Bridlewood Flowers Slideshow

This is a slideshow of our Bridlewood flower garden in Spring of 2026.

 

Bridlewood Hydro Lines Pathways Updates with Videos

In the fall of 2024 I wrote an update on the Bridlewood Hydro Lines Pathways which indicated that portions of both the small and large hydro line pathways had been rebuilt.

Small Hydro Line Pathway Southern End Deterioration Continues

There has been no further work since then on the southern end of the small hydro line pathway and it’s deterioration is getting worse.

 

Large Hydro Line Pathway Hydro One Vegetation Maintenance Clearcuts The Hydro Corridor

There has been no work on the unpaved portion of the large hydro line pathway but Hydro One has done what it calls vegetation maintenance on that portion of the hydro corridor, essentially clearcutting the whole thing.

 

Evolution of an Image – Photo Versions

I have been trying for a few years to get this photo of the vegetation by the Emerald Meadows pond in Bridlewood but have not been happy with the results.

These first photos were taken in November 2023 with my small Panasonic Lumix TS5 camera that I used to keep with me all the time on the bike. Unfortunately even when set for Vivid it’s pictures look washed out and need to be improved with software,

These images are the first one I tried, from the camera, and then edited with Simply Good Pictures. It did not turn out too bad but still was not what I was hoping for.

 

So I tried another one, but was still not happy after editing it with Simply Good Pictures. Then I tried enhancing the reds in Photoshop Elements 2023 and further enhancing it with Franzis Color Projects, which I think I overdid. These images are those photos in that order.

I tried again in October 2024 with much better results, likely a result of a bright day with better lighting and using my new Panasonic Lumix FZ300 camera. The first photo is from the camera and the second is enhanced with Simply Good Pictures and Franzis Color Projects. I am quite happy with that result.

 

Upon reflection I began to think that this photo would be a good candidate for playing around with in Franzis Color Projects as well as Franzis Black & White Projects to see what kind of variations and effects could be created. The following slide show, starting with the final version above, shows the kind of variations and effects that can be produced.

 

Bridlewood Hydro Lines Pathways Update

I have been reporting for a number of years on the deterioration of the pathways through Bridlewood, particularly the pathway along the smaller hydro line through Bridlewood, the latest being this spring’s report.

I finally have some positive news to report. Earlier this fall we noticed work being done on the paved portion of the pathway along the large hydro line through Bridlewood and were pleasantly surprised to find it completely rebuilt within a month. However, the gravel stone dust portion of the pathway remains the same.

Route of the Rebuilt Pathway

The following video follows the paved portion in both directions in order to highlight the fall colours along the pathways.

 

We also were happy to notice that work has begun rebuilding the pathway along the smaller hydro line through Bridlewood and are hopeful they will rebuild the full length of the pathway which is very deteriorated. The following shows were construction has begun along the pathway. We will report further when construction is completed. 

Small Hydro Line Pathway Construction Progress 

UPDATE 2024-11-03 

Portion of pathway indicated as under construction is now newly paved. No sign of work continuing on rest of pathway.

I can also confirm that the redone sections are considerably wider than the original pathways.

Annual Report on Kanata South Pathways Deterioration, Spring 2024

Another year has gone by and it is time to report again on the deterioration of the Bridlewood and Glen Cairn pathways in Kanata.

Bridlewood

Glen Cairn

Previous Reports

Spring 2023 Bridlewood & Glen Cairn

Spring 2022 Bridlewood

Spring 2022 Glen Cairn

Spring 2021 Bridlewood

Annual Report on Kanata South Pathways Deterioration, Spring 2023

Another year has gone by and it is time to report again on the deterioration of the Bridlewood and Glen Cairn pathways in Kanata.

Bridlewood 

 

 

Glen Cairn

Glen Cairn Pathway System Deterioration

Bridlewood is not the only Kanata South community with crumblingmulti-use pathways (MUPs) that are deteriorating due to multiplefreeze-thaw cycles every year as a result of climate change.

This pathway through Glen Cairn is also crumbling away.

 

The Bridlewood Small Hydro Line Pathway – The Crumbling Continues

A year ago I wrote a blog post, Climate Change, The Pandemic and Multi-Use Pathways (MUPs), in which I talked about the state of Ottawa’s Multi User Pathways citing The Bridlewood small hydro line as an example.

This is the current state of that pathway compared to a year ago.

May 2022

May 2021

 

Climate Change, The Pandemic and Multi-Use Pathways (MUPs)

The greatest long term threat to humankind is undoubtedly climate change. While the planet can no doubt survive anything short of a collision with a planet sized meteorite or asteroid, climate change has the potential to be be disastrous to human habitat.

In the short term the greatest threat to humankind is the COVID-19 pandemic.

While both of these threats are said to be non-discriminatory and many claim “we are all in this together”, that clearly is not true because while the threats may not discriminate, our societies and dominant economic system certainly do. Both climate change and the pandemic have a greater impact on the developing world than the developed world, and within the developed world a greater impact on poor and marginalized communities.

But what does this all have to do with multi-use pathways (MUPs).

Climate change has created multiple freeze-thaw cycles every year, rather than one each spring, causing excessive damage to cycling infrastructure, in particular MUPs. At the same time the pandemic has created an increase in outdoor activity and in particular much greater demand for bicycles putting much greater demands on cycling infrastructure including MUPs.

This is is the impact on a typical Ottawa MUP in Kanata.

Bridlewood Small Hydro Corridor Multi-Use Pathway (MUP)

We need to improve our multi-use pathway standards so that they do not completely deteriorate after one winter and connect the MUPs together to create a city wide system for recreational and utilitarian use, commuting, shopping, etc.

While considering this we need to keep these important facts in mind. Improving cycling infrastructure increases the number of people using bicycles for utilitarian purposes like commuting and shopping, which reduces the strain on roads and automobile infrastructure and reduces road traffic congestion. At the same time improving cycling infrastructures costs considerably less improving automobile infrastructure. Leaving the only reasonable conclusion that the most cost efficient way to reduce road traffic congestion is to improve cycling infrastructure.

The Old Stone House - To Be Saved or Destroyed

There is an old stone house in what was once a rural area and now is within the Emerald Meadows portion of Bridlewood in Kanata. A few weeks ago I biked by it and noticed that, while still standing, it was surrounded by construction and all the doors and windows were missing looking like no attempt to preserve it was being made. I was expecting it to be bulldozed any day but it still stands with construction going on all around it making me wonder if it is going to be destroyed or preserved.

  Update 2014-11-26 - What It Looks Like Now

Winter Bike Final Modifications & Mid Season Review

When I first bought my new winter bike in October I wrote "It's a bit small for me, but was about the largest they had in stock and with some adjustments to the handlebar and seat height I have it set up about the same as my mountain bike, which should be fine as my winter riding is usually confined to under 20 km rides around the neighbourhood."

That worked, but I still wanted a more comfortable riding stance so I started looking at changing the stem to raise the handlebars. After receiving some advice I decided to go with as straight a stem as possible to move the handlebars closer to the seat so that I could raise them enough and straighten out my stance without running out of cable which would incur more work and expense.

I found a replacement stem at Niagara Cycle in Niagara Falls, NY for $15 plus about $20 shipping. That added to the price of the bike, but well worth it I thought.

Before and After Bike Photos
(click on images to enlarge)

After riding with the new setup for over a week I am really pleased with how much more comfortable it is. Instead of just a leaning over MTB stance I now have more choice from straight up with arms straight to slightly bent over with a bit of elbow bend to a more bent over MTB style power stance.

Overall the new winter bike has been a great improvement over the old $100 Supercycle I used the previous two years. The 20 year old Shimano Exage 400 derailleur and shifters work as well as the shifters on our good bikes. And, of course, I still love those Schwalbe Ice Spikers, they ride through a layer of water on top of ice like it's dry pavement.

I'm hoping to get at least double the two years I got on the old Supercycle and I'm babying this bike to achieve that. After every ride it gets well cleaned and wiped down, especially the rims. The rear rim on the old Supercycle started to rust after a few weeks but both rims on this bike seem to be of a different, non-chrome metal and, as long as I wipe them clean after every ride, they resist the rust. I use a heavy grease on the drive-train because of the slush and winter muck and have already done a mid-winter cleaning with the MEC chain cleaner.

In recent days with low temperatures and puddles along the side of the road the cables have been icing up and I've had to stop and remove ice mid-ride, then bring the bike in to thaw after to get rid of any water that might refreeze and cause problems.

So far this winter, from December 14 to February 8, I have put 427 kilometres on the winter bike and I am aiming for at least 50 km a week.

I actually did some trail riding on it around the Old Quarry trails in December as I had put my MTB away for the season but the trails were frozen and still rideable. But most of my winter riding has been on the paths and local roads in Bridlewood and Glen Cairn. Over the previous two days, in two one hour rides I did 33.4 km, at an average speed of 16.0 km/hr and a maximum speed of 28.3 km/hr.

The map below of those two rides (including overlaps) gives a good idea of the typical routes I ride on the winter bike.

(click on map to enlarge)

Winter Biking

Well, I have actually got into the winter biking thing and pedalled over 230 km since December on the winter bike with the studded tires.

The Winter Bike
Most of my riding is around the communities of Bridlewood and Glen Cairn on the neighbourhood collector roads which are usually always clear. Lately due to the lack of snow even the side streets have been easily rideable.

The cold has been somewhat of a challenge, as biking adds about an extra 15 km/hr wind chill, so my rides have typically been limited to 15-20 kilometres.

I have to say that I am quite pleased and somewhat surprised at how well the cheap Supercycle performs, even the gears are shifting well despite the cold and slush, although I have been bringing the bike inside every week or so to clean and lube. I've been using pretty heavy lube - lithium grease and chain saw bar oil, which I am pretty sure would get the bike clogged up with gunk from the trails in the summer, but it seems to help protect from the salt and slush in the winter.

The studded tires are also fantastic. When I first started riding them I would look for every piece of ice I could to test them on. The other day I was over on some new subdivision roads where they have not been working in the winter and found lots of ice to tool around on and it was like riding on bare pavement.

The only problem with the cheap bike is the lack of suspension on some of the hard packed walking trails that are not cleared (gravel rather than pavement underneath) and even though they don't look so bad you can really feel the bumpiness without suspension so I don't usually last very long on those sections.

The actual forest trails are much smoother than that, and due to the recent trail conditions I was actually able to ride a few times on the Old Quarry Trail where the snow is packed enough that I just rode along top without sinking in, and wide enough I could ride alongside the ski tracks where there were any. Even people walking the trails are not sinking in. Other trail users seemed more amused than anything and I often stopped to chat with them. One asked me if I was patrolling the trail, probably because I had my yellow reflective vest on that I wear to be certain to be seen in traffic.

A Typical Ride on The Winter Bike (click to enlarge)
I am still looking forward to the new biking season and getting out on the good bikes but the winter bike is at least keeping me pedalling and it will be something to ride in the spring until they stop dumping bike-killing salt on the roads and paths.