another adventurous ride...

this time to St. Albert and back, in a 61.6 km loop.

I rode straight north to start, uphill against a moderate wind, and then headed east past the airport, through the village of Villeneuve, to the west end of St. Albert. I didn't really go into the city, just headed south on Hogan Road. The stretch from the airport to St. Albert is almost flat, and it was fun to look at my speed on the computer. I hardly ever ride on flat roads, so to see a sustained speed of over 35 km/hour is unusual. I also watched my average speed increase a couple of decimal points.

I followed Giroux Road and Ray Gibbon road to my goal: Meadowview Drive. I've seen this road on the map. How can a person who loves country bike ride NOT want to ride on a road with a name like that? And the road is almost as beautiful as its name.

The above photo looks a little too autumn-ish for my liking, but beautiful all the same.

Riding along beside Lois Hole Provincial Park

 

It was another gorgeous summer day -- 20 C and mostly sunny:

 

Below, we have the prairie version of ancient ruins. When I was a kid, we used to play in a building similar to this; ours was an old power building next to the Swift Current Creek. Seeing this brought back memories:

I rode past this creek, but the sight of all these logs piled one on top of the other made such an impact on me that I had to turn around to take a photo. Yes, I did not misspeak -- this really is a creek. On the other side of the bridge, there is running water.

And when I saw the sunflowers a few meters farther along, I had to stop yet again. After all, what's the use of a scenic country ride if you can't stop occasionally to record what you see?

Meadowview Road leads to Highway 44, where I headed south. Just before this highway I was passed by a guy wearing team kit and riding a skinny carbon-frame bike. I didn't feel too bad about being passed by someone like that, but I did wonder how fast I could ride on one of those bikes! We met up again at the stop sign and had a bit of a chat while waiting for a chance to cross the road. On the highway he was joined by two other matching riders, and before too long they left me in the dust. 

Oh well, I was happy to be out riding, getting exercise, soaking up some rays and enjoying the lovely weather and scenery. I also maintained my increased average speed, something I am pleased about. The top speed has not changed since I hit 56.3 km/hour on a downhill the second day of riding with the computer on the bike, so I know I've been bringing up the average from below, and that's a pretty good feeling!

From Highway 44 I took a range road leading back to the main road, and home again, home again, jiggety-jig. A sliced grapefruit and a glass of water with lime never tasted so good!