Bring it on! (Skateway expands on Thursday)

This just in from the agency in charge of Ottawa’s Rideau Canal Skateway:

NCC WILL OPEN ANOTHER SECTION OF THE
RIDEAU CANAL SKATEWAY TOMORROW
5.8 kilometres of the Skateway will be open

Canada’s Capital Region — The National Capital Commission (NCC) announces that as of tomorrow, January 13 at 8 am, 5.8 kilometres of the Rideau Canal Skateway, between the Pretoria Bridge and Dows Lake, will be open. Skaters will be able to access the Skateway by using all the entrances along the opened section.

On January 8, 2011, the NCC opened 2.4 kilometres of ice between Pretoria Bridge and Bank Street Bridge.

The NCC is working to open the remaining sections of the world’s largest skating rink as soon as ice conditions are safe and weather permits. Pedestrians and skaters are asked not to venture onto the closed section of the Skateway where ice is considered unsafe.

Managed by the NCC, the 7.8-kilometre Rideau Canal Skateway receives, on average, one million visits each year. The world-famous ice surface becomes one of the official sites for Canada’s winter celebration, Winterlude, which will take place from February 4th to 21st, 2011.

Current information is available at: www.canadascapital.gc.ca/skateway or by phone at  613-239-5234.

As of today the condition of the ice is listed as “good to very good”.  (Which is what you want. In my experience, so-called “fair” ice is pretty bumpy!)

There is, of course, more to life than skating the canal.  But if that’s something of interest, the skateway is now long enough to be very worthwhile.

Enjoy!