Winter Biking in Ottawa

Winterlude 2012 - Winter Cycling by Jessica @ Flickr on Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessflickr/6854683815/ — *Winterlude 2012 – Winter Cycling by Jessica @ Flickr on Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessflickr/6854683815/*

Ottawa is, slowly but surely, becoming a winter biking city—if having active and enthusiastic biking advocates is an indicator.

Ottawa family biking champion Kathleen Wilker will be speaking at the 2nd International Winter Cycling Congress in Winnipeg Feb. 12-14, 2014, and she’ll be giving a preview of her talk, For the love of kids and bikes and snow, in Ottawa on Saturday, Feb. 1 from 4-5 p.m. at RightBike (1 McCormick Ave. off Wellington St. W.). There will be cupcakes. Plus you can find out about RightBike’s DIY winter bike tune-up hours. Details on Citizens for Safe Cycling’s website or on Facebook.

Citizens for Safe Cycling and 8LocksFlat are hosting their Annual Family Winter Bike Parade and Winterlude Cycle Skate Party on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014. The parade goes from the south side of City Hall through Sandy Hill to 8LocksFlat Bistro, a 6 km, 30-minute “leisurely” cycle. If you’re a winter biking fan or interested in trying it out, this will be a good, supported way to get involved. Meet at 11:15 a.m. (and grab your ticket for a free hot chocolate at 8LocksFlat); departs at 11:30 a.m. Check here for more information, tips, and links to previous years’ events.

Friday, February 14, 2014 is Winter Bike to Work Day, an initiative that started in Winnipeg and has spread to many other places. Several Ottawa riders have signed up to participate. Check it out here. Update: Bike to Work Ottawa will celebrate Winter Bike to Work Day by handing out Camino chocolate bars at Laurier and Bank 7:30-9:30 a.m. and various University of Ottawa locations from 10 a.m.-noon.

For more winter cycling inspiration, see #CommutingIsPlay and the Ottawa Bicycle Lane Project‘s great videos.

One thought on “Winter Biking in Ottawa”

The Family Winter Bike Parade was good fun! I hope they have it again next year. Winter biking is definitely one of the reasons that I love Ottawa as there are plenty of options when it comes to biking in the winter. I would hate to have to hide my bike away during the winter months like most Toronto residents have to!

Best,
Steve