Hello all, just thought I would say hello from Eastern Ontario. I used to live in Ottawa but I now live along the St-Lawrence Sea way.

If you are from the area share some of your favorite rides.

Yes, I am from Ottawa. Specifically, Barrhaven.

I live in Kanata. My favorite hybrid friendly trail is the trans Canada trail from Bridlewood to Carleton Place (60km return)

I don't really have a favorite road to ride on yet. I haven't had a chance to really go out and ride for fun. I commute into Bells Corners everyday.

Ottawa, South Keys area but downtown a lot for work. Queen Elizabeth Driveway is one of my favourites rides.

Have any of you tried riding through Carp. The concession roads are my favourite. The one that I remember the best is diamond view road. It was a very beautiful road that I remember. Then if you take the side roads to Galetta you have an awesome ride.

I also have really enjoyed riding along the 511, that is one real nice ride.

I know that there are some awesome rides in Ottawa. I used to ride along Echo Dr. past U of O and then a slight downhill curvy ride that takes you into the Market at break neck speed. Then it's on to check out the sights.

I always liked riding behind the airport on all those back roads to Manotic station and in that general area. The outskirts of Ottawa were always some of my favourite rides, and the bonus is that they are easy to get to no matter where in Ottawa you live.

aylmer, near enough from ottawa.

Quite a few Ottawans in here!!

What do you like and dislike most about biking in Ottawas?

Any happy or unhappy encounters, say, with motorists?

Quite a few Ottawans in here!!

What do you like and dislike most about biking in Ottawas?

Any happy or unhappy encounters, say, with motorists?

Like: motorists treat cyclists pretty well here, and we have great bike facilities overall (and by that term I include roads). OC-Transpo is a great back-up for a cyclist.

Dislike: few people realize that narrow lanes are common in Ottawa, and true WCL rare. That means most people try to share a lane in situations where it is unsafe (or at least uncomfortable) to do so. Also: bike racks are removed from busses in the winter (when I might actually use them) and the O-Train will be shut down next spring.

Ottawa here as well! My favorite rides have to be the pathways along the Ottawa and the Rideau rivers.

Ottawa here as well! My favorite rides have to be the pathways along the Ottawa and the Rideau rivers.

I can only handle those on a weekday morning, otherwise too full of kids playing, adults standing around, etc.

I'm in Ottawa. I just got a bike in June this summer (after 6 years without a bike) but I've mostly only used it for commuting so far. Hopefully I'll be able to do more exploring this fall.

I live in MD (United States) does that count?:D .

I live in MD (United States) does that count?:D .


I don't know how this sounds, but if you like we can me you an honorary Canuck, and even better an Ottawan. MD is now the eleventh province.

I know it is not in Ottawa but just across the river. My favorite ride is through Gatineau park. I love hills.

I always hated riding down Main st. and Carling can be pretty brutal on the rims.

I used to commute through the experimental farm every morning. It was strange sometimes. I would be riding along a cornfield, and at the edge of it is a high rise appartment building.

I know it is not in Ottawa but just across the river. My favorite ride is through Gatineau park. I love hills.

I always hated riding down Main st. and Carling can be pretty brutal on the rims.

I used to commute through the experimental farm every morning. It was strange sometimes. I would be riding along a cornfield, and at the edge of it is a high rise appartment building.

I rode up Carling a few weeks ago and it's awful. I would hate to have to ride in an ambulance along there. They have big stretches of it ripped up right now so presumably those parts will be better once they finally put them back together. Right now it's just a big mess.

Carling is always a mess. I ride it for a bit every day on my way into work... I've tried to find alternate routes but unless I go massively out of my way there's no avoiding it - or the eroding pavement.

How is the weather up there?, man past week or so my area has been hammered by rain and tropical storms. Have enougher storm coming next tuesday. Nice now (around 70-75).

Hello all, just thought I would say hello from Eastern Ontario. I used to live in Ottawa but I now live along the St-Lawrence Sea way.

If you are from the area share some of your favorite rides.
I am 50 km south east of ottawa. Nice bike trail out here that winds its way through Presott-Russell Counties all the way to the Quebec border. Also love the bike trails along the seaway.

I live in downtown Ottawa. Given the choice between trails and the road, I choose the road every time. It just feels more comfortable, more alive. I tend to zone out on the parkways. Riding in the city forces me to focus.

I live in downtown Ottawa. Given the choice between trails and the road, I choose the road every time. It just feels more comfortable, more alive. I tend to zone out on the parkways. Riding in the city forces me to focus.

Parkways or pathways? Pathways are for bike/peds/bladers, parkways are roads for bike/cars with no commercial traffic and scenic settings. The Queen Elizabeth Driveway is a great parkway to cycle on.

Carling is always a mess. I ride it for a bit every day on my way into work... I've tried to find alternate routes but unless I go massively out of my way there's no avoiding it - or the eroding pavement.


What do you expect? Carling Avenue (between Capital Dodge dealership and Carlingwood Mall) is voted by members of the CAA to be the #1 worse road in Canada.

How is the weather up there?, man past week or so my area has been hammered by rain and tropical storms. Have enougher storm coming next tuesday. Nice now (around 70-75).


Fantastic for cycling. Around 20 C in the daytime and 15 C at night. No heavy sweating and no shivering cold. Just right.

Unfortunately, the Parkway cycling program in the city (ie, federal Parkways off limit to motorists and reserved just for cyclists) has came to an end. It should last throughout fall.

Nice:), i hate hot weather my self. i prefer riding in spring/fall like weather. Winter is excellent for running at least for me most people tell me i am crazy.

Parkways or pathways? Pathways are for bike/peds/bladers, parkways are roads for bike/cars with no commercial traffic and scenic settings. The Queen Elizabeth Driveway is a great parkway to cycle on.
I avoid pathways whenever I can, unless I'm out with people who aren't as comfortable riding on the streets as I am. I will take Queen E or Colonel By when it's convenient, and sometimes it's fun to just open up with a high cadence. 95% of the time, it's city streets though. There's something predictable about traffic on roads with 50 or 60km/h limits. It's easier to blend into traffic as a vehicle, rather than an obstacle to cars.

In Ottawa, bike paths can be very quiet - in fact sometimes too quiet to ride on. I remember that a few years ago, a U. of O. female student riding alone on a bike path was killed by a sex offender, and he was not caught until recently. There are now so call "bike path patrols", but I am not sure if it is a effective deterrent because they are not professional law enforcement officers.

Moreover, bike paths are not maintained during winter time and receive the lowest priority for snow clearing.

Bike lanes on the other hand are good, when you ride along major thoughfares such as Hunt Club Road and Woodroffe where the speed limit is 80 kph. In fact, when you ride on these roads, you have no choice at all but to use the bike lanes. One has to watch out for OC Transpo buses approaching bus stops, because you have no match for a fast moving 30 ton bus. It can be scary.

Another Ottawa local (well Gatineau actually).

I'm in Kanata. Lots of nice bikepaths through all the neighbourhoods out here. My favourite ride is the Ottawa-Carleton Trailway, the former rail line from Bells Corners, through Kanata, Stittsville and Ashton Station to Carleton Place. It's nice and flat, well maintained and quite scenic in a lot of places (Look out for the deer). From the Bells Corners end you can jump onto the NCC paths through the Greenbelt and make your way along the river all the way to Parliament Hill. From the other end, you can link to lots of nice, quiet country roads over scenic flat or gently rolling terrain.
Earlier in this thread there was a mention of the St. Lawrence River bike path near Cornwall. Is it worth a drive down from Ottawa?

Earlier in this thread there was a mention of the St. Lawrence River bike path near Cornwall. Is it worth a drive down from Ottawa?


It is a nice path but, the ride to get there on your bike would probably just as nice. When I lived in Ottawa I do not think that I would have drove down to ride the path. It is very nice though and relativly quiet considering. The highways around Cornwall are very bike friendly a fair number of them have bike lanes and they are very lightly travelled.

A nice ride from Ottawa to the Cornwall area would be :

– Ottawa - Kingston, roughly along the Rideau Canal. See Brian Hedney's website (http://hedney.com) for good routes.

– Kingston - Cornwall, along what were highway 2 and the Long Sault Parkway. You might add a detour in the Bruce peninsula West of Kingston. The Long Sault parkway is superb on a bike. Again Brian Hedney would come to the rescue regarding routing.

– Cornwall - Ottawa. Pick your own route. There are nice ones.


Probably more a Summer project than a Winter one, though.

I'm in Kingston. Thought about moving to Ottawa

Anyone out there near St-Eugene or other Quebec-border spot? There's this awesome yogurt maker there, I want to ride there from Montreal someday, be nice to meet up with some folks....

Anyone out there near St-Eugene or other Quebec-border spot? There's this awesome yogurt maker there, I want to ride there from Montreal someday, be nice to meet up with some folks....
I live roughly 80 K from St. Eugene, camp there all the time at Voyageur park.

Another Ottawa rider here. Don't usually start to ride until after the marathon, though.

V

Did anyone do the OBC TT on new years day?

I lived in Ottawa my whole life. I recently relocated to the Merrickville area. The biking situation is completly different out here. There are no bike lanes. If you want to go anywhere you have to ride along the side of a busy highway. Pretty scarey with some of those dump trucks. End up riding on the shoulder facing traffic. I am right near the Limerick Forest(over 700 hectares of Crown land) where there's literally hundreds of miles of trails. You gotta worry about getting lost it's that big. I have to get a GPS.

I lived in Ottawa my whole life. I recently relocated to the Merrickville area. The biking situation is completly different out here. There are no bike lanes. If you want to go anywhere you have to ride along the side of a busy highway. Pretty scarey with some of those dump trucks. End up riding on the shoulder facing traffic. I am right near the Limerick Forest(over 700 hectares of Crown land) where there's literally hundreds of miles of trails. You gotta worry about getting lost it's that big. I have to get a GPS.


Why not a map and compass?

Why not a map and compass?
A compass would come in handy for sure but there are no maps of the trails available(over 1800 acres) anywhere.. With the GPS I could create my own maps of the area.

Try this (http://www.worldofmaps.com/) place, I bet they would have it.

Here is another one with free topo maps of canada, I like this one (http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/index.html) I have used it to map out trails in my area

hey all. I'm finally moving back to Ottawa in 8 days after being away for a few years. Currently in Hamilton, where the roads are pretty bad. Anyone here part of the bike club, enjoy group rides, race a little?

hey all. I'm finally moving back to Ottawa in 8 days after being away for a few years. Currently in Hamilton, where the roads are pretty bad. Anyone here part of the bike club, enjoy group rides, race a little?


I always liked to go to the time trials on Thursdays with the Ottawa bike club. The first one after the new years TT is on Good Friday. There is also the race weekend in Gatineau park, the roads there are really nice since they do not clear them in the winter, and the park is closed to cars in the winter.

Casselman, Ontario represent !!!

Ok, I currently live in Toronto but I'm in eastern Ontario about every 3 weeks. Usually cycle on several road in Prescott-Russell. I did the Cornwall-Long Sault-Morrisburg trail last fall and it was very nice ! Will do it again very soon.

Casselman, Ontario represent !!!

Ok, I currently live in Toronto but I'm in eastern Ontario about every 3 weeks. Usually cycle on several road in Prescott-Russell. I did the Cornwall-Long Sault-Morrisburg trail last fall and it was very nice ! Will do it again very soon.


You should try continuing past Cornwall on the 2, the shoulder is paved, 3' wide and there is a rumble strip beside it. It goes another 25km Lancaster, and most of it is along the St-Lawrence.

Wales Road at long Sault is also nice, there are a lot of nice roads in that area that have nice wide paved shoulders that have little traffic on them. The only problem with this area is that it is all pretty flat.

London.

Hey all, I'm from Morewood, about 50km Southeast of Ottawa, nice to see so many familiar with the local roads.

I started a Kingston thread but for the record "Kingston"

Hey all, I'm from Morewood, about 50km Southeast of Ottawa, nice to see so many familiar with the local roads.


I used to live just outside of Russell, just down the road from Morewood. I have relatives in Ormond, I always enjoy riding out there to see them, and it is real nice country in that area.

My son lives near Maberly west of Perth, I'll be riding the local roads and trails on weekends this year.... if we ever see half decent weather again!!!