Commuting in Edmonton Alberta

ncb

Edmonton is a great city for bicycle commuting. I have a strategy of riding "one street over" that works like a charm in combination with our beautiful bike paths, to get me where ever I want to go with no traffic to contend with. I'm forced to use one controlled intersection and must cross four major roads at cross-walks. Of my total 16k ride in to work I have 6k of dedicated bike path through an incredibly beautiful and picturesque river valley. I ride 5 days a week and sometimes get my wife out for a ride on the weekends. I'm saving up for a tandem so I can get a good workout and she can spend some quality time with me. I'll probably have to install a DVD player in the back of my helmet...but it'll be worth it.

I've ridden a few hundred kilometers in Holland and must admit, Edmonton is in it's own way, every bit as good for cyclists as Amsterdam or Utrecht. If it wasn't for the cold winters Edmonton would be the perfect place to live.

The pics are of my current ride which I built from pieces here and there and a wheel truing stand I built out of two boards, some clamps and a tent peg...lol. The bike is based on an Apollo "Club Sport" frame, Shimano 600 components every where with Ultegra rear derailleur and old mountain bike flat bars. 700x28c Hutchison tires with Mr. Tuffy liners for extra puncture resistance. Put 3500 K on it commuting so far.

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Tenspeeder

Ah, Edmonton...one of my favorite towns to cycle in. I used to take trips from my old place in Abbottsfield and head straight to the West Edmonton Mall in an hour and a half and not encounter a single hill.

Now, the river valley...that's another story alltogether :-) Heading along Bellamy Hill Drive is suicidal, at best. :-)