Pit Stops: Fort Edmonton Footbridge

An old shot of the FEF, before the water came up.

It’s hard not to think about water here in Alberta this week, what with the crazy flooding in the southern part of the province. In Edmonton, where I live, we’ve been spared the worst, but the river is as high as I’ve ever seen it. The other day I went out for a spin through the river valley so I could get a good look at the brown torrent we call the North Saskatchewan, and I ended up at one of my favorite hangouts, the Fort Edmonton Footbridge (FEF).

Gravel Glossary Project

A road is a road is a road.—Gertrude Stone

Okay, so maybe I’m taking some poetic license with that line, but I do so to make a point. It’s unlikely that the above misquoted statement would ever be uttered by a cyclist. Anyone who’s ridden a bike any distance knows that road conditions greatly influence the quality of a ride. The slightest differences in road surface (not just concrete vs. tarmac vs. cobblestone, for instance, but the kind of each of those), the number of cracks and potholes, the quantity of sand or dirt on the street—all of these factors play a role in how you roll.

Tasting Notes: Idaho Spud

The Idaho Spud is one of my favorite candy bars (or chocolate bars, as we call them in Canada), and it makes for a perfect road snack for bike rides. The catch is that you can only get an Idaho Spud in actual Idaho—or some parts of Montana, Oregon, and Washington State. My pal Penn just returned from a drive down through some of those places on his way to Arizona and he was kind enough to bring me back a sack of spuds, which I’ve been enjoying on bike rides all week.

Alberta Beach

One of the highlights of last year’s riding season was a May day-trip with Val and Penn out to Alberta Beach, a village on Lac St. Anne, about 75 km northwest of Edmonton. I’m not exactly sure why this ride stands out in my memory. Maybe it was the turtle hordes. Or perhaps the healing waters. Or, possibly, the exploding beavers. Whatever the reason, I have fond memories of this day.