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Several Ottawa cyclists are questioning the safety of a stretch of Rideau Canal bike path after a man lost control of his bicycle and tumbled headfirst into the canal Wednesday night.

The man remains in critical condition due to severe head trauma suffered from the fall, which took place along part of the pathway that runs under Heron Road just south of Carleton University.

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The man was not wearing a helmet, and due to low water levels the canal was dry, leaving nothing but ice to break his fall.

Two other cyclists who passed through the area the same day say conditions along the bike path were dangerous.

While much of the Rideau Canal pathway is protected by waist-high concrete walls, greenery or wrought-iron railings, the area under the Heron Road Bridge only has a short, stubby curb that’s roughly a foot high.

“There’s a treacherous patch of ice on the bike path under the Heron Rd. Bridge which I lost control on while cycling home from Carleton around 9pm Wed. night,” wrote Lisa Meyer, a student at Carleton, on the Citizen’s website Thursday. “I ended up ramming the canal barrier, but was luckily going slowly enough to stop safely. I wouldn’t be surprised if this were the same patch of ice that caused this unfortunate cyclist to go over the barrier.”