About Us
We are two active Albertans with a passion for road cycling….
The inspiration for this site is to connect Calgary and Alberta based road cyclist and visitors with suggestions for scenic and challenging road cycling routes. We seek out routes on low volume traffic rural roads that are within a reasonable driving distance from Calgary.
Harrowing experiences on some of the popular road cycling routes around Calgary inspired us to create an information source for road cyclist like us who want to cycle lower stress routes that don’t compromise our personal safety or our desire to be challenged.
When we started out we were thinking of a cheeky brand and borrowed an idea from our favourite cross country ski blogger, Skier Bob. Hence Biker BARB was born. Then the exploration began. After four years scouting routes, rejecting routes and documenting the best routes we could find we are today rebranded as cyclealberta.ca and establishing a presence with the Calgary and southern Alberta road cycling community.
All of our routes are tested by us personally and usually multiple times. If you have any suggested routes please reach out to us through our Contact page and we may just feature your favourite ride!
Elizabeth Oberhofer
I have been road cycling since 2010, when on a whim, I purchased a road bike during the Blue Light Bow Cycle spring sale. My first ride out, along a Calgary bike pathway, ended in tears as I had not been on this style of bike since high school. I was determined to persevere and soon enough I was participating in long distance rides like the MS Ride, the Whistler Gran Fondo and multi-day Lake Louise to Jasper trips. I had found a new passion.
Finding training routes that I feel are safe and interesting has been a quest ever since. Fresh pavement is a treat as are smooth shoulders. Hill climbing is something I look forward to almost as much as a swift decent. Rumble strips and semi-trailer truck routes are something I like to avoid.
I hope that you will try out some of these rides and share your cycling routes with us.
Karen Laustsen
I started road biking when training for triathlons in 2009. I had been a long distance runner most of my life and wanted to diversify. To begin with I was using my mountain bike for training and then rented a road bike for my first half ironman. In 2010 I was given a beautiful road bike for my birthday. During the process of building up my endurance for the bike portion of the race, I tried to seek out bike routes that were challenging but did not have much motorized traffic. Now I could enjoy the biking and not have to breathe in the exhaust of all the motorized traffic. In addition, I was able to explore different routes that showcased some of Alberta’s unique countryside. Now biking became an opportunity to discover these new areas and I have had some fantastic adventures. I am hoping that cyclists will try these rides and be amazed at what the back roads of Alberta have to offer.
Cycle Alberta 