I’d been wanting to combine an excursion to downtown Abbotsford with a road cycling training ride for a while. Before I committed to executing the ride, I made sure to scout out the route beforehand to look for obstacles, challenges, problems, etc.
Marshall Road has a nice 2-way dedicated bike lane, but I did have challenges with Amazon delivery vehicles blocking it, and it ends right as the downtown area really starts in earnest. By the time I got to the area with the most interesting shops and businesses, I was walking my bike (in bike shoes). On the positive side, I rode along Gladys Road without having any cars to contend with and noticed some bunny rabbits that ran alongside me (instead of perpendicularly away from me) as I rode.
I had scouted out where I was going to park my bike and what I was going to eat when I reached my destination, so 2 weeks later all I had to do was make sure I was prepared. I packed my Salomon hydration pack with a U-Lock and sandals to walk around in. Of course, I also filled the hydration bladder with water and electrolyte powder.
One of the things that had annoyed me on my initial scouting ride is there seemed to be no way nicely cross Highway 11 – Sumas Way. On this attempt, I turned North after the Marshall Bike lanes ended and thought the map was showing me a secret trail. That ended up being a dead end, so I used the bridge over Old Yale.
After that, I had a pretty easy way into the downtown core, and I parked and locked my bike under the supervision of 3 upstanding Abbotsford citizens.
I grabbed lunch and a milkshake at BRGR BRGR.
I took the time to do a little shopping at the Spruce Collective – I grabbed an Abbotsford keychain, a magnetic poetry kit and some post-cards (I’ve taken up post-card writing as a little hobby – old school correspondence for the win!).
The ride home was tedious, not only because I crossed Hwy 11 the hard way (dismounting and crossing a multi-lane roadway as a pedestrian), but also because it was a net uphill, and my hydration supply had gotten luke warm in the summer heat.
Still, I’m proud of the accomplishment, and had a nice little excursion.