River Valley Trail

Edmonton is known for its beautiful river valley trail. My mom has thought about taking me there for a bike ride for some time. She finally did it this morning.

The first part of the trail was going downhill and it was easy riding. I just loved it as we breezed through in relatively high speed. My mom used the brake to keep us from going too fast. As I was enjoying the ride, my mom worried how we were going to make it up the hill on our return. When we drove by a few cyclists, she stopped and asked for help with regard to the right gear for going uphill. They helped her to set the gears to the most easy riding setting. We rode for 2.5 km and reached Government House Park. We made it there in about 15 minutes. It would have taken us an hour to walk this distance. Right by the park, we came to an area where there was a steeper incline for a short distance (maybe 10 m). We couldn't make it up the hill, so my mom got me off the bike and we pushed it up the hill. The trail ahead looked level enough for my mom to feel comfortable to continue. We pedalled another 2.5 km along the River Vally Road. We passed the Victoria Golf Course and the Victoria Park on our left. Some downtown buildings were visible behind the trees. My mom decided to turn around when we reached the High Level Bridge.

The weather was nice and I saw a motor boat as we travelled alongside the river. When we got back to the steeper incline by the Government House Park, I saw a dog. I got nervous and suddenly pedalled really fast. Since we were going downhill, our speed picked up rapidly. My mom could not remember if she actually braked or was only thinking of braking. We lost control and our bike flipped over in a flash. The canopy collapsed on top of us. Thank God we flipped over on the grass and not on the cement. My mom helped me to get up and checked me out. I could walk and seemed to be fine. The posts holding the canopy up got bent. A man came by and helped to straighten the posts so that the canopy could be mounted on the frame again.

We continued our homeward journey going mostly uphill. At some locations, my mom could not get the bike going if I did not help in pedalling. We got off and push part of the way. Then we got back on and pedalled some distance. After getting off and on several times, we eventually made it home. I don't think we will go there again. This suits me fine as we met way too many dogs along the trail.

My mom has a bruise (a goose egg about the size of a toonie) on her left hand. Her left shoulder and wrist are sore. Guess what she is getting as treatment? I am sure Emily can guess right.