I’ve been riding a bike for nearly 70 years. I learned, painfully, on my uncle’s gravel driveway in rural Maryland, after many falls and scrapes. A peak moment in my life was seeing a new 26-inch Birmingham Cycle Works bike by the Christmas tree, purchased by my mom from the local Coop grocery store. It had a coaster brake and a front wheel hand brake, no gears.
I went on long solo rides on weekends, seeking out new roads. When I was 12-years-old, I did an overnight ride with an equally adventurous friend to Gettysburg, where we slept on the battlefield.
I developed my chops in urban cycling working as a bike messenger in San Francisco. Rural cycling is great, urban cycling, less so.
Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act is clear – a bicycle is a “vehicle”, and “highway” includes any street, avenue, parkway, etc. “intended for or used by the general public for the passage of vehicles.” Cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as motorists.
But drivers of motorized vehicles don’t always see it that way.
While waiting for a break in incoming traffic to make a left-hand turn from busy Bank St. in Ottawa the other day, a driver pulled alongside on my right and tried to turn ahead of me. I managed to go first. He was not happy and cursed at me.
Then there’s the issue of riding among cars and trucks when there’s no bike lane. Bank St. is under construction now, with narrow single lanes that leave no room for a car to pass a bicycle. That doesn’t stop impatient motorists from honking and swearing at you. Other Ottawa streets, like Hunt Club Rd., have discontinuous bike lanes, periodically forcing cyclists into traffic.
Overly polite motorists can also be problematic. Car or bike, whichever reaches a 4-way stop first, goes first, but too often it’s the “After you, Alphonse” routine. Or a driver sees a bicycle coming and stops at a shared pedestrian-cyclist pathway crosswalk, even when the cyclist has not dismounted. The Highway Traffic Act makes it illegal to ride a bike in a crosswalk.
The Act also sets out responsibilities for pedestrians. It says that “Where sidewalks are not provided on a highway, a pedestrian walking along the highway shall walk on the left side thereof facing oncoming traffic and, when walking along the roadway, shall walk as close to the left edge thereof as possible.” This needs to be taught by parents and in schools. Walking on the wrong side of the street can be dangerous, especially at night when wearing dark clothes, as pedestrians become almost invisible to motorists.
The Act continues to evolve, with new provisions for e-bikes. A particularly significant change was the 2015 addition of section 148 (6.1): “Every person in charge of a motor vehicle on a highway who is overtaking a person travelling on a bicycle shall, as nearly as may be practicable, leave a distance of not less than one metre between the bicycle and the motor vehicle and shall maintain that distance until safely past the bicycle.”
Most motorists now abide by this rule. This makes cycling safer and more enjoyable. In turn, the Ontario Driver’s Handbook says “Bicycles… are expected to ride about one metre from the curb or parked cars, or as close as practical to the right-hand edge of the road when there is no curb. However, they can use any part of the lane if necessary for safety, such as to: Avoid obstacles such as puddles, ice, sand, debris, rutted or grooved pavement, potholes and sewer grates.”
In Ottawa, I do nearly all my shopping, trips to the library, downtown meetings, etc. by bicycle or on foot. I’ll happily take a longer route that lets me avoid busy streets and breathe less auto exhaust.
I also do lots of urban recreational riding — we have lovely pathways through the Greenbelt; along the Rideau Canal; along the Ottawa River in both Gatineau and Ottawa; and on tributaries such as the Gatineau and Rideau Rivers, Leamy, Sawmill, and Pinecrest Creeks, etc. And there’s Gatineau Park for a real workout.
But my passion is riding in the countryside, including the 90-km PPJ Cycloparc and the 72-km Véloroute des Draveurs on the Quebec side, and the 296-km multi-use Ottawa Valley Recreational Trail from Smiths Falls to Mattawa on the Ontario side (although northern portions are still under construction, and it can be dusty from ATV convoys).
Rural roads also make for excellent cycling. Most municipalities (the City of Ottawa is an exception) have gotten the message that paved shoulders reduce long-term road maintenance costs, make cycling safer, and bring in tourism revenues. There are increasing numbers of Ottawa Valley cycling events, the original one being the 12-year-old Tour de Bonnechere in Eganville.
Cycling is a great way to stay active, support local businesses, reduce your personal carbon footprint, and get to know the surrounding environment.
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