When I posted this trip it was supposed to be sunny and warm. It did get warmer towards the end of the ride but there was very little sun.

We started from Valleyview Park with 3 road bicycles, 1 road electric bike and 1 electric mountain bike. Despite the equipment variances, a nice relaxed pace was maintained throughout the trip. The section through Calgary was free of snow, except where there was a small amount of ice under a railway bridge. As we progressed to Chestermere Lake snow started to encroach on one half of the trail. In two locations there was a narrow section which we could ride with careful attention not to wobble. This lasted for a distance of about 20 feet each time, then the snow receded back to covering half of the bikeway.

Just as we reached the edge of Chestermere, there was a detour (due to construction beside the pathway) onto residential streets which involved a short section of very muddy lane. There was no way to avoid it. Although the detour went through the residential area it was not well signed and we thought we could get to the pathway by going to the south side of the canal to connect back with our bench at the end of the canal pathway. As there has been a lot of very new construction (called South Shores) including roadways, we decided to do a little exploring of this residential area. On a side note, Yolande advised this area was undeveloped - no roads or houses - last April when she last did this cycle.

After meandering around this residential area for awhile we arrived at a street which allowed us to connect to the gravel pathway along the south shore of the lake. This would take us back to our bench at the end of the canal pathway.To get to this south pathway we again had to cross a short section of dirt somewhat covered with snow. This was preferable to riding back to the original detour point, but involved an small amount of mud slogging. Once back at the bench everyone was keen to ride to the park and Tim Horton's. When we arrived at the park there was still some snow around the picnic tables, so we opted for Tim Horton's. There we found Stan and Jill chowing down on lunch. Apparently they had just finished riding out on the highway (likely 17 Ave. S.E.) from Stan's house and were planning to return by the canal pathway. They were unaware of the Rambler club trip. After a nice chat (including letting them know about the pathway condition), we settled down to a leisurely lunch with some of us inside Tim Horton's and others on the exterior benches. After lunch was complete, we headed back using the proper detour route. We eventually caught up to Jill and Stan leapfrogging each other until we stopped to assist a cyclist. Turns out one of his spokes was loose and he wanted to tighten it. We had no spoke key with us but advised him he should be OK for the rest of his ride as there was very little “wow” in the wheel - he could just fell the wheel shimmy.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and we arrived back at the cars between 3 and 3:30.

It was really nice to connect with a number of people who I hadn't skied with this winter and get up-to-date on what was happening with them. Thanks to all for coming out and joining the ride.

Sorry, no photos this time.

Participants: Joe, Yolande, Shirley, Inge

Bob C/S