Winterlude 2010

Today we decided to take advantage of the sun and warm weather to strap on the blades and skate the Rideau. We started late in the afternoon from Dow's Lake and skated the entire length (7.8 km) to Confederation Park.



Conditions were perfect so it was no surprise that today was likely the busiest day on the canal that I've seen in a long time. The Beaver Tail line-ups were enormous and even the skates between the touristy spots were thick with skaters of all shapes and sizes and ages. That said, I was surprised to see that the ice was holding up quite well.



Once we reached Confederation Park we packed up the skates and waded through the crowds to see the ice sculptures and other Winterlude activities. I think we had just missed the throat singers when we arrived but having seen this freak show once before on Canada Day I was counting myself lucky on that one.




By day's end we decided to take the shuttle bus back to Dow's Lake in order to make it home in time to cook up some supper.


Sundown on Dow's Lake

Skating with ghosts

Another night skating at Ben Franklin. Still cold but not cold enough to scare mom away this time as she donned several layers of fleece and Gortex and joined us for our late night skate.



A fun evening topped off with a round of hot cocoa and a couple of shots of my homemade Dutch licorice vodka (ok that was just for Papa bear).

Note: I googled and discovered that this "Dutch licorice vodka" has already been invented by the Finns in the 90s. They called it "Salmari or Salmiakki Koskenkorva" complete with it's own urban legend about a teenager suffering a heart attack after drinking it. You learn something every day albeit some things are more useful than others (I'll let you decide which category this tidbit falls in).

Cheers... or as the Finns would say, Kippis!

A Saturday Skate

After a couple of indoor soccer games this morning we decided to wrap up the day with a skate. A stretch of the Rideau Canal is open for skating but it seemed a little far given that we only had a couple more hours of daylight. So it was off to the old Nepean City Hall outdoor rink for a few laps.

Round and round we skated. Luckily it was getting close to supper so the crowds were down to just a few stragglers. Most people joining us seemed a little shaky on the blades but there was one man out there that seemed to think he was Kurt Browning on hockey skates.


Over all my years of skating on outdoor rinks I noticed that people tend to skate in a counter clockwise direction. What's up with that? At least on the canal it's straight there and back and on the indoor hockey rinks they actually have a guy blow a whistle every once in a while to change direction. But whenever I find myself on an outdoor rink it's counter clockwise. It's reached the point where I'm now convinced that I've become noticeably less comfortable skating clockwise. Next time I'm out I'm going to have to go against the flow of skater traffic in order to balance it out.


Check out Emma's new method of getting her mitts on under her coat sleeves.
Click here for a list of all the outdoor rinks and puddles and click here for a list of public arena skate times.

A skate on the world's largest ice rink

Sunday morning we gathered up some snacks and our skates and headed down to the Rideau Canal for some fresh winter air and exercise. Before leaving I was sure to check out the ice conditions to make sure we had a green flag. Ice was rated good to very good and better yet the sun was shining and the temperature was a perfect -10°C with the wind chill.



From Pretoria Bridge, we skated south as far as Dow's Lake and then back north again to Pretoria and beyond. It was still early enough that the crowds had not yet been released from Sunday church so we had no problem finding open ice which is not always the case during Winterlude.



The Beaver Tail line-up at Fifth Ave was a mile long but that was no surprise seeing as I'm sure it's the only reason about 90% of the weekend skaters come down here. Here's a link to a Beaver Tail recipe in case you haven't found the time to sharpen your skates yet.




At the end of our journey we opted for the Royal Oak pub over the Beaver Tails which we'd already enjoyed earlier this month. At the pub, we enjoyed the classic eggs, sausage, toast, and home fries breakfast. Always a hit on a Sunday morning.

Finally here's a map for those of you wanting to plan your skating route. Enjoy.

Skating season hits Ottawa

Last weekend they officially opened the Rideau Canal skateway - well at least part of it. The 2 km section between Somerset and Bank St is ready for skating. Click here for an update on ice conditions.

Or click here to take the virtual tour of the Rideau skateway. It's pretty cool.

Personally I'm waiting for the entire 7.8 km stretch to open up before I head all the way down there. In the meantime the family and I are warming up in the nearby arenas and the old Nepean City Hall outdoor rink (which even has it's own Zamboni doing maintenance).

Click here for a list of all the outdoor rinks and puddles and click here for a list of public arena skate times.



Hopefully by the time the opening of Winterlude rolls around this Friday the canal will be nothing but green flags.