cyclaw

Hey everyone! I live in Ottawa, Canada… originally from the west (Edmonton, Alberta). My rides are:

- 1999 Brodie Energy – my first and only trail bike. Bought it new for $800 CAD mainly for commuting. Then threw on a Judy XC fork and got into trail riding, then a little bit of racing. I probably put another $700-800 in other upgrades and replacements of the components over the years.. I’m not sure if there’s anything original left on it save for the frame and maybe the headset. I never ride this for commuting anymore.
- 10-year old Bianchi road bike – bought this used for $200. Great condition, rides like a dream. Love it. This is what I use to commute to work (8.5km each way).
- One old old heavy and rusty commuter bike – bought it some years back for school and for short distance commutes to get groceries and stuff.. it’s also my winter beater and has taken a lot of abuse from these nasty Ottawa and Montreal winters where salted water and dirt gets everywhere.

I stumbled upon this site after a googled “bike commuter forums”. I found the threads here quite interesting – thought I’d register and say Hi.

10 Wheels

Welcome to BF.
Your winter riding must be a challenge?

cyclaw

Depends on the winter. Last winter we had tons of snow... biggest snowfall I've seen (in the city) in 10 years. Like I said, the salt they use on the roads here is murder on the drivetrain....

progre-ss

Hi cyclaw! Welcome to the forums. You'll enjoy your time here. And prepare to get hooked. You'll be checking these forums every day, sometimes 3, 4, 5 times a day. Heck, you might even leave the window open while you work. Not that I've ever done that. No, not me.

I grew up in Ottawa. I commuted by bike from Orleans to downtown, and then from Orleans to Nepean for a few years. I even worked a bit as a bike messenger one summer. I currently live in the Poconos here in Northeastern Pennsylvania as my search for work brought me stateside.

You can usually find me in the singlespeed/fixed gear forum and sometimes the folder forum. But with my latest acquisition of a BMX bike, I'm now in the BMX forum.

Enjoy your time here!

dzinehaus

Heya, Welcome to Bikeforums... originally from ottawa myself and now out here in montreal. I am planning to eventually do the ride from Montreal to Ottawa... I think its about a century (100 miles)

Some great areas around Ottawa. The fact that it is a nice little government city with a lot of side paths you can take / bike paths make it a nice area to commute around. Not to long ago I brought my bike down on the bus and rode it around Ottawa from barrhaven to downtown ottawa and back... was about a 1.5 hour ride... small but fun.

cyclaw

Heh. Yeah I've found that sometimes a good message board can be like crack... hard to stay away once you start.

What route would you take? I'm guessing that they may not allow bikes on the 40/417.

My favourite ride is in Gatineau park on Sunday mornings (that is if I can haul my ass outta bed) in the summer when they close off large stretches of the parkway. Nice hilly ride and beautiful scenery.

Randochap

Welcome from the left side.