two trips to the city... by bike

Trip the First

#1 Son and his girlfriend had borrowed my van. It was in the city parked on a downtown street a few blocks from their building. On Tuesday I decided to ride in on Milly and pick it up. Although I've ridden into the city a couple of times, I'd never ridden downtown. I was uncertain about the stretch of road between the Anthony Henday and 178 Street. On my previous trips, I took the Anthony Henday exit and then got off at 87 Avenue. That, as the Staples ad says, was easy.

But riding east on 100 Avenue, past the Henday exit, behind the BMW dealer and Wal-Mart? I wasn't so sure. The speed limit is 70 and most cars go that or faster; there is quite a lot of traffic and lane-changing, and the right lane is not exactly wide enough for a big Dodge Ram 3500 and a cyclist to co-exist peacefully. On top of that, the pavement is rough, with potholes and/or cracks every couple of meters. It was pretty much as bad as I'd imagined. The only good thing is that it is short-lived. After crossing 178 Street, the situation improves dramatically, and after 163 Street there is, of course, the wonderful shared sidewalk that goes all the way to Crestwood. From Crestwood I entered the River Valley, and instead of continuing all the way to the Royal Glenora, where I normally exit onto Fortway Road, I veered left on the Government House Park trail. I thought this sign meant the trail would come out at the museum, but that's not what happened. Maybe I missed a turn or something, but I ended up on Groat Road, wondering where to turn next.

Just then a woman cyclist came along so I stopped her and asked where I'd end up if I headed north. We got to chatting and she told me the story of her life -- how she had ridden for the first time to Westmount Mall for lunch and now she was on her way to the University, and on and on. Amid this tangle of words, I managed to elicit from her the fact that I could get off Groat at 107 Avenue and from there head downtown.

I wasn't crazy about the thought of riding on 107 Avenue, the street where a cyclist (sans helmet, as the newspaper articles were eager to inform us) was killed earlier this summer. But I figured I'd be extra careful and get onto a safer, less busy street at the first opportunity. So I rode north, up the gently sloping hill and was pleasantly surprised when I saw, just before 107 Avenue, that I could turn left into the Glenora neighbourhood and ride from there on a quiet shady residential street to Stony Plain Road. Stony Plain Road, currently under construction, is basically closed to traffic, so it was delightful to ride on. At one red light, when I dutifully stopped and waited for the green, I saw a woman motorist stop and then turn left, treating the light as if it were a stop sign. Hmm. Wonder if she ever complains about cyclists who disobey traffic laws?

From Stony Plain Road, it was a short and easy ride to where the van was parked, just north of 102 Avenue. Total distance was about 31 km.