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Ride along the Ottawa River

I was coasting down the big hill on the north end of Blair Rd. in Ottawa and filming with my new Hero GoPro Helmet cam. I am trying very hard to keep my helmet still so the video isn’t too choppy. I made it up to 70 km/h without even pedaling. I uploaded the video to Youtube so you can have a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I949EOODwc

Dear _________________,

I was shocked and disappointed to read the article in the Ottawa Citizen where the National Capital Commission (NCC) has arbitrarily banned the use of electric-assisted bicycles on our bike paths.

My wife has not been able to ride a regular bicycle due to a degenerative disk in her back, but I have been an avid cyclist for many years. There were three obstacles that we needed to overcome to get her riding comfortably and safely. The first problem, comfort, was solved by getting her onto a recumbent bike where she has full back support and a gentle reclining position that enables her to sit without too much pain. The second issue is stability, so she now has a recumbent trike that will not tip over easily. The last obstacle was her inability to pedal continuously, so we added an electric-assist hub to her front wheel to allow her to manoeuvre her bike safely and confidently. These three solutions have restored her freedom and independence. She can ride almost painlessly and effortlessly to places she could never see before she got the trike. We have enjoyed the Ottawa River Parkway and the bike paths, both paved and gravel, along the edge of the river. We have enjoyed the Rideau Canal pathways and we have visited the Bytown Museum while we were out riding. On a weekly basis, we attend the Farmer’s Market at Landsdowne and we visit the shops and restaurants in Chinatown, all by bicycle and all by using portions of the NCC bike paths. Clearly, her favourite ride is the gravel path along the river, but with the recent ban, these special moments in her life are now in jeopardy.

Other vehicles, that are much bigger and longer and faster than e-bikes, are still allowed on the NCC bike paths. I also ride a recumbent bicycle, but with no electric assist. My bike is 8 feet long and it is capable of speeds in excess of 60 km/h. Quite often I haul a bike trailer behind my bike to carry items home from our shopping trips. With the trailer, my bike is about 12 feet long, and since I am more of a Clydesdale than a race horse, I’m sure that my set up weighs more than an e-bike, especially when I am carting home a trailer full of groceries from the market. Even when my bike and trailer are fully loaded, I am capable of much more that 20 km/h. I have seen many other vehicles on the bike path like tandem bikes and trikes, and even tandem bikes and tandem trikes with trail-a-bikes in tow, and some even have a child carrying trailer behind that. All of these bikes are allowed on the NCC bike paths even though they outweigh and out-perform the e-bikes that you are banishing from this city’s bike paths.

My wife and I travel well below the recommended speed and we are always courteous to other users of the bike paths. We ring our bells when overtaking pedestrians or slower riders. Everywhere we go, people are always commenting positively on our bikes and some will even ask us to stop so they can check out the trike. Most of them don’t even recognize that the trike has an electric assist option installed. There has never been an unsafe moment for us or anyone else we’ve encountered on the bike path (unlike the roads).

Since October 2006, the Government of Ontario has been conducting a pilot program to evaluate the integration of e-bikes into regular bike traffic. For nearly two years, there was never an issue to tighten the restrictions on e-bikes as far as the bike paths were concerned. Under the pilot program e-bikes are allowed to go anywhere that bicycles can go, including bike paths. The wording on the Ministry of Transport (MTO) website indicates that municipalities can restrict e-bikes on certain roads and sidewalks while also saying that e-bikes are allowed on any trails and paths where bicycles are permitted. This unwarranted ban of e-bikes flies in the face of the MTO E-bike pilot program and hijacks the successful outcome of the pilot. I wish the NCC could revise their position on the e-bike issue until the pilot program has been given enough time to make recommendations according to an unbiased collection of data from all of the stakeholders.

Finally Ontarians have an achievable mode of individual transport that embraces zero-emission vehicles. The promotion of green, sustainable options will pave the way for development of the transportation for the future. This is a great opportunity for the NCC and the capital city of Canada to lead the country toward a new vehicle solution. Current e-bike technology will eventually evolve into e-cars and busses. Please reconsider your decision concerning the exclusion of e-bikes from the bike paths in our great city.

Thanks,
Blackburn Pete

A reply from the NCC on August 18th, 2008 claims the NCC will ‘tolerate’ e-bikes on the NCC bike paths. (more…)