Engineering Manager and Consultant
For a while, it seemed I was kissing the ground every other trip out. Maybe it was icy, muddy, or just plain steep, combined with a bit too much speed. And when I was out with friends, it was always just me. Well, not yesterday as you can see below! (the rider shall remain nameless, but you should be able to tell from the helmet)
My friend Toshi e-mailed recently that Skiing in the deep fresh snow is the sport I like best. Well, I have to say cycling is the sport I like best, followed by skiing, and then sailing (p.s., I hate running, much to the disappointment of my wife who loves it).
Here’s Toshi in a photo from 1997, when I was in Japan on behalf of IVL Technologies and Toshi was IVL’s Japanese agent.
I envy Toshi, he’s taken a step back from work, given up his internet domain, and has been spending his time doing what he loves. Lately, that sounds like skiing. Two separate week trips to Niseko in Hokkaido so far this season, and another coming next month!Winter Calg
Well, just to show Toshi what he’s missing, here are some recent shots of the best winter bicycling in the world – at home in Fish Creek Provincial Park!
A careful creek crossing! (we didn’t cross anywhere there weren’t tracks and we thought we were over top of gravel barges in the creek).
Suiting back up after a snack break. Thanks for the granola bar, Ian!
Another break….. This is tough work with all these trees down.
Well Toshi, wouldn’t you rather be here?
I was able to get away for a late lunch from work, and met Ian at the Glenfield parking lot with my bike. Personally, I like the scenery of the west side of the park, but we’d been curious how far east the pathway gets cleared so that’s the way we headed. Unfortunately, cleared path ended at the Higgins Bridge, we couldn’t climb the hill to Diamond Cove (where we hoped we could make it to the newly opened path into south Southland Park), nor could we cross the Higgins Bridge into Douglasdale. Guessing the path clearing stopped where provincial responsibility ends and city responsibility starts, it would sure be nice if they had the same policies.
At one point, we were stopped under some trees and started being pelted with bits of bark. Searching the trees, we found one of several woodpeckers.
Trip Summary
I made it out on the bike Jan 1, 2008, so now it’s an annual event. I even doubled the number of people this year (my friend Ian came with me). Starting at the Glenfield area off of Macleod Trail, we rode our trusty steeds west to the end of the park and back. We encountered a number of walkers, cyclists and cross country skiers. Thanks go to our Provincial Government for sweeping the paths clean. We love you!
