Calgary is the first city in Canada to get these special ice bikes!
New year, new winter attraction! Calgary has just welcomed a brand-new outdoor winter sporting activity: ice biking. You can now be one of the first in the country to try ice biking thanks to the 10 rentable ice bikes that the city recently unveiled at Bowness Park. That’s not all — there’s also a new 1.6 km skating trail next to the Bow River, opening just in time to give Calgarians a fantastic new setting to try out ice biking for the first time.
But you might be wondering: what is an ice bike? It’s basically a traditional bike mounted on a sled-like platform and with skates instead of a front wheel. An ice bike is specifically designed to allow the user to slide and glide on ice without worry, so you don’t even have to balance — simply pedal and steer! The ice bikes are single-speed, and you have to pedal backwards to brake. Ice biking provides a new, alternative way for people of all ages and skill levels to enjoy outdoor skating.
The ice bikes are already available to rent from the Bowness Park Skate Shop. Rentals cost $12 for 30 minutes or $20 for 1 hour, and helmets (free) are mandatory for anyone under 18 years of age. It’s first-come, first-serve, and you can’t book in advance, but you can queue virtually instead of waiting in line.
COVID-19 Health & Safety Measures:
- Bikes will be sanitized and cleaned between each rental.
- Visitors must maintain a 2-metre distance with those outside their household.
- Riders must wear masks when using the equipment.
- Visitors must abide by the current restrictions on social gathering limits.
Location: 8900 48 Avenue NW
Park Hours: 5 am – 11 pm
Early 🎄 present for #yyc! @cityofcalgary is celebrating a new sport – ice biking! Brand new to Canada. We are proud to offer 10 bikes specially-designed for use on the ice. Check out Bowness Park's new ice trail and ice bikes. PS it’s quite the workout 🥵 https://t.co/WPnJmhSkAr pic.twitter.com/UDOpfyMJnt
— Ward Sutherland (@Ward4Ward1) December 23, 2020
[Featured Image Source: City of Calgary]