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05-21-2018, 07:19 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-21-2018, 07:20 AM by Canard.)
Ottawa.
We came up to my parents' place for the long weekend and they're not far from Ottawa. My other half said before we left "...you know they have those paved bike trails you like so much there, right?"
:: blank stare ::
:: frantically loads google maps ::
:: drools everywhere ::
Yesterday the weather was questionable in the morning but by lunch time it was looking fantastic, so we popped the bikes back on our rack and parked at Andrew Haydon Park.
In total, we rode about 35 km - from there to Parliament, with a jaunt down the O-Train spur. Here are some photos!
It took us a little while to figure out what was going on here... but the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway had closed the Westbound Lanes to open it for cyclists, a programme sponsored by NOKIA on Sundays.
"You know they have those paved bike trails there that you like so much, right?"
I think it was at about this point that my cheeks started hurting from grinning so hard.
For as long as I've been coming here (almost all of my family lives within ~100 km of Ottawa), I'd never been down to see these locks!
Parliament, and the Supreme Court of Canada, from a totally different vantage point than I was used to.
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Here's the spur which runs along the O-Train track...
...and it gets better and better! This chunk has a fully separated (with a CURB!!!!!) cycle path and pedestrian path, both reasonably wide... and everyone was behaving. At one point there was a group of about 30 kids coming toward us and they were all perfectly single file, and I could hear them all ding their bells at a pedestrian entry point. Gah!!
It's like Ottawa's version of the trail running alongside the LRT from Erb/Caroline up to R+T Park that I love so much!
On the way back.
...no bike ride is truly complete unless there's ice cream involved.
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(05-21-2018, 07:19 AM)Canard Wrote: ...parked at Andrew Haydon Park.
Hey, that's my brother's neighbourhood!
Of note: the trail from there, to where it meets the Parkway, is a defunct streetcar line. Britannia Bay was founded as a 'streetcar suburb'.
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05-21-2018, 10:17 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-21-2018, 10:18 AM by Canard.)
Very cool, thanks for the history! I wondered if it might have been something like that, because that first stretch was so perfectly straight and flat.
My pictures probably don’t reflect it very well, but the trails were quite busy - I just didn’t snap any photos when it was congested since I was focused on riding.  It was great to see so many people out!
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If I'm not mistaken, the path at the base of Parliament Hill reopened a few weeks ago - it had been closed after last year's flooding.
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(05-21-2018, 09:32 AM)KevinL Wrote: (05-21-2018, 07:19 AM)Canard Wrote: ...parked at Andrew Haydon Park.
Hey, that's my brother's neighbourhood!
Of note: the trail from there, to where it meets the Parkway, is a defunct streetcar line. Britannia Bay was founded as a 'streetcar suburb'.
Actually the right of way used by the trail is a former heavy rail line. On Google Satellite you can follow the right-of-way to the southwest where it meets up with a still-extant railway line; to the east it used to follow the path of the transitway immediately north of Scott St. until it met up with the line now used by the O-train.
The defunct streetcar line right-of-way is the linear park immediately north of Byron Ave. from Holland Ave. west to where Byron ends at Richmond Rd., then continuing over to Britannia Park where there is a commemorative station structure.
https://goo.gl/maps/ihPDExtwit92
At this point the streetcar route was right next to the mainline railway, but distinct.
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Whelp I guess I know where I'm gonna go on my off-time in Ottawa when I'm there in June.
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05-21-2018, 07:39 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-21-2018, 07:40 PM by danbrotherston.)
I was really quite impressed with the trail networks in Ottawa. We only got a little time to explore them while we were there (and it was freezing cold) but we'd see them more next time we return. Sadly, I really have no excuse to go there except for sightseeing.
Today my partner and I biked to Hamilton using the trails that go through Brantford. Was a really nice ride, albeit punctuated by a flat tire (no bike shops open on Victoria Day). I'm really impressed with the trail near Hamilton, it's really quite popular, and has a couple of stops which reminded me of the Petite-train-du-nord in Quebec. I even saw a few people who had lugged Sobi bikes up the ... so called ... mountain. Still, a pretty big climb on that type of bike.
Still, I think going down the mountain, and taking the GO Bus back is the way to do  --even if you do have to go through Square One.
Here's the GPS track of our ride: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1FG4slr...sp=sharing
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That’s absolutely stellar Dan, congrats! The first part of your ride is almost exactly how I get to work when I ride there. We’ve done all the segments in your route separately... but never together. Well done!!
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(05-21-2018, 08:28 PM)Canard Wrote: That’s absolutely stellar Dan, congrats! The first part of your ride is almost exactly how I get to work when I ride there. We’ve done all the segments in your route separately... but never together. Well done!!
Thanks! Yeah, that's about the best way I've found to Galt....and it is very scenic. Any idea when they're going to open the pedestrian bridge over the river. For some reason I thought it was already open. Still impressed you bike it regularly to work.
Doing it all together does make for a long day, even one way. I'm sure some folks around here could do both ways, but I am not yet in that group.
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100K of rail trail is nothing to sneeze at; well done. How did you find the Brantford-Hamilton section? I haven't yet done it myself, except for some sections during P2A, but the Cambridge-Paris section is stellar in my opinion.
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100K is a great day on the bike! The only section I haven't done on the rail trail is between Brantford and Highway 52. From 52 into Hamilton is a very scenic stretch... I used to go to trade school on the edge of Ancaster and would park there and ride into Hamilton and back up. I also like the part of the trail that goes through the old gravel pit just before Brantford. If you're ever doing that stretch again and have the time and legs for a few more km the ride down through McMaster and to Cootes Paradise and under the 403 to the Waterfront trail is pretty nice too. Hamilton has some great trails, the climb up the escarpment rail trail is really nice and so is the Red Hill Valley trail though it had some gnarly stretches near the top that were tricky on a road bike, both trails lead to Albion Falls which is quite pretty.
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(05-22-2018, 08:21 AM)jamincan Wrote: 100K of rail trail is nothing to sneeze at; well done. How did you find the Brantford-Hamilton section? I haven't yet done it myself, except for some sections during P2A, but the Cambridge-Paris section is stellar in my opinion.
The Hamilton-Brantford section was pretty comparable to the Cambridge-Paris section. Mostly hard packed dirt and some stone dust/gravel. It wouldn't be great in the wet, but perfectly usable on a road bike in the dry. The only thing I'd say is it's a little bit narrow on some sections. Similar scenery and such...no major climbs (it is a rail trail). It does widen up and get busy closer to Hamilton, with some amenities. Really enjoyable day.
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(05-22-2018, 08:21 AM)jamincan Wrote: How did you find the Brantford-Hamilton section? I haven't yet done it myself
Well, if you're bored.... really bored... 
https://youtu.be/swgthTRBanI
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06-03-2018, 05:49 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-03-2018, 05:51 PM by Canard.)
Ride for Heart 2018
I participated in this year's Manulife Ride for Heart in Toronto today!
It was a total blast. I was really nervous the night before but once I got out on the road with everyone else I just had the biggest grin on my face. Getting to ride on the Gardener and DVP like this was incredible!! I can't wait to do this again next year.
I picked up a friend of mine from Etobicoke and then she and I took the GO Train in one stop to Exhibiton from Mimico. This was a great way to go, for sure.
Here's what the starting area looks like where people get ready to go down the long path to the entrance to the highway. It looks a bit chaotic, but it was actually really well organized.
Onto the highway!
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