Borrowed Time

Ottawa is one of those cities whose predominant weather pattern seems to follow the seasons quite tightly.

For instance, the first day of autumn is typically cool and crisp with trees displaying their mantle of fiery oranges, reds and yellows. While we often see snow before December 21st, we generally don't get our first 'permanent' snow cover before that. Yes, that's a huge generalization as anyone who recalls the winter of 2007-2008 will attest when it snowed from mid-December onward. The ground is often a sticky morass of muck, rocks and old crusty ice by March - though the first day of spring is generally a warm and pleasant venture and we will have had our first sweltering heat wave by June 21, when summer officially begins.

Again, these are generalizations but they do allow for at least some modicum of planning and this year is proving to be no exception.

By late August, the green of the trees is noticeably lighter as the little chlorophyll factories in the leaves start to shut down and allow the "true colour" of the leaves themselves to emerge. By September, the trees were really starting to change and now, in early October, we are in the thick of warm coloured vibrancy.

September was also one of the rainiest months we have had this year. See, that's the interesting thing about autumn here - it can be dry and cool-bordering-on-cold or it can be a wet undertaking. Not only was it a wet month but it was also, by my estimation and from this side of my morning coffee in early October, a windy one. Wind is a challenge on the trike but rain and wind together always equal staying inside.

In other words, we didn't do much triking in September.

To be sure, the catriking season here in Canada's capital is a pretty lengthy one compared to, say, the prairies or even northern Ontario. Nevertheless, at this time of year, we are on borrowed time. The weather patterns have been shifting for the past few weeks and it would not surprise me in the least if we see our first few tentative snowflakes by this month's end. That means we need to get out when we can. There are a few advantages to triking in autumn which I think bear mentioning.

1. There are, generally, no bugs. Yesterday, we did a quick 17 kilometre trip to Mooney's Bay and slightly beyond. When we stopped, Adam noticed an electron cloud of gnats buzzing and hovering just above his trike. It was sunny and not too chilly. However, at least there weren't attack squadrons of mosquitoes.

2. The temperature tends to be reasonable. 'Nuff said on that.

3. The bike paths are often not too crowded. A lot of people will only cycle on sunny, hot summer days and that's just fine. They put their bikes away after Labour Day or whenever their season is done. We will be triking until the first snow falls.

4. I don't have to put on quite as much sunscreen. While I don't often trike in shorts (that's a good thing - no, really, it's a good thing), I will trike in a T-shirt if it's really hot outside and that means wearing sunscreen on my arms. In the autumn, I wear a very light windbreaker so no sunscreen is required. Plus, I wear light gloves so my hands don't get chapped and over-dried in the colder air.

Otherwise, triking in autumn is at least as lovely as triking in the summer and I hope to do more over the next few weeks...now that the cold rains of September have passed and we can get on with enjoying what is often the loveliest time of the year. Then, I can look forward to the winter (I'm one of those rare Canadians who actually enjoys the winter) and getting in some x-c skiing - perfect maintenance exercise for next year's catriking season.

-Peace

Another use for the Catrikes

Yesterday, Tuesday September 14th, was both cool and breezy but not so chilly and windy that we couldn't take the trikes out for yet another spin. At this time of year, with the seasons s-l-o-w-l-y starting to change, it's important to take advantage of any good cycling conditions and yesterday was just such a day. We did have another reason for heading out beyond the mere fun of it all.

See, because Adam and I are boring types, it is not uncommon for us to turn a recreational activity into something scientific. So, with the Sawmill Creek Constructed Wetlands having had its pathways expanded recently, a change we both heartily welcomed, we thought we would take our trikes there and measure the total distance around the trails.

We use the Sawmill Creek Constructed Wetlands for more than walking or triking; in the winter, it's a great x-c ski trail. From our house, it's a mere 400 metres to the southern entrance. For the past two winters, we would often scoop up our skis and poles and make our way to this nearby gem to ski there. Of course, as the SCCW isn't just for skiing, we do have to share this facility with hikers, dog walkers and even kids out playing. More often than not, though, we would get to the place after a good snowfall only to find that no one else had been there. Blazing trails would be our job but it's a lot of fun and certainly great exercise. However, we never really knew exactly how long the trail was. We estimated the original loop was about 2 or 3 kilometres so a session of blazing a trail and then heading around it once more would be about a 5 kilometre trek...not bad though we could certainly go further. What we tried to find out yesterday, however, was just how long the trail network is, especially since the city added to it. This is where the catrikes came into good use.

Both our trikes have speedometres/trip odometres; a small but important piece of equipment we added to them (thanks MEC). So, we triked to the SCCW, entered the trails, reset the odometres to '0' and began taking measurements. The network isn't just a simple loop but has a couple of spurs that lead away and eventually end at the Walkley transit station. Long story short, we measured 5 kilometres (plus or minus a few metres) a very welcome addition to the already existing network, and all thanks to the trip odometres we have on our trikes. Of course, we wanted to just head out and have fun anyway which we did.

So, when the catriking season ends - at the first snow of the season - we will have some actual numbers of how long the trail is and how long our cross-country skiing path will be. Yes, I really like catriking but I also really enjoy x-c skiing...so....let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

-Peace

A study in contrasts...

That's just a nice, fancy, almost academic way of saying that the last trike trip we did a few days ago was under very different conditions from the time before. Indeed, the trip we took this past Saturday was quite different from the 66 kilometre venture on Labour Day.

For one thing, there wasn't so much as a breath of wind this past Saturday. The winds we experienced on Labour Day would have guaranteed absolute success for anyone wanting to fly a kite! This past Saturday saw us triking in still conditions. Oh, certainly we experienced some breezes and some slight gustiness thanks to convection but it was barely noticeable at the time. Our trip this past Saturday was for a picnic lunch. We weren't intending to go too far - maybe 20 or 30 kilometres round trip, but we did want to head into town along the bike paths. That is where we encountered our biggest challenge!

As I had mentioned a few blog posts ago, the city of Ottawa has seen fit to tear up as much of the bike paths in the city as possible ostensibly for maintenance reasons and not because they hate cyclists. We both understand and appreciate the time and effort put forth for maintenance of the bike paths. However, when the bike paths remain shredded for pretty much the whole season, it's hard not to at least suspect that the city of Ottawa has less than no interest in the needs of cyclists despite the fact that we pay taxes too!

Yet, the fact that we bring maps with us each and every time we head out has saved our skins on more than a few occasions. The Labour Day trip we took required us to find an alternate route home from around the Billings Bridge area. If it hadn't been for our trusty map...(sentence deliberately incomplete to allow readers to complete it as they see fit)

However, this past Saturday had us only having to crunch and trickle our way along a gravelled segment of the bike path for a short period and it really wasn't that bad. It's easier for bicycles to negotiate those sorts of 'path-removed-for-your-benefit' parts because of the high clearance between the ground and the chain/derailleur/gearing/moving bits. In contrast our catrikes have a low clearance - in Adam's case very low. That means that the chain/derailleur/gearing/moving bits sits perilously close to the gravel and other damaging bits and it also demands a fairly slow going along there to at least reduce the risk of any damage. However, the weather remained gorgeous so neither of us seemed to care that we were relegated to creeping along at the amazing speed of a glacier.

Some twelve kilometres into our trip and we found a lovely picnic bench just off the bike path. It was close to lunch time anyway and we were both hungry. The trail runs alongside the Rideau Canal and with the day gloriously sunny, calm and actually nice and warm Adam and I ate our lunch and did some general people watching. We saw a lot of people out walking their dogs, other cyclists a few roller bladers and some who were just out for a nice walk on a gorgeous sunny Saturday. At this time of year, the weather can be sunny, warm(ish) and dry or cool-bordering-on-cold, rainy and gloomy. Today looks to be chilly, cloudy and maybe breezy...but last Saturday was not!

-Peace

Happy Eid ul-Fitr

I know this isn't really to do with catriking per se but I wanted to extend my best wishes to all Muslims everywhere for a good and happy Eid ul-Fitr.

I looked out my window this morning and saw nearly 20 young children running down the street. These children, dressed in their finery and carrying what looked like large gift bags looked adorable. One young boy in particular looked no older than about 3 years of age. He had to hold his arm almost straight up so that the gift bag wouldn't drag on the ground. An older Muslim woman, apparently in charge of this cluster of kids, was bringing up the rear as these children headed towards a house on the street. I wasn't sure what was happening until I suddenly realized that as Ramadan had now ended, the festivities could now begin.

So...HAPPY EID UL-FITR!! May you all be blessed with a prosperous year, good health and happiness.

Peace

Another trip to Rockcliffe

August was hot with a few minor exceptions. Actually, it wasn't just hot but boiling hot with humidex values rivalling the inside of the sun. So, we didn't get out too much (I don't trike when it's stinking hot) but this past Sunday would see us hit the road for the last Alcatel/Lucent Sunday bike day. This time, our trip wouldn't just take us along the Colonel By drive as in times past. Today, we had a different plan.

We had arranged to meet up with Jane at her place, enjoy a breakfast together, head out once more and aim ourselves at the Aviation Museum where we would meet up with Rob and Debbie, other friends of ours. We packed a lunch, extra tools (you never know if they'll be needed) and so headed out early on the morning of Sunday, September 6th. We followed our usual route winding our way through suburbia until we got to Mooney's Bay park. We knew there was still a lot of construction going on around there, complete with path closures and little in the way of guidance to get around the mess. Thankfully, it was only a small matter of pulling over right at Hog's Back Falls, retrieving our map and plotting our own detour.

I'm grateful for maps. Without them, who knows where we'd have wound up??

We found ourselves pedalling slowly along gravel strewn pathways and down that awesome hill at Vincent Massey Park. From that point, the construction fence prevented us from going any further so we had to put our trikes on the road. Thankfully, as it was early on a Sunday morning, the amount of vehicular traffic was quite low and so we had no problems zooming along Heron Road to get to Riverside Drive. That's where we discovered that Riverside itself was down to one lane...and a pretty rutted one at that! Again, I am grateful that there wasn't much in the way of motor vehicle traffic though that's not to say there was none.

Sailing down Riverside, Adam and I did our level best to avoid as many ruts, frost heaves and bumps as possible. Still, on two occasions did I find myself airborne for a second before landing. Lemme tell you, that's hard on the back. Yet, we survived all that and, as soon as we could, got ourselves back onto the pathways. We took a water break, commented on just how - uh - challenging that part of the trip was and then resumed our trip to meet up with Jane at her place.

Far from the roads and the cars (Bank Street isn't one of those roads that's closed on these Sunday bike days), I found myself enjoying the quiet of the pathways and in greeting the growing numbers of joggers, cyclists, people out walking their dogs and roller bladers. I also couldn't help but notice the tall and thick clusters of butter daisies.

We got to Hurdman, veered north on the trail and wound our way along there. Within a few minutes, we caught up with Jane at her place and went inside for a breakfast and a chance to catch up, not to mention warm up. We had had a bit of a cold front come through, sweeping away the hot humid air and a chilly air mass was now firmly installed. It was also quite windy though not as windy as the previous day. In fact, when the three of us started out (for me and Adam it was a resumption of the trek), we noticed that a rather large tree branch had fallen and was blocking the trail. Still, we were all able to ride up on the grass and sneak around the branch.

At one point, the trail turned and followed a more westerly direction and that's when the impact of the strengthening winds hit us. At least we weren't late so we could just plough our way upwind for the short time that we needed to. In short order, we were off the trail and onto that quiet network of streets that circle behind the governor general's residence. From there, we headed down yet more torn up roads and caught up with the pathway heading to the Aviation Museum. The car traffic on the road was beginning to pick up a bit but it wasn't anything too onerous; not even the - at times extremely - narrowed lane proved to be a concern.

We got to the museum by around 10:40am; just enough time for a quick bathroom break before Rob and Debbie were supposed to meet us. Sure enough, by 10:53 (yes, I checked my watch), they caught up with us having cycled all the way from their house in the city's south.

We five headed out, travelling (predominantly) east along the closed-to-motor-vehicles Rockcliffe Parkway. As with the last time we cycled this particular route, the road was silky smooth. The clouds had that post cold front look to them, little fluffy cotton balls being systematically torn to shreds by the strong and now *very* gusty winds aloft. Wearing out - as is the way for me - I did have to pull over twice before we reached the far point along our way. The other four also pulled over and we each enjoyed a good water break and a chance to catch our breath. At one point, Adam noticed that Jane's tires looked a little low so he used our mini travel air pump to top up her bicycle tires. By then, the morning was wearing on and we all were planning to stop at Rockcliffe Park for a picnic lunch despite it being chilly, windy and not really all that 'picnic-y'.

We turned around and headed back though, this way, we were now beating into the strong winds. Still, a good time was had by all despite the straining muscles. I guess images of sitting down and enjoying a good lunch kept everyone motivated to keep going. So, we cycled onward, stopping where needed and pushing on otherwise. It wasn't too long before we got to Rockcliffe Park...where that ice cream stand is. Of course, it being chilly and windy, ice cream wouldn't have figured too prominently in everyone's minds...except that you do build up a fair sweat slogging into the winds.

Lunch was had, along with ice cream and then, after lunch settled, we five continued our journey back, retracing our steps as we did. We said our "goodbyes" to Jane when we got to the point in the trail where she would have to turn off in order to get home. Then, the remaining four of us cycled along towards Hurdman.

Once at Hurdman, we said "goodbye" to Rob and Debbie who had elected to take a different path home. That left us meandering through the pathway around Hurdman and back along Riverside...and the seemingly perpetually torn up road.

In the end, we wound up taking a slightly different route from the bike path on Riverside, along Data Center Road to Heron and then through more suburbia and down to the Walkley transit station. The city had recently extended the bike paths through the Sawmill Creek constructed wetlands so that now one could ride from the transit station all the way down to - essentially - Hunt Club Road and Airport Parkway. Of course, our route would have us at the Walkley station entry on Walkley Road...not the transit platform below. To get there, we would have to individually wedge our trikes into the elevator (yes, it's possible) and take it down to the transit platform and, of course, the northern start point of the constructed wetlands trail.

Long, grunting story short, we bobbed and weaved our way through it all and were ejected at Airport Parkway. A quick turn onto Airport Parkway, a little ways down to Hunt Club Road, another left turn there and we found ourselves at Bridlepath. From there, it was a mere hundred or so metres to our garage door.

Whew!

Total distance, 60.668 kilometres by my trike's trip odometre.

So, now another Sunday bike day season has come and gone. I use this program as a prime cue for me as to when seasons start and end. Even though it is still, technically, summer, in my eyes, it is autumn. This was emphasized to me by the increasing numbers of trees whose leaves have begun to metamorphose into that gorgeous fiery palette. To be sure, the triking season is by no means over and we will continue cycling until the first snows fall. At that point, we will park our trikes for the season, covered and well oiled/maintained of course. Then, we haul out the x-c skis. We typically ski at the Sawmill Creek constructed wetlands and, with the city having expanded the pathway, can only mean more skiing!

Peace

The weather turns...

Well, much like last Sunday, the day is cloudy, breezy and increasingly wet. Yes, here it is - late August, and there are only three Sunday bike days left in the season before the parkways are no longer closed to motorized traffic. Yet, at this time, 9:01 am, neither of us is out there pedalling away. Despite my having had some MS related problems of late, I am actually not entirely out of commission. This time, it's the weather. It's just not conducive to being out there on the catrike...not today anyway.

Nevertheless, the forecast is calling for improving conditions for later this upcoming week. In fact, the latest Environment Canada guess/forecast is calling for clearing skies tomorrow afternoon with a cycling-perfect high of 24C and with the easterly winds of 20km/hr becoming light. You can't beat that with a stick and so I plan on heading out while I can.

I use the cycling season, which starts (for us) from the time the street sweepers brush away the last of the dried salt encrusted roads around late March/early April, to the first snowfall, as a way to not just stay in shape but to tide me over until the x-c ski season begins. I use the x-c ski season to keep me in shape and to prepare for the cycling season. So, I have ways of getting out and just enjoying the days we are blessed with. In this time of climate change, I can't really predict when the cycling season will be. I recall us going bicycling in January 2006 - January, mind you.

I really enjoy the way the weather changes. I am already noting that a few of the leaves on our trees are changing colour. I can see that the honey locust tree in the back yard has a few yellow leaves, as does the globe linden tree in our front yard. I am anticipating cycling in the autumn, especially along the bike trails as the fiery hues of autumn's splendour lend a shimmering glow to the entire network. It's been noted by all of our cycling friends that the city of Ottawa should extend the Alacatel/Lucent Sunday Bike days to Thanksgiving and maybe even beyond. I agree (and I know Adam agrees too). I think ending the Sunday bike days at Labour Day is much too early. I also know that the hours of 9:00 to 12:00 or even 1:00 pm on those precious Sundays is much too narrow a time frame and more than a few others have told me that they think the city should close those roads for longer on the Sundays. While I agree with that in principle also know that it wouldn't fly with city council.

I love the varied weather we have in Ottawa and make it a point to get out and embrace it, rather than complain about it. One could argue that's because I'm a Buddhist and so try to live in the direct present; however, I have always felt this way even before I became a Buddhist.

So, I won't head out on my trike today because of the weather but I will head out on foot. The cycling will be for tomorrow and for most of next week.

-Peace

The philosophy of cycling

Adam initially suggested I write this as a Nordic epic poem - something along the lines of Beowulf - but I couldn't find any way to incorporate an underwater battle with some fiend that lasts for 5 days. So, instead, I thought I would talk about the philosophy of cycling.

I came about this particular subject as we were attempting to negotiate a closed pathway. For some unknowable reason, the city of Ottawa thought it would be a great idea to do maintenance work on the O Train this summer. Fair enough but said maintenance also entailed the closure of certain sections of the bike trail - and an otherwise very well travelled portion of the trail I might add. Ottawa is well known for its expanding spider web of bike trails and people come from all over just to take advantage of this great system...so why anyone in the city planning department would think that closing a good chunk of the bike trail at the height of summer was a good idea is beyond me.

So, here we were, on our way to catch up with Jane, a really good friend of ours, at Hurdman bus station. It's easy to get there on the trail network...but not so much when part of the trail is closed (q.v. previous paragraph). Thankfully, as we always bring a map with us, sorting out which way to detour wasn't a problem. As it was early in the day, traffic wasn't an issue either. It involved us setting down on the road and zipping up to Riverside Drive, a whole two blocks away. A turn onto Riverside and we were sailing down the road to reintercept the pathway. Sailing down the road, however, wasn't as good as it sounds and that is because the condition of the road could charitably be described as frighteningly awful - and that brings me to my point about the philosophy of cycling.

Despite Ottawa being touted as a very cycle friendly city, the truth is that anyone undertaking the trip we did today would conclude the opposite. Cars and trucks had no problems whatsoever negotiating the frost heave festooned, pothole bespeckled road. However, it was a really tough going for us both on our trikes and for anyone else on bicycles. Sure, car owners could argue that if we didn't like it that we could just hop onto the bike trail. This is something we would have easily preferred - but the closed pathway forced us to use the road. This city is car-centric; if a road were closed for repairs or maintenance you can bet your bottom dollar that detailed signs showing detours would warn drivers well ahead of time. Yet, when Adam first encountered the closure of the bike pathway a couple of weeks ago, the only information available was that cyclists would have to take an alternate way. It is telling to note that, according to Adam, someone had written the words, "like where???" under that first sign. Today, a rather large map provided an alternate route but which involved such a convoluted route that it wouldn't be worth it.

We did make it back onto the pathway and continued our trek to meet up with Jane at Hurdman. The bike trail there had its frost heaves and the odd pothole but it was nothing compared to the battle zone of Riverside Drive. I recall pedalling along the pathway, enjoying the warming morning and listening to the various bird calls and the growing chorus of cicadas. The sounds of traffic receded with each turn on the pathway and I couldn't help but wonder if any of those car drivers were able to appreciate the beautiful morning we were having. I hoped they could and that they weren't simply rushing about watching the world pass them by.

We caught up with Jane, discussed the rest of the trip and then headed out on more bike paths. There is something soothing and yet energizing about cycling. Maybe it's the feeling of my heart thumping as I push myself up yet another hill; maybe it's the relative quiet of the bike path - the only sound of note is the occasional ding ding of a bike about to pass; maybe it's the encountering of friends we haven't seen in awhile who are also out and enjoying the day.

We continued our trek along the bike path until we were ejected at Dufferin, which isn't too far from Rideau Hall, the governor general's residence. Cycling in that quiet neighbourhood on such a gorgeous morning felt really good and it wasn't long before we got back onto the bike pathway and headed to Rockcliffe airport. From there, the Rockcliffe parkway was closed to motor vehicle traffic and the three of us were joined by the growing numbers of other cyclists, roller bladers and a few roller skiers. It was a picture perfect day, with the odd cloud gently lazing across the early August day. It was only when we got to the end of the parkway, where both the barricades and automobiles were that I felt a certain...well...quiet sadness. It just seems to me that car drivers are almost always in a hurry, that too many of them just don't have the time to, literally, stop and smell the fresh air.

There is so much to experience from the seat of a cycle that you just can't experience from the seat of a car and I think it is mostly to do with the speed.

For me, a lot is the slowness of it all. Today, we did 64 kilometres but we averaged about 12 or 13 km/hr and took a few breaks. We left around 7:40 this morning and didn't get home until around 2:00 pm. Now, I am home, showered and resting up knowing that while I certainly wasn't the fastest cyclist out there am very calm and content with the day. I am not frazzled like too many drivers, having to get here and there, rushing about running errands and trying to meet some kind of hard schedule. There is no point in thrashing about - a reality I learned eleven years ago (this month actually) when I was first diagnosed with MS.

Slow down, take it easy, whatever you're rushing about for probably isn't worth it and anything that is worthwhile you will find a way to make it work...even if it means having to go on one of the bumpiest roads out there!

-Peace