How to find the best cycling routes in your community

May is celebrated by many as ‘Bike Month’ and Calgarians recently took part in ‘Bike to Work Day’, which took place at the start of the month. The purpose of these awareness campaigns is to encourage people to take to two wheels and get outside and bike to work, school or just around their communities.

Those of us who live in Calgary or Airdrie are lucky to have so many extensive bikeways and walkways right in our neighbourhoods, connecting us wherever we need to go. If you want an easy guide to bicycling this summer, we have simplified some information for you.

CALGARY

Calgary communities, parks and natural areas are connected by an extensive network of multi-use pathways available for all Calgarians to enjoy, whether for walking, running, in-line skating or cycling. In fact, Calgary has the most extensive urban pathway and bikeway network in North America. The City maintains approximately 850 km of regional pathways and 95 km of trails. [City of Calgary]

To make navigating where the best cycling routes are in your community, the City of Calgary has three convenient ways to access maps and route information:

• Mobile app: you can download the City of Calgary parkways and bikeways app for iPhone or Android, and access real-time information on pathway closures, detours, rules and regulations, routes and a reporting feature to let the City know about pathway concerns. You can download the mobile app here for iPhone and here for Android.
• Online map: you can access an online map of all the cycling routes in Calgary right here, and this will also give you up-to-date routes and navigation tips including some recommendations on routes.
• Paper: if you’re a fan of the tried and true methods, you can pick up a paper copy of the cycling map at any City of Calgary aquatic and fitness centre or leisure centre.

If you want to support local while you search for bike routes, local blogger Mike Morrison created a very in-depth guide to help cycling enthusiasts and new-to-biking Calgarians called Calgary by Bike. 

AIRDRIE

Airdrie enjoys approximately 140 kilometres of asphalt pathway and approximately 37 kilometres of concrete sidewalks for beautiful bike rides or walks around the city. [City of Airdrie]

The City of Airdrie has a PDF map of the bike and walking paths in Airdrie available on their website.

Where is your favourite place to cycle? Let us know on social media!