initially the plan was to stay at the campsite at that time, but once we figured out the campsite was sandwiched between two highways, and the prevailing sound was one of truckers’ air brakes, we decided to go to a motel instead. There was another campground north of Sudbury, but we never found it. This was before smart phones and before [Read more…]

Are ankle bands the solution for the casual summer cyclist?

Cycling in Quebec: don’t get caught without reflectors!

June 28, 2018 Hansonthebike 12

Reading Time: 6 minutesIn Quebec province a new law aims to make cycling safer. More reflectors on your bike, cycling with prudence on cross walks, no more demerit points for cyclists, no more signalling of an intention to stop for cyclists, hands on the bar override signalling when needed. Read more about the details here: some good and some questionable regulations. July 2, 2018 UPDATE from Steve Truttmann:  Out cycling on the Quebec side yesterday morning, a QPP officer kindly told me that I must now remove my ear buds, law is now in effect. I was advised they will crack down on [Read more…]

One of the several walk and bike bridges in the ravines

Cycling in Toronto was a challenging experience

June 14, 2018 Hansonthebike 5

Reading Time: 11 minutes“It is safe infrastructure that makes people bike, not more uniforms”.Last week we visited Toronto. Karen had meetings and I tagged along for a day and a half. Because we booked the train in time, our tickets were only $100 return each in economy class. On the way in I had to listen to Dora the Explorer on the Ipad of the young traveller in front of me for an hour and a half. The lady across the aisle at the windows seat had her feet up on her partner’s lap. For reasons unclear to me, we were an hour [Read more…]

Ottawa’s inner greenbelt bike commute approaches 5%

January 9, 2018 Hansonthebike 5

Reading Time: 7 minutesOttawa is a large place. We have a photo of my wife’s father standing in front of a row of brand new houses. The trees behind him look about 5 years old at the most. He is four years old and the neighborhood is called Old Ottawa South. ‘Old’ was likely added later as there was no New Ottawa South. Ottawa stopped at Billings Brickyards, now Billings Bridge Mall; Altavista didn’t exist. We are talking about the mid 1920’s. The automobile was just 40 years old. Amalgamation Through amalgamation Ottawa is now ridiculously large. Several small European countries fit together [Read more…]