Last year I built my own little library. I was nervous it would be vandalised but now, a year later, I can confirm it is a big success. Ottawa’s Transportation Committee will soon discuss new (modest) rules for curb site little libraries.
May 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…]
Update January 21, 2121: the GG resigned after allegations of creating a toxic work environment. Wednesday June 27, I got a phone call from the office of the Governor General of Canada.: if I would like to join GG Julie Payette on a short bike ride on Canada Day. The Governor General is the official representative of Queen Elizabeth II in countries that recognize the Queen as Head of State. Which Canada does. The role of the GG is ceremonial and they are appointed every four years; sometimes a fifth year is added. Astronaut Payette The current Governor General is [Read more…]
Ottawa 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…]
Between Hartwell’s Locks, the Fletcher Wildlife Garden and Prince of Wales is a small corner of land that is being used for Canadensis, a small botanical exhibit with several art installations themed around nature. Karen and I have been cycling past it dozens of times and recently we finally decided to park our bikes to check it out. (It’s free after all). We had noticed the banner from the road, but we were always on our way to something or someone. It is a true gem. Access is from the Experimental Farm pathway that leads off Prince of Wales towards [Read more…]
Mark Wagenbuur wrote about it already a while ago when the bridge was being constructed, but now the new Dafne Schippers bridge in the Netherlands is officially in use. The bridge crosses the important Amsterdam-Rijn canal, connecting Amsterdam’s harbours with its hinterland in Europe. The canal is a considerable barrier and with a growing number of people living across the canal, this bridge was needed as part of the bike route from Leidsche Rijn (I loosely call it a suburb) to Utrecht Centre. The Amsterdam Rijn canal is a 72 km waterway and opened only in 1952. The part north [Read more…]
We closed the road for our bike afternoon in Fisher Heights. There was a bike repair tune up station and we had different types of bikes to try.
Today, we compare a run of the mill street in Ottawa with the Witte de With Street make over in the Netherlands and see what we can learn from the Rotterdam.
Ottawa finished 5 major pedestrian and bike connections in 2015 with a total value of over 30 million dollars. Here is an overview.
It seemed like everyone was out cycling yesterday. Sunday May 17 was the first day of the Alcatel Lucent NCC Sunday Bike Days. The weather couldn’t have been better. Sunday, sunny, low humidity (under 40%) and 24 C/75F by 5 pm. And the numbers showed it: over 5000 bike rides were counted near Canal Ritz on the Sunday before Victoria Day Monday by the underground bike counters, and many more were cycling on the road as the paths were overcrowded. It was one of those perfect days in Ottawa. The NCC (a federal agency) closes 25 km of roads in [Read more…]
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