Riding in the Center of the Universe

During a lunch break in Ottawa, I thought it would be a good idea to rent a bike and go for a short ride.  While working near the Rideau Canal, I was sure I had seen a bike rental sign.  My hope was that the rental place would be open at this time of year.

Success!

My hopes were boosted when I discovered a couple of signs pointing to a space underneath an elegant bridge.  Climbing down, I could see what looked like a tunnel with hundreds of bikes stacked around its curving walls.  The operator of the rental shop near the tunnel was munching on a ham sandwich clasped in his greasy, bike mechanic hands.  The place had that distinctive bike shop smell - rubber, oil and dirt mixed together,

The tunnel

It surprised me that the mechanic asked me what hotel I was staying at while he filled out the rental agreement.  How did he know I was an out-of-towner?  Then I remembered that Ottawa, like most capital cities is also a tourist town.  He warmed up a little when I explained to him that I'm a bike mechanic at my city's community bike shop and in minutes he had me riding out of the tunnel on a GIANT bike.  Although it appeared to me to be a normal size.

A Giant bike

Riding along the Rideau Canal should be a pleasant experience.  A decent spring afternoon, an empty bike path, a nice enough bike.  But there was a pair of eyes that stared right at me.  In fact, followed my every move.  Right out of a cheesy horror movie.

Scary eyes

The bike path along the canal is very organized and interesting.  I say organized because the city has, for your convenience, place strategic signs to help you on your way.  For example, the signs show you how to get to a bank. (To pay for renting a bike)?

Thanks!

In the canal itself was a pair of ducks, three seagulls, a car tire, one rusted shopping cart and a shelf of crusty snow lining the south bank.  There must be woodpeckers in the vicinity as evidenced by a tree so peppered with holes that it was a wonder it could still stand.

Woodpecker machine gun action

The thing that most impressed me about the Rideau Canal bike path is that it is for everyone except pedestrians.  Apparently, walking on the path is prohibited and fine - able.

When I peeled up to the rental shack I didn't need to visit the bank.  I had the ten - spot right there in my wallet.

What the ****?

City slogan

Our city has just announced that two meetings will be held next week to discuss what kind of bike lanes are to be installed at two different parts of the city.  What surprises me is that a bike lane is to be installed on 102 Avenue.  At the last bike lane meeting I joined, the city planners admitted that 103 Avenue was a better bike route.

For ten years I have been commuting to and from work on 102 Avenue but since attending that bike lane meeting, I have ridden on 103 Avenue and have to agree with the city that it is a much better route.  My choice of 103rd was also prompted by the demolition of the 100 year old bridge across the Groat Ravine.  With the bridge gone for 15 months while a new one was being installed another way to work had to be chosen - hence the 103 Avenue choice.

Bye bye bridge

But I'm going to miss the two meeting next week since my work is taking me to the center of the universe (Ottawa).  A producer and I are going to film our city's soccer club playing for the Amway Cup.  Amway Cup?  I thought Amway only dealt with toilet paper and other household goods.  Who knew?

It is for real

Every time I travel, my intention is to grab ahold of a bike and ride around my destination.  I see on the interweb that Ottawa has many bike lanes.  In fact Ottawa appears to be quite progressive in building bike lanes.  In fact, our capital city has been cited as:

OBLP RECIPIENT OF 2014 RGD SO(CIAL) GOOD DESIGN AWARD

To translate: Since 2012, the Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD) has invited submissions of projects created under the theme of communication design for social good. The So(cial) Good Design Awards celebrates work with the power to incite action and make meaningful change in the way we live our lives.

Even though I will miss giving my input to the city's cycling planners, I hope to have the pleasure of cycling on Good Designed bike lanes and who knows?, maybe my city's soccer team will bring home the Amway Cup.

"Like"

On Facebook, a number of my friends have "liked" the fact that I'm going to the "Bike to the Symphony" event on June 12th.  My hope is that all those friends will join me in what has always been a fun bike ride.

Wigged Out

In the above photo, I'm the guy in the suit with the silver helmet.  If you look carefully, you'll see a GoPro camera mounted on my head.  My old friend Bruce Wiggins from CTV2 had shown up with a producer and they needed to find someone to wear a camera during the ride.  As soon as Wiggy spotted me, they knew they had their man.

A dressing down

After getting chain oil on my suit, I decided last year to dress down a bit and just wear a tweed jacket and jeans.  I was especially delighted to ride my Root Beer Raleigh 20" folding bike that my friend  The Raving Bike Fiend had found for me.  Someone snagged the above picture while we rode along the bike path near Railtown and I was eager to try taking my own pictures while pedaling.  Something I'd seen Coreen from "Breaking Chains and Taking Lanes" do many times.

The Bike Riding Photographer herself

My photographic efforts weren't worth publishing however, I did manage to get a photo of William Eddins, the Edmonton Symphony conductor who happened to lead all of us through downtown.  He then rode right into the concert hall on his bike.  Something we all liked.

Incision Indecision

Just recently I found myself laying on my back in a hospital bed; knocked out by a general anesthetic and feeling completely helpless.  The farthest thing on my mind was riding my bike.  Driving along the same route I bicycle commute to work, I just could not imagine how I could ride that distance almost every day.  Coupled with the fact that my departure from the house is usually before six o'clock in the morning.

Yet last night working in the garage, a little visual tableau helped me to consider the task.  Maybe it was seeing all my bikes hanging up in the garage.  There are 15 bikes in there.  11 of them mine.  The rest belong to my daughter, her boyfriend and my son. There are 2 more behind the woodshed, one against the outside garage wall and one more at work.

Perhaps the little nudge I felt was my body telling me that I'm healing and it will soon be time to climb back into the saddle and ride.  As an experiment, I ventured across the High Level Bridge to attend a meeting at the university.  Thick pea gravel from the melted snow and ice littered the riding surface making my first ride since the surgery rather dicey.

Now that spring is officially here, I 've seen way more cyclists on the road and now that I have survived a practice ride, I'll be joining them again soon.

Wintry Ride to Work Day

This Friday's commute will have a slight twist to it.  Instead of riding past 104 Street on my way to work, I'll hang a right and pedal the short distance to the Earth's General Store where I can get free coffee and blueberry pancakes just for riding my bike.

 The list of cyclists on Facebook who say they will attend are almost all year 'round cyclists.  One is a courier and three are cycling activists.  Another has a Bicycle Traffic Report on a campus radio station.  The owner and host of the breakfast moved his entire store 13 blocks to a new location using only bicycle transportation!

Michael of E.G.S.

I'm supposed to be at work by 8 am which is the same time that City Councillor Scott McKeen is scheduled to read a proclamation to all those assembled.  I figure if I bring a DLSR to the breakfast, I might be able to film some of the event and thereby have my (pan) cake and eat it too!

Monkeying Around

During the break between Christmas and New Years there was a great opportunity to ride my bike several miles to the library.  Outside it was good and dark and I looked forward to riding with the new Monkey lights installed the front wheel of my winter bike.

As soon as I pedaled off, the bright glow from the Monkey Lights cast ever-changing coloured patterns on the white snowbanks and the snow covered road in front of me.  Combined with the Christmas lights decorating the houses along my route, It felt downright festive!

About half way to my destination, I could see up ahead of me a mother and her two children.  The mother took one glance at me and stopped dead in her tracks to have the children watch my multi-hued display as I passed them.  I was beaming.

After the library, I rode out from my parking spot and cut through the parking lot.  A few yards in front of me was a couple on their way to their car.  They stopped in mid step to watch as I passed them.  Having passed them, they shouted "Do it again!" so I dutifully turned around and rode back and forth in front of them to their great delight "Nice Christmas lights!" the man shouted.

The only danger I can foresee with having Monkey Lights on my bike is keeping my eyes on the road in front of me instead of looking down at the entrancing light display emanating from my front wheel.

Monkeying Around4

It's funny how the mind works sometimes.  An idea can get planted in your head and in spite of evidence to the contrary, there is no shaking it.  Take for example my many fruitless searches of my basement for a set of Monkey Lights that I had purchased from our local community bike shop.

My investigation of the basement took me to corners and shelving units that I hadn't visited for some time.  There were lots of boxes half full of papers.  A can of old casters.  Milk crates of old vinyl that had never seen a turntable.  Children's books.  Two boxes of greeting cards that my wife intends to do something with in the future.

When I've looked in all the places where I think the missing item might be, I then begin to search all the places where I think it won't be and usually it is on that search that I'm successful.  This time, I only had to lift a box of disposable gloves from near my bicycle work bench to find that the Monkey Lights had been stored all along right where they should have been.

My mind was so fixated on the package looking a certain way that I must have looked at it many times while working on bikes and not seen it.  Sort of not seeing the forest for the trees.

The installation of the lights onto the spokes of my front wheel was simple and took at the most twenty minutes.  Half of that time was spent running back into the house to get tools I had forgotten to bring outside with me.

My wife was already in her pajamas and the only way to get her to come outside to watch my new lights was to tell her in an excited voice that she needed to come outside to see the beautiful colours.  I knew that she would think that I was talking about the Northern Lights of which she is very enamored.

She was surprised but not disappointed when, clutching her housecoat tightly about herself she ooed and awed watching me zoom past first in one direction and then another on the street in front of our house.