Critique Of Alberta's Iron Horse Trail

Welcome to BikeBike Adventure TV!  "We do these trips so you don't have to!"

Well, we tried, and failed at bikepacking the full length of Alberta's Iron Horse Trail. 

We thought we did enough homework. We knew the trail was not optimized for bikes. We knew it would be slow going in spots. But we persisted with our plans.

What we didn't know it would be impassable in many places. We didn't know the trail was completely ripped up from Bonnyville to Cold Lake. Like ripped up completely by water main construction for 40+ kilometres.

Now you know.  

In short, we'd recommend avoiding this trail for bikepacking.  

Strava Link Day 1

Strava Link Day 2

Strava Link Day 3 

New Bikepacking Route: Canals For Daze

Fans of the WID Canal (Western Irrigation District) pathway to Chestermere will likely understand why we were intrigued by the idea of riding more of Alberta's canals: It's peaceful, completely car free, often people free, with wide open views of this beautiful part of Alberta.

One of the interesting parts of the canal system is that it follows a "lay of the land" route instead of the monotonous range/township grid offering an ever-changing view ahead which makes riding out on the Prairie a little less boring.

After some digging in the 'ol intranetwebs this past winter, I found a map of all of the irrigation canals in Southern Alberta and very quickly began linking together some of these canals with those boring rural roads to try and create a route that was available earlier in the season than mountain routes, would be safe and easy for new bikepackers, and explore a part of Alberta often forgotten about.

Southern Alberta's Seasonal Car Free Parkways

** Be sure to check with local authorities before venturing out to these locations **

** Plan ahead: Do not visit small communities unless absolutely necessary **

** Leave no trace. Practice safe hygiene and distancing. Take precautions against Covid **

Check out "Physical Distancing Road Loops In Calgary" 

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Is there anything more dreamy than cycling on a highway closed to vehicle traffic?

Here in Southern Alberta, we are lucky to have a handful of highways that are seasonally closed during the winter that are available to cycle on in the weeks leading up to their opening. For some cyclists, taking advantage of these closures to cars is a seasonal treat - with Highwood Pass being the "classic" that most everyone knows about.

There are other options too for people looking for something different, perhaps a little more accessible than Highwood, and even a few gravel options for all you folks that have hopped on the gravel bike bandwagon.

Below are 5 rides we'd recommend you check out before the gates open to cars.

Benno Ebikes - True Sport Utility Bicycles

Benno's range of electric bikes are truly unique in their design. Blending elements from large, heavy cargo bikes as well as positioning and styling cues from traditional bicycle design, Benno's electric assist bicycles flatten hills, shortens distances, blunts headwinds and lightens cargo weight, leaving only the joy of two wheels.