Saturday, July 13, 2013

back in time...


...to the land of the dinos. Today we went with Son #2, Daughter-in-Law and Little Granddaughter to Jurassic Forest. They had free passes through the military, so we tagged along.

Of course, I went by bike. It was 71.81 km north and west of here. I began by riding my usual northerly route to the airport and then ventured into unexplored territory, taking Highway 44 north from Villeneuve. The shoulders on this road are nice and wide, but beware the sand-trap at Inland Concrete: the shoulder at the plant entrance is covered with a thick layer of gravel and fine sand. For my flat bar road bike, gravel is not usually much of a problem. Sand is another matter. I made it safely through the dunes, but it was a bit nerve-wracking. I do like the look of this huge plant, though, with its enormous catwalks and sky-scraping mounds of various concrete-creating materials.

At the junction with Highway 37, I headed west. This is another good highway for cycling, with wide, debris-free shoulders. The scenery along here is beautiful right now, with the vivid greens of the spruce trees and grains and the bright-yellow canola.

I expected an almost completely flat ride, so was quite surprised to see this sign:

It made me a little nervous. I am not a big fan of riding down large hills, especially when they also require a sign like this:
But, all went well -- the hill was not nearly as dramatic as these signs would lead one to believe. I didn't exactly pedal like mad to increase my speed as I descended, but I didn't brake constantly either.
And the uphill on the other side was a breeze, especially compared to the hills I ride around here.

After riding west for quite awhile along Highway 37, I finally came to Highway 28, where I turned north. This road's shoulders are almost like another lane -- a cyclist's dream. The pavement is smooth; there is no almost no gravel and traffic is fairly light. The road is pleasantly curvy and mostly flat, with a few small hills (and another rating the truck sign) to break up the monotony.

A few surprises along this route: Several dog-boarding facilities with charming names: Blackpaws Pet Resort, Wagging Tails Pet Resort, The Ranch Kennels. Appealing names attempt to hide the real theme of these places: Abandon hope, all ye [canines] who enter here.

A U-pick apple orchard -- in northern Alberta? Who knew? Several U-pick berry farms.

A golf course called Terrae Pines. This sign, as Hercule Poirot would say, gave me furiously to think as I rode along. Did they leave out the "c" in "terrace"? Impossible! (French accent.) Is it a feeble attempt to translate "Land of Pines" into Latin? Maybe it's someone's name? Whatever. Do place names always have to make sense?

Then there was the Moonlight Hotel, coupled with the Double Dragon Chinese restaurant, in Bon Accord. Almost tempting. I glimpsed cemetery gates at Namao and Bon Accord -- again, somewhat enticing. The Bon Accord cemetery was established in 1905. It might merit a visit on another day.

When I came to the turn-off for the town of Gibbons I was stumped. I'd printed directions from Google Maps, but they didn't make a lot of sense, so I called Hubby. He and Teenage Son were still on their way, so they stopped to pick me up. It was a good thing, as the entrance road to the park is large-chunk gravel, not at all suitable for cycling.


It was a gorgeous day. I had a hard time deciding how to dress, but chose just the right combination of clothing -- I wore my longer cycling shorts and a short-sleeved jersey with a thin long-sleeved jersey on top. If necessary, I planned to take off the top layer and stuff it in one of my pockets. But I wasn't too hot and I wasn't too cold -- I was just right. The temperature was about 12 degrees when I started and around 18 at the end, and the sun was shining most of the time. The above photo was taken on the drive home. (Sadly, I had what must be bad batteries in my camera, so I couldn't take any photos on my way.)

The Jurassic Forest park is kind of cute, set in a lovely cool old-growth forest and peopled by mechanized dinosaurs. Little Granddaughter, at six months, wasn't quite ready to appreciate it yet. When our boys were younger they would have loved it. For adults, it's just a nice walk on a beautifully-made boardwalk.

And for some adults, it's an excuse to take a nice long bike ride.

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