Announcing Kanata's Paradise Lost - World's First World Heritage Subdivision

The following is a fable, but like all fables it contains hidden (and not so hidden) truths.

Yes, for the first, and undoubtedly last time in the world, you can own a house on a World Heritage Site. Only in Ottawa, the world's "Developers Rule Capital" ©Development Ottawa Promotion Establishment (DOPE), could this be possible.

Killing Nature Limited (KNL) , in conjunction with UrbanDesolation Inc. and RichCrap Homes announces the construction of the first stage of houses in it's new Paradise Lost World Heritage Subdivision.

Located on the site of what used to be known as the Beaver Pond Woods this subdivision represents the new wave of natural destruction in urban development. Whether your home is on Blasted to Bits Drive, ClearCut Avenue, Extinction Way or Sacred Land Road you can be assured of the same quality Ticky Tacky that our homes are renowned for.

As an added feature each home comes with a Grand Forest Room that has, in place of a picture window, a forest mural. This feature is ideal for educating your children in the wilderness features that were once where your house stood. You can teach your children the names of all the plants, animals and endangered species that were sacrificed to build your home.

Each home comes with it's own Certificate of Destruction listing all the natural features and wildlife that were destroyed so you could have your own home where splendour and wonder once stood. You will also receive your own piece of the forest, a bag of wood chips from the trees that once stood here, to use in your garden.

For a limited time those visiting our sales offices on Walden Pond Dies Drive will be able to try some of our Forest Stew - there is nothing like stewed porcupine after it has been shaken out of it's tree and frozen to death - it's like Ice Wine, a real delicacy.

Most people do nothing about the wasted and undeveloped wilderness that covers much of our county. By buying a home in Paradise Lost you can help to reduce that waste and advance progress.

Remember by buying a home in Paradise Lost you pave the way for the destruction of even more forest and wildlife in what has come to be known as Our Community's Great Forest and World Heritage Site.

108 Kilometres and 5 Pounds Later (Ottawa River Pathways Hybrid Epic Ride)

Well it has actually been a few years since I have done an Epic (Over 100 kilometre) Hybrid Ride and I have been wanting to find out just how long a ride encompassing both the western and eastern Ottawa River pathways would be, having rode both separately.

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One of the things keeping me from doing this sooner was the lack of proper connectiveness between the two sections, which I have written about previously.

East and West: Two Solitudes - The Problems With The Ottawa River Pathway

The Ottawa River Pathway Two Solitudes: PostScript

Starting in Bridlewood I took the Trans-Canada Trail through the Greenbelt joining the Ottawa River pathway at the Andy Haydon water park. The western pathway route is an enjoyable ride along the Ottawa River on paved pathways with the opportunity for pit stops to eat and drink at Britannia and Westboro beaches.

The connection to the eastern section was not as bad as I expected. After the killer hill up the cliff by the locks you just take Murray Street to Sussex Drive and continue to the Rockcliffe Parkway and onto the eastern pathways. So I was fine, but anyone who is intimidated by riding on major heavy traffic roadways could be intimidated and even a bit frightened, and our pathway system should not force cyclists into those situations.

Once I reached the Rockcliffe Parkway I was back onto paved pathways leading to the pathways along the river.

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For the ride east I took the paved upper pathway along the Rockcliffe Parkway that goes past the Aviation Museum and then rejoins the path along the River.

Once you hit Orleans you follow the streets a bit past the Résidence Saint-Louis following the bike route signs and then take the Petrie Island Pathway that ends at Trim Road, but you can continue down Trim Road to the island. Most of the Petrie Island pathway is brand new pavement except for the last portion that is gravel. The pathway goes past a number of what appear to be mountain bike trails crossing over it, that I have yet to check out.

On the way back I kept to the pathway closest to the river, which is primarily a hard-packed gravel surface. Both pathways are enjoyable and scenic.

Casual cyclists should be aware that after you leave the river pathway, the path along the Rockcliffe parkway goes along a cliff and narrows for a portion and that can be a bit concerning but really is no great problem.

Getting from Sussex Drive back to the western pathway was another matter. I should have done better advance planning for the trip back and I ended up darting across the road where St. Patrick joins Murray Street during a break in traffic to get back to the path down the cliff. A better route would have been to continue along Sussex Drive to the other side of Murray Street and then walk the bike along the sidewalk to the path down the cliff.

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The biggest concern of the ride was the heat and probably a sign that I picked the wrong day for an Epic Ride. I have done long rides (60-70 km) on hot days and I have done over 100 km rides before but combing both was probably a bad idea and after the 90 km mark I was starting to feel the effects of heat exhaustion, but I managed to make it home without collapsing.

One of the problems of the pathway system (besides the lack of washroom facilities, particularly in the early and late season) is the shortage of drinking water facilities. There are very few water fountains on the route and the few that are there require you to almost swallow the fixture to get a drink, making it impossible to use them to refill a water bottle.

I was able to buy water from a vending machine at the Rockcliffe Yacht Club though. The multitude of Private Property and Members Only signs kept me from even thinking about asking them to refill my water bottle with tap water, I felt fortunate that they let me use their vending machine.

But all being said it was a great experience and I would do it again on a cooler day.

Overall stats:

Total Distance: 108 km
Time Moving: 5 Hrs, 40 Min
Average Speed 19 km/hr
Maximum Speed 36.3 km/hr

Weight Lost During Trip: 5 pounds (but I regained about 3 pounds by next morning after rehydrating, etc.)

The NDP, The Quebec Question and 50% + 1

Much has been made of Jack Layton's "controversial" comments on a possible Quebec sovereignty referendum.

The fact is that it is a very rational and defensible position. Based on the closest precedent, the entry of Newfoundland into Confederation, Quebec has followed the same rules, keep on holding referendums hoping to get the result you want with 50% + 1 required for passage. After all, otherwise we have a minority deciding Quebec's constitutional status.

That position, however, has it's problems. Other constitutional precedents require greater than 50% + 1 to make constitutional changes. As well, if support is that close the results of a referendum can vary from day to day.

That is why I tend to support requiring something like 60% support for such changes in constitutional arrangements, to ensure that the new constitutional arrangement will have continuing support. However that position also has it's flaws because in the case of, for example, a clear and continuous 55% support for sovereignty, the minority that opposes the change in status would effectively decide the fate of Quebec.

That is why the real focus needs to be on maintaining strong support for federalism in Quebec, support that has just recently been very effectively expressed by the people of Quebec in choosing a federalist social democratic party over a sovereignist one. We need to work on building and strengthening a strong federalist consensus in Quebec.

This will not be done by "giving Quebec whatever it wants" but by giving Quebec respect and building a strong Canadian community. This starts with recognizing Quebec's nationhood and it's right to decide it's own fate. Can we have a country within a country. It seems to work well enough for England, Scotland and Wales, within a unitary state. When have you ever heard Scots refer to themselves as "United Kingdomers" but their loyalty to both their country of Scotland and their nation state of the United Kingdom does not seem to be in conflict.

We have the best opportunity ever to set aside separatism in Quebec and build a strong Canada that includes Quebec. Quebec has spoken in the election and chosen federalism. All we have to do is work with the Quebecois to build a strong united Canada with them.

Reflections on Mapping the South March Highlands Kanata Lakes Trails

For purposes of simplicity, although both trail systems are within the South March Highlands, I will refer to these trails, across from the Goulbourn Forced Road (GFR) parking lot, as the KL trails and the ones in the Conservation Forest as the SMH trails.

On Wednesday (May 25, 2011) I started my latest mapping project of what mountain bikers refer to as the Kanata Lakes trails, to distinguish them from the trails within the South March Highlands Conservation Forest. I do this either with a sense of history or a sense of optimism because these trails are located in Phase 7 of the KNL/Urbandale Destruction and are planned to be destroyed along with the forest and geology they are part of, to be replaced with yet another ticky tacky suburban subdivision.

Need I say one more time that losing this land and these trails will be a real tragedy, and indeed the Terry Fox Drive extension (routed over the least environmentally friendly route after public consultations indicated environmental factors should be the first priority in route selection) has already had a devastating effect on the natural and trail connectedness in the South March Highlands. Nevertheless as we fight to save what is left we should enjoy it for as long as we can and hopefully this trail map, when completed, will contribute to that.

As with any mapping exercise I start I quickly discover the trail system is more complicated than I thought and includes more trails than on any existing map. So this is going to take a few rides to complete. At the moment I have tracks from this ride (blue) and another from last summer (red) on the very preliminary map below.

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As there did not appear to be any visible trail left at the old Kizell Pond signpost, I thought I would go in from the "Race Track Entrance" (that is not the entrance right across from the parking lot, but a bit south of it where you go "through" a couple of rocks) and see if I could work my way out to the signpost.

I never did get there but I did follow the hydro cut all the way to it's southeast end and discovered it ends in the Kizell Pond Subdivision. In the process I discovered a little loop around part of Kizell Pond, that might provide a pleasant route for short nature hikes with easy access. That was the first time I followed the hydro cut all the way to that end.

I also followed the hydro cut all the way to the northwest end where it ends at the Terry Fox Drive extension close to where it used to cross the rail line. As there was construction going on, and operating equipment right in my route to the other side, I was not able to confirm if you can access the other side. Depending on the gulley along the rail line you should be able to cross Terry Fox Drive at the rail line (traffic permitting) and connect to the rest of the trails.

The other interesting thing I discovered was another open section of trail (blue) west of the hydro cut on "The Dark Side", in addition to the section (red) I discovered open last summer. "The Dark Side" was private land that was fenced in and biking was prohibited on. Some of it is now city land but the status of these sections would require a very careful map comparison/overlay to determine. Both of these sections end at the new Terry Fox Drive extension.

The rest of my mapping experience consisted of following the usual KL trails including one offshoot that leads to a big open field where you can see the rail line across on the other side. If you follow the preliminary map above with these descriptions you should be able to see where much of what I am talking about is.

So why is this land and these trails so important. Very briefly, the South March Highlands is the most bio-diverse area in Ottawa and we are very fortunate to have such an area within our city and so close to the urban area. But, being surrounded by urban land puts its ecological integrity under great stress and if we continue to develop important pieces of it not only do we reduce its size but we increase the outside stresses on the land. We are close to the point of it's losing it's ecological integrity.

But this post is about the trail system and the KL trails have their own character distinct from the SMH trails. For mountain biking much of these trails are at an easier level and more open to riding by beginners. The terrain differences also make these trails much better suited to cross-country skiing than the SMH trails, which are better suited to snowshoeing. The two trail systems complement each other very well and are part of one interconnected ecological system, even with Terry Fox Drive running through the heart of them.

There is one distinct difference between the two systems. The KL trails are older and most were built by hikers and cross-country skiers while many of the SMH trails were by built by mountain bikers and are being maintained by them. It is very obvious that the SMH trails are much more sustainable than the KL trails. If we are successful in saving the KL trails there will need to be a review of the trails, which can probably be done as part of the City of Ottawa - OMBA (Ottawa Mountain Bike Association) joint stewardship agreement that is expected to be signed soon. Much work will need to be done to bring them up to OMBA standards. possibly including rerouting or closing some sections of trail.

But for now I hope to just finish mapping the trails so that we know what is there and can all enjoy the wonderful experience of being in this forest that we all hope to enjoy forever.

Now if we could just get the decision makers to spend a day in this wonderful forest.

Obama Gets it Right on Palestine

President Obama understands what I wrote three and a half years ago, that ending the Israeli Palestinian conflict depends on recognizing that "the solution essentially comes down to understanding the most and least that each side can accept".

We could argue forever whether the State of Israel should have been created the way it was but, as most Palestinians have come to accept, that is a historical fact that is simply not going to change. It has been a huge and difficult step for the Palestinians to accept that, after all it was their land that was stolen from them. But come to accept it they have. That is the most they can be expected to accept. The least they can be expected to accept is to have their own Palestinian State and have Israel give back the land they stole since the creation of the State of Israel with no exceptions. The original boundaries must be restored, including the status of Jerusalem at the time Israel was created.

The least that Israel can be expected to accept is to have their right to exist accepted by the international community, including Palestinians and Arab states. The most they can be expected to give up is all the land they stole after the creation of the state of Israel, a not unreasonable expectation.

Hard line Israelis, and their even harder line supporters in the United States, may not want to accept anything other than a solution dictated by Israel but the rest of the world knows, and President Obama understands, that Middle East Peace will require compromise, and while the hard liners may not want peace the rest of the world does.

And The Contempt Continues

Before Parliament even resumes Cabinet Ministers are issuing decrees to Parliamentary committees:

"Industry Minister Tony Clement said Thursday he will ask oil industry refiners, distributors and retailers to appear before a parliamentary committee to explain their 'opaque' pricing methods once Parliament resumes."

REMEMBER

It's Time To Vote

Best CN Cycle for CHEO/Tour Nortel Yet

Well surprisingly this was the best year ever that I have had riding in the Tour Nortel or CN Cycle for CHEO. I've been fighting something off all week and was not even sure when I got up this morning if I could do it but decided once I was on my bike everything would be OK.

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After iffy forecasts the weather turned out great, even if it started out cool. The route was very scenic, even if it did turn out to have some long hills with the wind against us. My longest training ride was 57 km and my best average training speed was 19.5 km/hr so I figured if I could do at least 18 km/hr I would be fine. It turned out I had my best time yet of 20.5 km/hr average with a maximum speed of 41.5 km/hr (downhill with the wind behind me).

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A good time was had by all I am sure.

Go Canada Go

A Message to Canadian Voters from Tommy Douglas

Historical Background

Mouseland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tommy Douglas and the NDP | CBC Archives