Curious as to how the cycle paths were affected by the Stampede, I decided to ride around the outside of the Grounds and see for myself.  I only expected to ride about 10km from downtown, up the Elbow River from its confluence with the Bow and then back down the Main cycle path paralleling 5 Street SW.

Expecting pedestrian and road traffic, I donned a fluorescent yellow jersey and ensured both my front and rear high intensity flashing lamp and bell s were working.  On the Bow Valley Trail, there was some cyclists but thankfully few electric scooters as I made my way downriver to the Elbow River.  Hazy sun kept the temperature at a comfortable 25⁰C with a light easterly wind barely ruffling the CS flags advertising the Stampede.

Most pedestrians appreciated me dinging my bell on approach  but not everyone heard or reacted as though they had heard so I kept my speed down.  I was using this ride as a low intensity training ride for my Trainer Road program so didn’t mind the slowing and stopping occasionally. 

There wasn’t much to see  in the First Nation’s camp on the Elbow as the participants’ trailers blocked most of the view until I found a set of stairs up to Scotsman Hill  in Ramsay. This vantage point  that gave me a fine overlook of the camp and the grounds beyond with its backdrop of the downtown skyscrapers.   The path that hugged the Elbow River was blocked at the Stampede Trail so I had to ride onto 25 Avenue and make my way past the Erlton entrance and cross the MacLeod Trail on 25 Ave to reach the cycle path on 5 Street SW. 

Heading north on 5 Street SW, it isn’t clear if the cycle path  is initially in the road or on the side walk but this becomes clear at the bustling intersection with 17 Ave SW where the cycle path  continues northwards separated from 5 Street that is one way southwards only.  I have always found the flow of this major north-south cycle route into town to be interrupted at just about every other intersection so clip-in pedals are a disadvantage unless you can trackstand for a full traffic light cycle.

A scooter and a rider on an electric bike caught me up by the traffic counter as we waited to cross 9 Avenue.  I was the 971^st rider past the counter that day though whether that  is a high number or not I don’t know.   As we pulled away, the scooter stayed behind me while the electric bike overtook and continued some ten metres ahead of me.   Then, without any warning a pedestrian stepped into the bike lane intent on crossing the road.  Whether he had assumed any traffic would only be coming from his right or not, I didn’t discover but at some 200lbs he was big enough to knock the electric bike over and send the rider sprawling into the road traffic lane.

Luckily, the rider didn’t appear to be hurt but had a graze down his right arm. The pedestrian, who hadn’t gone down, helped him up and, between us, we straightened the bike’s handlebars.  I heard the pedestrian muttering something about not seeing him as I rode off to be overtaken again by the electric bike a couple of blocks further north.  It was a sobering warning for me of the random hazards you need to be wary off riding downtown, even in separated bike lanes.   It was even more sobering to learn later that a cyclist had been fatally injured in a collision with a dump truck earlier in the day in the city’s southwest.  

Curious as to how the cycle paths were affected by the Stampede, I decided to ride around the outside of the Grounds and see for myself.  I only expected to ride about 10km from downtown, up the Elbow River from its confluence with the Bow and then back down the Main cycle path paralleling 5 Street SW.

Expecting pedestrian and road traffic, I donned a fluorescent yellow jersey and ensured both my front and rear high intensity flashing lamp and bell s were working.  On the Bow Valley Trail, there was some cyclists but thankfully few electric scooters as I made my way downriver to the Elbow River.  Hazy sun kept the temperature at a comfortable 25⁰C with a light easterly wind barely ruffling the CS flags advertising the Stampede.

Most pedestrians appreciated me dinging my bell on approach  but not everyone heard or reacted as though they had heard so I kept my speed down.  I was using this ride as a low intensity training ride for my Trainer Road program so didn’t mind the slowing and stopping occasionally. 

There wasn’t much to see  in the First Nation’s camp on the Elbow as the participants’ trailers blocked most of the view until I found a set of stairs up to Scotsman Hill  in Ramsay. This vantage point  that gave me a fine overlook of the camp and the grounds beyond with its backdrop of the downtown skyscrapers.   The path that hugged the Elbow River was blocked at the Stampede Trail so I had to ride onto 25 Avenue and make my way past the Erlton entrance and cross the MacLeod Trail on 25 Ave to reach the cycle path on 5 Street SW. 

Heading north on 5 Street SW, it isn’t clear if the cycle path  is initially in the road or on the side walk but this becomes clear at the bustling intersection with 17 Ave SW where the cycle path  continues northwards separated from 5 Street that is one way southwards only.  I have always found the flow of this major north-south cycle route into town to be interrupted at just about every other intersection so clip-in pedals are a disadvantage unless you can trackstand for a full traffic light cycle.

A scooter and a rider on an electric bike caught me up by the traffic counter as we waited to cross 9 Avenue.  I was the 971^st rider past the counter that day though whether that  is a high number or not I don’t know.   As we pulled away, the scooter stayed behind me while the electric bike overtook and continued some ten metres ahead of me.   Then, without any warning a pedestrian stepped into the bike lane intent on crossing the road.  Whether he had assumed any traffic would only be coming from his right or not, I didn’t discover but at some 200lbs he was big enough to knock the electric bike over and send the rider sprawling into the road traffic lane.

Luckily, the rider didn’t appear to be hurt but had a graze down his right arm. The pedestrian, who hadn’t gone down, helped him up and, between us, we straightened the bike’s handlebars.  I heard the pedestrian muttering something about not seeing him as I rode off to be overtaken again by the electric bike a couple of blocks further north.  It was a sobering warning for me of the random hazards you need to be wary off riding downtown, even in separated bike lanes.   It was even more sobering to learn later that a cyclist had been fatally injured in a collision with a dump truck earlier in the day in the city’s southwest.  

Curious as to how the cycle paths were affected by the Stampede, I decided to ride around the outside of the Grounds and see for myself.  I only expected to ride about 10km from downtown, up the Elbow River from its confluence with the Bow and then back down the Main cycle path paralleling 5 Street SW.

Expecting pedestrian and road traffic, I donned a fluorescent yellow jersey and ensured both my front and rear high intensity flashing lamp and bell s were working.  On the Bow Valley Trail, there was some cyclists but thankfully few electric scooters as I made my way downriver to the Elbow River.  Hazy sun kept the temperature at a comfortable 25⁰C with a light easterly wind barely ruffling the CS flags advertising the Stampede.

Most pedestrians appreciated me dinging my bell on approach  but not everyone heard or reacted as though they had heard so I kept my speed down.  I was using this ride as a low intensity training ride for my Trainer Road program so didn’t mind the slowing and stopping occasionally. 

There wasn’t much to see  in the First Nation’s camp on the Elbow as the participants’ trailers blocked most of the view until I found a set of stairs up to Scotsman Hill  in Ramsay. This vantage point  that gave me a fine overlook of the camp and the grounds beyond with its backdrop of the downtown skyscrapers.   The path that hugged the Elbow River was blocked at the Stampede Trail so I had to ride onto 25 Avenue and make my way past the Erlton entrance and cross the MacLeod Trail on 25 Ave to reach the cycle path on 5 Street SW. 

Heading north on 5 Street SW, it isn’t clear if the cycle path  is initially in the road or on the side walk but this becomes clear at the bustling intersection with 17 Ave SW where the cycle path  continues northwards separated from 5 Street that is one way southwards only.  I have always found the flow of this major north-south cycle route into town to be interrupted at just about every other intersection so clip-in pedals are a disadvantage unless you can trackstand for a full traffic light cycle.

A scooter and a rider on an electric bike caught me up by the traffic counter as we waited to cross 9 Avenue.  I was the 971^st rider past the counter that day though whether that  is a high number or not I don’t know.   As we pulled away, the scooter stayed behind me while the electric bike overtook and continued some ten metres ahead of me.   Then, without any warning a pedestrian stepped into the bike lane intent on crossing the road.  Whether he had assumed any traffic would only be coming from his right or not, I didn’t discover but at some 200lbs he was big enough to knock the electric bike over and send the rider sprawling into the road traffic lane.

Luckily, the rider didn’t appear to be hurt but had a graze down his right arm. The pedestrian, who hadn’t gone down, helped him up and, between us, we straightened the bike’s handlebars.  I heard the pedestrian muttering something about not seeing him as I rode off to be overtaken again by the electric bike a couple of blocks further north.  It was a sobering warning for me of the random hazards you need to be wary off riding downtown, even in separated bike lanes.   It was even more sobering to learn later that a cyclist had been fatally injured in a collision with a dump truck earlier in the day in the city’s southwest.