Cycle Adventure with Ian

This morning, Miranda is off at a workshop with her friend Echo doing an umbrella-making workshop put on by Beakerhead. So, rather than have Ian feel left out, I gave him a choice after breakfast: he and I could either go to Calaway Park, or we could go for a bike ride adventure. I know I say that he really likes riding his bike, but this is a new high-water mark: he chose riding with me over going on a rollercoaster. 🙂

The basic idea was to ride from Home Depot in Tuscany, across the river to Bowness Park, and up the steep switchback hill into Valley Ridge. Other than that, we didn’t have any particular plans. In the end, we went a fair bit further:

Here is Ian. We’ve parked the car at Home Depot:

He liked the tunnel under Nose Hill Boulevard with it’s echoes. We managed to climb up the switchbacks. We stopped so he could catch his breath. Only on the last turn near the top, where the slope probably exceeded 10 percent, did he have to stop and push. It was amazing. We stopped, and asked a passing bunny rabbit to take a picture of us.

We explored in Valley Ridge, and went as far as this lookout:

Then we went back down the hill and stopped underneath the Stoney Trail bridge to have a drink of water before continuing.

Then we cruised through Bowness Park, along the bike lane all the way to Bow Cycle, where we stopped and looked at bikes and got ourselves a couple of Honey Stinger Waffles for a snack. Then we headed back to the car, following the north side of the river and Baker Park.

It was a great ride: almost 18 kilometers over almost two hours. Ian was so proud of himself, both in how far he went and being able to climb up into Valley Ridge. High fives all around.

Interesting: this is the three year anniversary of Miranda and I doing a major cycling tour. I must have an internal sensor that tells me when the kids are big enough to do this.  🙂

Updated

Miranda had fun at her workshop.  There will be a parade On September 19 to showcase projects. Here is her jellyfish umbrella: