All week Chris and I enthused about the Spring Fling Saturday ride—til we saw the temperature for the morning ride had dropped. While we were enjoying another pot of coffee, our much hardier friends were heading to Springbank.

We decided on a warm afternoon ride and chose our Max Bell-to-Chestermere-avoiding-the-roots-route. Within moments of posting the ride Jeff, Renee, and David were signed up! Our pace was steady and fun with strong happy riders. 

The canal route is clear all the way, however we detoured from 17th til 50th to avoid the nasty roots that snarl up the asphalt. Also, the south end of the lake has about 200 meters of gravel and hard packed dirt, which is very ridable on a road bike. It’s nice to see the lake with ice still covering all but the edges from that position, and the mountains off in the distance too. 

Lots of geese and ducks were sighted setting up their nests along the canal, confirming spring is here. Yay!