Horse Creek Bike Loop, in "Winter"

This didn't happen too long ago, and it was great to get out on my bike during the so-called winter we are experiencing in Alberta. I did this loop in summer, so it was much greener, but this was good enough, considering it was February. GPS data can be found here.

This didn't happen too long, and we haven't had much snow this winter anyways. I'm expecting it to all come down in March...

Of course I'm grinning! I'm biking in February! And I was in shorts. And I wearing my special events bandana. I've had it for 13 years this year, and it's been with me many places. MANY places...

It's such an awesome ride! I only saw two other bikers out. I thought for sure that I would have seen more.

I'm trying to get some cool perspective, like that of my hub's view, sort of, I think...

This is beautifully green in summer, but it certainly held its charm in winter.

The nice thing about this loop, is that once you finish Grand Valley Road, if you are riding the loop clockwise, the ride back down Horse Creek is pretty much all downhill right to highway 1A. 

Another great thing about this ride is the serious lack of traffic! I'm not a fan of riding on the shoulder of the road, but there is so few people and cars on this ride that you can wander all over the pavement! Be careful, of course.

More wheel hub perspective. I ride singe speed, but I think I was easily able to get up to 50km/h on the downhills.

Horses! Of course, it is Horse Creek Road...

Towards the end of the ride, the weather got a little colder. But I was close enough to home that it didn't bother me. 

I was truly lucky to be out on this ride. It was a gem in this winter season we've been having here in Alberta. As I write this, a few weeks after this ride, it is snowing a bit colder than when I rode, but you won't hear me complaining. Not one bit.

:-)

Commuting Fun!

As was my goal earlier this year when I bought my bike, I wanted to do a daily commute on the bicycle. Well daily doesn’t happen, but frequent does. Here are some photos (up until the point where my camera ran out of batteries).

 

Ok, the exposure settings suck, but there is a deer in the picture as I head west towards the mountains.

 

See, a nice deer! Blurry, yes, but definitely a deer.

 

Heading south on Horse Creek Road towards the tracks. This morning I had to wait for the train for 5 minutes, but most days there are no trains.

 

Riding through the neighbourhoods towards the intersection. Beautiful way to start the morning!

 

Coming up to the intersection, you can smell all the fast-foods being prepared. Not exactly the best choice for an active morning, but oh so tantalizing when you’re riding on an empty stomach.

 

This is passing the Tim Horton’s in town. It looks as if I’m playing in heavy traffic, but actually I am just passing parked trucks.

 

I used to take the pathways under the bridge, up the other side, across on the pedestrian walkway and then back under the bridge to the paths, but I realized it’s safe enough to just ride the shoulder.

 

Crossing the bridge over the Bow River. The river has been really swollen this year. Usually in the morning it is quite low then by afternoon it is much higher, but now it seems to be always high. It even floods the parking lot underneath quite often.

 

Rather than heading up the highway, I take a right at the lights into Bow Meadows (I think) and aim for Tower’s trail. Sure it’s an additional 10km, but it is so worth every minute of it!

 

Ah yes, Tower’s Trail hill. One of two major hills (if you want to call it major) on the ride. Major enough to cause me to pant.

 

At the top of the hill, the sun just peeks over Big Hill. Such a pretty way to start the morning!

 

At the top of Tower’s Trail hill, some rolling roads that turn into gravel. I figured my ride to be about 56% tarmac, 44% gravel. That’s why I have the commuter bike and not a road bike, as mine can handle the gravel.

 

And there I am. At my desk being a good worker.

Commuting on the bike is great cause it’s the perfect way to start the morning, then I spend all day looking forward to the ride home! Sure it may take 1:15, but it’s no big deal to me cause I enjoy it so much! A great way to get some fresh air early in the morning. Usually when I ride to work, it ends up rainy or stormy, but hey, it’s half the fun seeing whether it rains or not! So far this year, I’ve logged 530km, which I think is pretty good (considering I’ve only put 1600km on my motorcycle).

Grand Valley to Horse Creek Loop

So the other day, we (neighbours, that is) decided to go out for a bike ride. Road ride. Yeah, and since we live on one of the most fantastic bike loops in the area, we decided to pedal out the Horse Creek – Grand Valley loop. GPS data can be found here.

We did the loop clockwise, starting on the highway from our neighbourhood going a few km’s west (into a strong headwind) to Grand Valley road and taking that north. The hills are called the Wildcat Hills.

Once we turned north, the winds weren’t so bad and the hills provided some protection. And there were some nice views along the way.

J and his fancy road bike. I have a single speed commuter and had to pedal like mad to keep up. Perhaps that is some incentive to get a hub-gear.

Taking photos of yourself while biking is tricky, but I think this turned out alright.

One of the nicest things about this whole loop is that it is smoothly paved the whole way! Very nice for skinny tyres and keeping the speed up.

Cows! I like cows! They are very photogenic and taste delicious!

There are no really steep climbs on the loop which is nice. Even though the loop is over 40km, I believe even a novice road rider would have few issues! Plus the scenery is just fantastic!

And of course, wherever there are fields and hills, there are trees, so they deserve a picture too.

J and K coming up the last section of Grand Valley Road before we headed east towards Horse Creek Road. Very easily identifiable by the stop signs.

K coming around the bend and heading east! I think she really enjoyed the ride!

The connecting road TWP 280 between Grand Valley and Horse Creek Road is very nice, with trees whizzing by you (depending on how fast you pedal) and is quite flat and straight. It’s so very peaceful.

Having fun with the camera. I sure hope there is no car coming towards me….

Coming down Horse Creek Road there are some slight downhills and bends in the road. Very fun and quite fast! Again, perfect scenery.

I was trying to get the camera as close to the road as I could without wiping out or dropping the camera. I think this worked out quite well.

Riding south on Horse Creek Road gave us a bit of a crosswind, and all the grasses made that nice summer rustling sound that I love so much. Hopefully this photo captures that sound in some way.

The last stretch of road brought us back in to Cochrane and in view of the mountains. I love living here. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

The beauty of riding the bike is the quiet and the peace that it creates. There are no motors, no stereos or noisy distractions. Just the road, the bike and your legs hammering away like pistons on your pedals so that you can feel the exhilaration that is road biking. And better yet, the Coke at the end of the ride that you share with friends as you plan your next ride.