Sixty Fiver

On September 20th, 2009 I will be staging the third annual Tour De Perogy !

We will set out from Edmonton (weather permitting) and ride to the Ukrainian Heritage Village which is 50 km east of Edmonton to partake in the annual Harvest Festival but since we take the long and much more scenic route the round trip will be approximately 150 km.

The Ukrainian Heritage Village:

Visit this multi award-winning provincial historic site showcasing Ukrainian settlement in East Central Alberta (1892 – 1930). Be a time traveler and interact with costumed role players portraying real-life Ukrainian pioneers. Explore more than 30 historic buildings including three churches of Eastern Byzantine Rite, a fully-functioning grain elevator, blacksmith shop and burdei (sod hut). Sample traditional food and visit our gift shop. Numerous special events.

https://www.culture.alberta.ca/museum...e/default.aspx

The Harvest Festival:

Harvest of the Past and Taste of Heritage Food Festival
Taste of Heritage Food FestSunday, September 20, 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Described as one of the best autumn events in Canada! This spectacular harvest and food extravaganza is a place where you can feel the spirit of the past and enjoy a taste of the present. Take in the nostalgic harvest activities and historic demonstrations. Purchase specialty food items and crafts, watch historic demonstrations and listen to all-day musical entertainment including Kalyna Idol contestants. Start your day with an early-bird pancake breakfast and feast on some of the finest Alberta-produced foods at the Taste of Heritage Food Festival.

The Ride:

We will meet at the Route 99 Diner at 8820 99 Street and will depart at 8:30 am... if you want enjoy one of the best breakfasts in the city and get charged up for the ride show up early.

We will ride out on Whyte Avenue and pass through Sherwood Park onto highway 630 until TWP 524 which will take us through some lovely countryside (on quiet roads) and then proceed north on Range Road 210 which borders the west side of Elk Island Park and takes us up to Highway 16. From there we will finish the first leg of the journey by heading 10 km east to the Heritage Village.

I expect that the ride out should take 3 - 3.5 hours as we will be proceeding at a moderate pace of 20-25 kmh so that we can arrive at the village around lunchtime .

After an afternoon of enjoying the food and sights we will return the way we came and should not depart any later than 4 pm so that we don't have to ride at night... this should get us back to Edmonton no later than 8 pm.

Highway 630 and Highway 16 have wide shoulders which make travelling by bicycle very pleasant and we will stop at the halfway point each way to refresh ourselves.

Riders will be expected to be self supported and ensure their rides are mechanically sound and suitable for nearly 100 miles of riding. I would suggest adequate water, spare tubes, food, and rain gear as you never know what weather we may see.

Last year we hit a rather severe storm cell on the return trip and although it went through rather quickly we did have to ride through 10 km of gale force winds and rain before the weather cleared which was fairly exhausting for some of the riders and increased our return time enough that we hit Edmonton just as darkness was falling.

I would pack adequate night lighting just in case.

I will be able to provide moderate mechanical support and am looking for another volunteer who can provide vehicular support / pickup in case of emergency or grievous bike failure... perhaps you have a spouse that does not ride that would like to meet us there ?

In past years we have had some very nice groups of people on the ride and because it is a group ride we can take turns pulling / drafting which makes the ride far easier.

If you require more information or plan on joining us send me a pm or e-mail me at sixtyfiver@shaw.ca

Pig_Chaser

That sounds pretty cool. I'll swing it by the boss (wife) and try and make it.

terraskye

I hope you do this next year because hubby and I may have to do this.

Wish we could this year but we're totally out of shape for distance cycling now

terraskye

i was wondering if you have ever biked to Elk Island National park and could give me an estimate on how long it took you..

I'm hoping for a leisurely no rush pace

Thanks

Sixty Fiver

I have hosted this ride every year (it's my baby) and it's a social ride although we have had separate groups choose to run at a higher speed both years.

At 20 -25 kmh it's a leisurely 3.5 - 4 hour hour ride as we do stop for a short break midway of each leg and taking the back way is longer than heading directly out on Hwy 16 but so much nicer.

It is already looking like we will have a great turn out this year and you do have 50 days to train for this...

I have always ridden this on a fixed gear and it looks like we might have at least 3 more fixed gear riders coming this year as I have tossed down the gauntlet.

terraskye

Maybe I can talk hubby into doing it this year Is there anything besides water, repair kit,camera we should bring?

EKW in DC

Stumbled across this thread thanks to your signature, Sixty Fiver. I live in DC now, but lived in Ukraine for a little over three years while serving in Peace Corps. Loved it, and the Ukrainian Heritage Village sounds like something not to be missed if I'm ever out in Alberta.

Sounds like a fun ride and a cool festival! The thought of some good perogies on the other end would be enough to get me through to the end of the ride

Sorry to crash your regional thread, just thought the Tour De Perogy was a really cool idea with a really cool destination.

Bсього найкращого!

AtomicCactus

I'd definitely be down for this ride, pending admission to U of A for this fall .

Pig_Chaser

Alright, I should be there, unless some work emergency happens.

Sixty Fiver

Hoping the weather for this is good as this ride... the number of people who have expressed an interest in going is the largest ever.

They better make a lot of perogy...

neil

I'm also thinking I'll go on this ride, provided the weather is decent. It'll be my longest one-day ride yet, but I relish the challenge.

Sixty Fiver

Bump

We did some googling and corrected the distance... it is just under 140 km for the round trip.

It looks like we will have an awesome turnout and I am hoping that the weather stays as nice as it has been.

Sixty Fiver

The forecast for Sunday is looking excellent... it will be a cool morning and the daytime high is supposed to be 16C which is really nice for riding.

I'm stoked.

Sixty Fiver

Many thanks to everyone that came out and made the third annual TdP such a success !

Molly and I dragged ourselves in to the city at about 8pm and it was nice of her to keep me company... she is a good little sister.

My leg started to give out before we left the village and with 20 km left it just up and quit so it was some slow going after that.

A big thanks to Alex for being a monster and spending the day leading out and making the ride easier for many folks including me.

We owe that guy a cold one... or two as he was dog tired when he left us at 50th street.

I had a blast... such good folks... and such an incredible ride out this morning.

Thinking of going out for 100km next Saturday (Devon anyone ?) as by then I will have had some much needed physio sessions and things should be feeling better.

Sixty Fiver

I'm feeling pretty good... was a little tired this morning but a session of physio really improved things.

My physiotherapist is also an avid cyclist and I am gonna have to talk him into coming on a ride with us... he said he was thinking about it but just had too many things to do this weekend.

gbalke

Can I assume that at least one rider had a camera and took plenty of pictures to share with the rest of us?

Sixty Fiver

yep.

just gotta upload them

Pig_Chaser

Hey thanks for organizing that ride Sixty Fiver, it was great fun. Sorry I didn't post any sooner but I haven't even logged into BF for like 2 weeks.