It doesn’t seem right; it is certainly unexpected – to be having such a good time on the bike in November (in Edmonton). Nonetheless, I was out on my mountain bike again today (2011 November 10) and came home – much later and happier than I expected.
I started out from central Edmonton around 2 in the afternoon, heading along the south side of the river trails (dirt ones as much as I could).
Downtown Edmonton (with the James MacDonald Bridge)
From high on the riverbank, there was a great view of the ice on the North Saskatchewan River
Ice on the North Saskatchewan River
From southwest of Queen Elizabeth Park, a great view of the reflection of the old Rossdale Power Plant building in the river:
Old Rossdale Power Plant Building
I headed under the Walterdale bridge then along a winding little single track to the High Level Bridge. That was a fun little trail of a type (narrow, hilly and amongst the trees) that I don’t often ride.
Single Track River Valley Trail
I passed under the mighty High Level Bridge:
The High Level amd Menzies LRT bridges
and then along through the wooded trails west of Kinsmen Park, up and down a hill and then along the riverside trail to Emily Murphy Park. There were a few places along the trail where water running off the riverbank has already frozen. This one did not freeze on the path but a couple of other places, the trail was covered in ice for a 5 meter stretch.
Frozen "Waterfall"
From Emily Murphy I continued on along the flat, wide trail north of the Mayfair golf club to Hawrelak Park. There was a bit of rain coming down as I rode this stretch but I was glad it wasn’t snow – not that it was cold enough on this unseasonably warm afternoon
At the south end of the park:
Trail Though the Trees
As I stopped to take that last photo I was approached by a photographer from the Edmonton Sun newspaper who had apparently captured me riding a nd wanting to get my name. He was also interested in my little rearview mirror and took photos of that too. I may end up being in the paper.
From Hawrelak Park I continued along the dirt trail on the east side of the river all of the way up to Keillor Road. The trail has a few good hills.
Downhill Trail
and a lot of gently rolling paths
Undulating Trail
This trail may be my favorite in the city. It winds through lovely stands of evergreens and birch – looked great and smelled wonderful
Pond on the Riverbank
I stopped frequently to take photos and even parked the bike a few times for that purpose.
Bike in the Woods
I retraced my path on the way home but saw some different things – like the ice starting to form on the lake in Hawrelak Park
Lake at Hawrelak Park
Trail north of Hawrelak
Along the trail. I stopped to take the photo above but then was entertained for a few minutes by little chickadees flitting about me and landing on the branches just beyond my reach.
Chickadee
As I had been moving so slow, it was getting late (approaching 4 pm) and at this time of year dusk was not far off so I was trying to make up time which meant crusiing along the flat wide trails.
Fast Tracks
Back on the trail between Emily Murphy and Kinsmen.I again encountered the ice across the path and had to sloe down – in fact for one of the patches I chose to just walk across the ice.
Ice on the Path
In the end I had rode 23K and felt absolutely great – far exceeding my expectations for a ride in November,
Zen Cyclist 