Cyclealberta has geared up for 2025. We have done several rides around the city training up for our Highwood Pass cycle that we cycled Friday, May 30th. We could not have picked a better day. The weather was perfect and every cyclist we encountered had one thing in common…huge smiles! I remember reading an article a few years back that cycling for just 15 minutes can reduce anxiety and depression. The League of American Cyclists have provided a great summary of the mental health benefits of cycling. I am sure you have all felt the peace and joy of cycling.

For those that still have Highwood Pass on your bucket list for 2025, you can access Highway 40 from the South Gate (Longview side) all the way up to the Ptarmigan Cirque parking lot until June 20th. The highway will be open to motor vehicle traffic on June 21st. This would make a fantastic ‘longest day of the year’ cycle!

Bow Valley Parkway (Highway 1A) will be car free 8 am to 8 pm until June 25th for 17 km from Banff to Johnson Canyon. Parks Canada has extended their pilot project for another five years to provide us with a car free experience for spring and fall along the Parkway. This is one of our favourite routes and highly recommended.

See our list of curated routes for other cycling ideas. If you have a favourite route that you are willing to share, let us know and we might just add it to our list!

Happy spinning! Check us out on Instagram! If you want to know more about us, click on the link below.

Cyclealberta.ca

With road cycling season coming to a close we hope you had a great season, and a chance to cycle your favourite routes and explore new ones. Check out our list of cycleaberta’s most popular routes in 2024 based on the number of times each route was visited on our site. How many did you cycle this year?

Road to Nepal – 48.5 km. We had over 1,600 hits on cyclealberta.ca to this route in 2024! This was one of the first routes we cycled when we first got our road bikes. This was also the top route in 2023.

Highwood Pass – Multiple Distances. This route moved up in the ranks in 2024 but has always been one of our top routes.

Sheep River Ride – Spring Road Closure Delight – 35.4 km

Calgary to Chestermere – up to 80 km

Banff to Lake Louise – 111 km

The Seven Closed Roads – Recommend as an early season goal. This one is new to the most popular routes list in 2024.

Badlands Tour – Drumheller Dinosaur Trail – 47.7 km

Horse Creek Road, Grand Valley Road Loop – 42.7 km. This has been a cyclists favourite for decades.

Springbank Tour – 28 km

Some of the least popular routes are some of the best…in our opinion. Consider these for 2025!

Madden – Water Valley – Cremona – 73 km Consider stopping for lunch at the Water Valley pub!

Sundre to Bearberry – 84.3 km There is nothing quite as enjoyable as the quiet roads around Sundre.

Mountain View – Bearspaw to Cochrane Out and Back – 44.1 to 52.5 km So close to Calgary!

Carstairs Loop – Spectacular Farmland Vistas – 66.8 km A hidden gem of a route.

Sundre Timber Trail with Optional Extension on Burnt Timber Road – 49.2 – 93.2 km

Four Hills of Banff – 49.7 km This is a must do for every serious road cyclist! While short on distance it is long on elevation. Bragging encouraged.

Cycle Alberta is ramping up for the 2024 cycling season and planning to add to our already extensive library of fabulous Southern Alberta road cycling routes. This weekend we saw many hardy cyclist braving the wind on their way from Canmore to Banff on the Legacy Trail as well as a whole troupe of spandex clad club cyclist out on Hwy 22X on their way to Cochrane. We know you are eager to get riding as well. Wondering where to cycle? Check out the Seven Closed Roads – An Early Season Goal for some ideas as well as this list of cyclealberta’s most searched routes from 2023.

#1 most searched route! Road to Nepal – 48.5 km This is one of our most favourite routes!

Calgary to Chestermere – up to 80 km A nice route to kick off the season.

Horse Creek Road, Grand Valley Road Loop – 42.7 km A great early season route.

Badlands Tour – Drumheller Dinosaur Trail – 47.7 km

Highwood Pass – Multiple Distances – Remember to put this on your Spring schedule before the road opens to motor vehicles!

Banff to Lake Louise – 111 km

Sheep River Ride – Spring Road Closure Delight – 35.4 km Remember to put this on your Spring schedule before the road opens to motor vehicles!

Springbank Tour – 28 km A good after work evening ride. Best on calm days.

In 2024 we will be testing out the paid Ride with GPS subscription. Ride with GPS is the app that we use to document our routes,  gather information on grade and elevation and to create an overview /interactive map of all routes. Until now we have used and been quite satisfied with the free version. Stay tuned for a full report.

Who are we? Some of our followers may be curious who ‘we’ are. Well, we are Karen and Elizabeth, two active Albertans with a passion for recreational road cycling.  Between the two of us we have 25 years of recreational road cycling experience.

The inspiration for cyclealberta.ca was 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. To learn more about our story please visit our About us page.

You can now find our site listed on Travel Alberta. Thanks to those who follow us on Instagram!

We recently had a road cyclist provide us with some feed back on the Horse Creek Road, Grand Valley Road Loop route. We hope that you all feel the same.

‘Great job creating a route that inspires others to get out and ride, and thank you for being a part of the cycling community!’

Ride on!

Elizabeth and Karen

With winter around the corner it is time to say ‘See you in the spring!’. We had a great cycling season at cyclealberta exploring the many routes focusing closer to Calgary. In store for Summer 2024 we will be adding some new fantastic routes like the Forestry Road route out to Waiparous Creek and Taber Farmland route to name a few. If you have a favourite route that you would like us to scout out and then share, please reach out! We love to hear feedback from our followers.

Recommendations for the winter season:

Cycling specific workouts online. We recommend Dynamic Cyclist’s Winter Strength Program. We have been using this app for over 14 months. There are also great videos for injury prevention. Very affordable.

Biking Borders. A 2021 full length documentary movie currently on Netflix. Two young men decide to raise funds by biking from Germany to China.

The Doctrine. Indoor cycle training studio located centrally near downtown Calgary. Either bring your bike or use a stationary bike. Great coaches and trainers. They also offer outdoor training in the summer.

Canadian Cycling Magazine Podcast. A great podcast focusing on our Canadian cyclists. The magazine is also recommended.

The Move Podcast. Lance Armstrong and friends critique cycling events. Whether or not you are an Armstrong fan, the team is very knowledgeable. They also do a great job promoting women cycling events and give them equal air time.

Cycling Cartoonist by Dave Walker. Very adorable illustrations depicting the mind set of the cyclist. The cartoon below is credited to Dave. Available in ebook format from the Calgary Public Library.

Other places to cycle. We have heard Idaho is a great place to road cycle so will be researching this one cold winter day. If you have explored this state please let us know.

Take the opportunity to bring you bike in for a tune up. Many shops offer cheaper rates in the winter. We have had good service experiences at Ridley Cycle Kensington, Bathtub Bikes and the Bike Shop in Calgary.

Visit the cyclealberta site and plan out your spring cycling. Rides that require some planning as they rely on roads being closed to motor vehicles are summarized under The Seven Closed Roads – Early season goal.

Happy Winter…Stay tuned to Cyclealberta.ca in the spring.

P.S. we are not sponsored so our recommendations are just that, recommendations.

It is September already and we want to remind you that the Bow Valley Parkway is closed to motorized vehicle traffic from September 1st to 30th. This section from Banff to Lake Louise is a great cycling option so check out our Canmore, Banff, Lake Louise Route Combinations to plan your route. Enjoy some scenic Fall traffic free cycling!

The stats are in!! Here is a list of cyclealberta.ca 2023 top routes as determined by our followers. If you have not already cycled these routes, put them on your list for a fall ride or keep them in mind for next spring.

As well, we have added two new routes in 2023 with more to come. We are always looking for route suggestions. Please send them our way. Once we vet them we will post them! Send to lizoberhofer@gmail.com.

If you are looking for challenging routes to round out your season and brag about on a cold winter day….check out our capstone routes below.

cycleaberta’s most popular Routes in 2023

#1 top route! Road to Nepal – 48.5 km

Calgary to Chestermere – up to 80 km

Horse Creek Road, Grand Valley Road Loop – 42.7 km

Badlands Tour – Drumheller Dinosaur Trail – 47.7 km

Highwood Pass – Multiple Distances

Banff to Lake Louise – 111 km

Sheep River Ride – Spring Road Closure Delight – 35.4 km

Springbank Tour – 28 km

New Routes added in 2023

Granary Road Leighton Arts Center (mini Road to Nepal) – 37 km

Nanton to Chain Lake – 58.5 km

Capstone Rides – this is why you ride! Perfect for Fondo training and bragging rights!

Lake Louise to Waterfowl Lake Out and Back – 120.7 km

Four Hills of Banff – 49.7 km (don’t let the distance fool you!)

Banff to Lake Louise – 111 km

Sundre to Bearberry – 84.3 km (highly recommended by us!)

Highwood Pass – Multiple Distances (better to do this when the road is closed in the spring)

Canmore, Banff, Lake Louise, Route Combinations – 47, 80 or 110 km (Part of the Bow Valley Parkway is now closed to motor vehicles so grab this great opportunity to cycle this route)

Cochrane to Water Valley out and back – 81 km (this is no ice cream ride…but if you bring cash you can get ice cream at the Water Valley store!!)

This past Sunday was a scorcher with a high of 31 degrees C. In this heat my friends Kris, Wes, and Martin wanted to show me how to easily combine a bike ride with a canoe trip down the Bow River. Only one vehicle (best with a truck) is required to perform this recreational duo.

First we loaded up the truck with both the canoes (you could substitute SUPs, kayaks or rafts) and the bikes. We then dropped off the canoes at the Graves Bridge launch site and tethered them to a concrete pilon. Next, we went down to the Fish Creek boat launch site at the end of Bow Bottom Tr. S.W. and got suited up to bike upstream to the canoes. We chose to go on the Bow River bike path on the opposite side of the river up on the escarpment by the communities of Mountain Park and Douglasdale. There, we could get excellent views of the Bow River, city, and Rocky Mountains. Once we arrived back at Graves Bridge we released the canoes and locked up our bikes. We then launched the canoes and had a relaxing paddle down to Fish Creek. Along the way we saw a variety of birdlife including Cormorants and Merganser Ducks. Finally, after docking the canoes at Fish Creek, we loaded them back in the truck and retrieved our bikes from the Graves Bridge site (total time was about 3.5 hours). What a great way to spend a hot day!

There are endless options for distance on the Bow River. For instance, a day trip could involve a drop off at Bowness Park and cycling back from Fish Creek. I was fortunate to have some skilled canoeing friends to show me the best river channels to take as we travelled downstream.

On this beautiful summer morning I met Lisa in Banff so that we could ride to Lake Louise on the Bow Valley Parkway. We had an ulterior motive…., free beer. That’s right, if you show proof (i.e. STRAVA) that you have ridden this route, then you are eligible for a free beer and swag at the Banded Peak Brewing Base Camp located next to the Lake Louise Ski Area Gondola. This offer ends on September 4th so don’t miss out on this great promotion. After savoring a cold drink for the road (iced tea) we stashed our beer in our packs. It was now a blistering 31 deg. C

On the way back we rode down to the Lake Louise townsite to catch the ROAM bus back to Banff to avoid heat stroke. Some of these buses have bike carriers on the front and/or bike racks inside the bus. Please be aware that if you have an e-bike that you will have to remove the battery from the bike before you are allowed to . We were able to jump on the bus (fare is $10.00) at the bus stop to the West of Samson Mall. During the summer it is recommended to book your seat in advance.

This week was a very eventful cycling week for us here at cyclealberta.ca. We scouted out two new routes and attended the Tour de Bowness criterion race. The two routes added this week are polar opposites to each other in that the Granary Road Leighton Arts Center route is great for beginning cyclists and the Nanton to Chain Lakes route is only recommended for the most experienced cyclists. Please check them both out and if you have ridden the Nanton to Chain Lakes route please let us know your opinion. I would recommend putting the Tour de Bowness on your calendar for 2024. It was loads of fun!

Photo of the Granary Road Leighton Arts Center route on Aug 2, 2023. A perfectly peaceful evening.

Today was an ideal road cycling day so we invited friends to cycle the Horse Creek Road Grand Valley Road loop which is out just past Cochrane. We got an early 9 am start as it was forecast to be a hot day. This is a fantastic route as many sections of the Grand Valley Road have been patched so there are minimal pot holes.

Cycling with friends.

Today was a perfect day for cycling south of the city and our favourite route is, of course, the classic Road to Nepal. This ride is one of the first longer distance rides that we did when we first got our road bikes and one of the first to be included in our website. The main part of the route has not changed but access has. We have three parking suggestions. Guaranteed fabulous views!

If one could ‘love’ a road, my love would be for Twp Rd 292 which runs east-west just north of Madden. Why you ask; this road is smooth, predictable and safe. There is very little motor vehicle traffic and not a pot hole in sight which guarantees a stress free cycle. I am amazed at how few cyclists use this road in fact I encountered none today. Check out any of the following routes that include a section of cycling on Twp Rd 292. Tell us what you think.

Madden to Dog Pound – 26 km.

Madden – Water Valley – Cremona (Short Version) – 58.7 km

Madden – Water Valley – Cremona – 73 km.

Carstairs Loop – Spectacular Farmland Vistas – 66.8 km