Join Alberta Avenue Cycle Nights every Wednesday

Warm June days have arrived, and a group of community members have formed an informal bike club to explore the neighbourhoods and city.

Maggie Glasgow is one of the organizers of Alberta Avenue Cycle Nights. She says, “Leigh and Nelson Niwa, Karina Hurtado and I met at the Alberta Avenue Block Connectors potluck and started talking about things we could do in the neighbourhood to get people connected and engaged with neighbours.”

They all enjoy cycling, so they thought a club could be fun. “It just seemed like a natural and organic thing for us to do and the best part was that it didn’t require a lot of logistics and organizing.” They met at Hurtado’s house and discussed over tea how they could get it started. From there, it was just a matter of hoping people would join.

The group has a few goals. The first is to help create and build community.

“We have such an amazingly diverse community and so many people enjoy riding bikes in this area. It’s a great way to get people out doing something many of us are very interested in,” says Glasgow.

With food usually involved at some point during the night, it becomes a social affair and makes the group more accessible to those who may not be able to ride.

The second goal is to get people active and to learn about the bike riding system. “We are in a prime location for alternative transportation choices, so it would be great to see even more people in the area feeling comfortable enough to ride their bikes for fun, to commute, and to get physically active,” says Glasgow.

Their third goal is to give families an activity to do together, and the last goal is to have people from outside the neighbourhood join.

“We want to share with others what a great neighbourhood we have, and that we are all proud to live here. We have so much to offer and what better way to showcase our area than riding our streets and visiting local attractions and events,” explains Hurtado.

The group meets Wednesdays at 7 pm on the corner of 114 Avenue and 95 Street, near Otto Food & Drink. After the ride, they eat at the restaurant if people are inclined.

Currently, they ride to Ada Boulevard and stop at the top of Rundle Park. “It’s a beautiful easy to intermediate ride to help people get used to being out and about and for us to see who is coming out and their various skill levels,” explains Hurtado. Once the weather warms up, they are hoping to expand their rides. “Hopefully we will be able to ride to restaurants and pubs downtown or in our local neighbouring communities. Perhaps even trips to parks for picnics in the river valley for greater difficulty rides in terms of distance and hills,” Hurtado adds.

Though the group is free to join, they ask that you bring your bike, helmet, and a passion for cycling and meeting your neighbours. They have a public Facebook page called Alberta Avenue Cycle Nights where they post weekly rides.

“We try and let people know if it’ll be an easy, family-type ride or a more of a difficult or longer ride,” says Hurtado. They eventually hope to have rides for every skill level throughout the summer.

“Our dream is to get as many people as possible interested in cycling, and seeing the neighbourhood from a different, two wheeled perspective,” explains Glasgow.

ALBERTA AVENUE CYCLE NIGHTS

Wednesdays, 7 pm

Corner of 114 Avenue and 95 Street

Featured Image: Alberta Avenue Cycle Nights meet every Wednesday night. | Supplied