Ride the Rideau gets new name and route
Now simply The Ride, change was prompted by 2014 death of cyclist
The Ottawa Hospital Foundation has announced the new name and route for its annual cycling fundraiser.
The event, previously known as Ride the Rideau, will now simply be called The Ride. The event will include a 50-kilometre closed route, meant for more casual cyclists, and a 108-kilometre open route intended for more experienced riders.
The shorter route will leave from Tunney’s Pasture and follow the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway around three times. The longer route will also start at Tunney’s Pasture but then head west toward Dunrobin. This option ends at Wesley Clover Parks and will have cyclists brought back to the starting line on a shuttle.
The revamp of the event was prompted by the September death of cyclist Laurie Strano, 40, who died during last year’s ride after colliding with a garbage truck in Manotick. Ottawa police announced in March that no charges would be laid against the driver of the truck.
A task force comprising groups from the community has spent the months since Strano’s death reviewing how they could make the event safer. It was chaired by prominent community members, including Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau.
“As significant as (the event) is, it pales in comparison to the loss of Laurie Strano last year,” said Jim Durrell, who oversaw the review.
“And I think that the task force, the foundation, the hospital as a whole and the community asked itself some very long and hard questions about the ride and its future.”
Major changes beyond the routes include increased police presence during the ride, more signage for drivers and cyclists, brighter race bibs for participants, flashing bike lights available to all riders and a safety video that cyclists will have to watch in order to register.
The longer route will also receive road maintenance from the City of Ottawa prior to the event.
The criteria for weather cancellations have also been changed to include “moderate sustained rainfall,” a factor that some suspect contributed to Strano’s death.
This year’s event will take place on Sunday, Sept. 13.
Tim Kluke, president and CEO of the Ottawa Hospital Foundation, said the decision to move the ride from Saturday to Sunday was also part of the effort to make it safer for participants, as it’s expected there will be less traffic on the roads.
One of Strano’s best friends, Chantal Backman, said Thursday she’s glad that the event will continue.
“I know the importance of what the event does to fundraise and support patients at the hospital,” says Backman, manager of quality assurance at The Ottawa Hospital.
In the five years since its conception, the event has raised $8.8 million for cancer research at The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.
Strano was the director of patient safety and risk management at The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre.
“I know, certainly, Laurie was ... participating in this event for a good cause,” Backman said. “And so, I think her memory is there.”
Backman says she’s glad the foundation has altered the event, but despite the changes, she won’t be participating this year.
“I’m very supportive of the event and the changes that are happening to it, but I think it would bring back too many bad memories,” Backman explains. “That’s why I’m glad it’s different.”
Friends and family of Strano set up a memorial scholarship fund in her name at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management.
The fund will go to support Master of Health Administration students who demonstrate excellence in leadership, community involvement and athletics.
The Ottawa Hospital Foundation has set up a $100,000 legacy fund using proceeds from last year’s race. Each year, the organization will donate the interest from the fund to the scholarship in Strano’s name.