By Melissa Vroon
August 2, 2011
Today I took the kids for a bike ride along the Elbow River from Edworthy Park down to Kensington. I parked my truck in the parking lot which is on the north side of the river where Shaganappi Trail and Memorial Drive meet. I loathe paying for parking downtown so I thought this would be a good way to create an outing for the kids, get some exercise and avoid paying for parking.
This particular pathway is one of my favorites in the city for cycling, rollerblading and walking. I consider myself more of a “destination” cyclist. I like to have some place to go if I am going to go on a bike ride. Edworthy Park is a great starting point for cycling to Kensington, Eau Claire Market and if you have the stamina.. the Calgary Zoo.
The trail is almost completely flat which is great for young kids and there are two pathways. The pathway closest to the river is for those enjoying the area on foot. The other pathway is for cyclists and rollerbladers. There are benches along the pathway if you need to take a little rest.
During our ride we got lucky and saw a huge bald eagle’s nest and some canadian geese.
Our ride to Kensington took just over half an hour. Google maps had a suggested cycling time of 22 minutes but I don’t think they take into account water, snack and sightseeing breaks.
On our way back we stopped by the Angel’s Cappuccino and Ice Cream Cafe which was close to where we parked our truck. We enjoyed delicious, freshly made sandwiches for lunch and ice cream for dessert on their cozy patio.
