February 12, 2005

Take a Virtual Skate down the World's Longest Skating Rink. Click on "Virtual Tour" on the left to skate really fast down the 7.8 km of the Rideau Canal, here in my hometown of Ottawa in the Great White North. If you've never skated or want to improve your skills check out the Recreational Skating FAQ . And of course you can work on the mysterious, the unfathomable and totally cool hockey stop.
posted by StoryBored 19 years ago
  • Hey StoryBored, are you still in Ottawa? 'Cause we're having a meetup the 18th... Can you believe that I don't know how to skate? I can go forward, sort of, but I can only stop if I just glide to a stop, or run into something, or fall down. Pathetic. I haven't been out on the canal despite now living in Ottawa and I feel like someone's going to strip my citizenship or something. :) Vaguely more on topic, great first link. :)
  • Skated it a couple of weeks ago. Lovely. Though Winnipeg has a shorter one (also on a river), I find it has a somewhat nicer atmosphere there. And livii, quality of ice makes a difference. I used to practice on a local pond and it was a nightmare, but once I got on smooth ice, it was amazing the things an amateur could do. On rough ice, untrained intention just doesn't translate into (intended) action.
  • Doesn't Quebec City have a whole bunch of interlinked canals that you can scate on? Or am I thinking of Ottawa? Whatever, for this SW US boy, that seems really exotic and cool.
  • that is a seriously badass 'tour' of the canal...
  • Hey livii, thanks for the invite, i'll try to make it! Re: the skating, i'm not that good at stopping either but i'm better than i used to be. The canal's best in the early morning and late evening, i give it three thumbs up! Depending on where you are in town, there's also skating arenas where they give lessons.
  • gren - I like how the camera zips by some people but then there are some skaters that are going faster than the camera. The footage has all been sped up so it's hard to know how fast the camera was travelling but it's still kinda cool. Plus crank up the volume on that spacey music...
  • kmellis, i haven't heard of a canal system in Quebec so it may have been Ottawa you're thinking of. The Rideau canal is a part of a long waterway from Ottawa to Kingston. Anyhow if you ever get a chance, try it! When you get going on a crisp sunny winter day, with the wind at your back. Why, it's the closest you can come to flying without leaving the ground.
  • I was out on the canal today for a run in the morning and a skate this afternoon. Nice, nice day. Ice isn't bad, considering the weather and the fact that it's winterlude. Great link, btw. I hope they keep the link live over the summer when I need a fix.
  • StoryBored, it's the 18th at 7:30 at Pub Italia. Hope we'll see you there!