A scenic ride with your kid - Drayton Valley to Rocky Rapids - Drayton Valley and District Free Press

“So Connolly and I biked to Rocky Rapids and back today,” my friend Angela said to me at the school playground.

It took me a minute to digest what she said

“Wait, what? Connolly?”

The ride from Drayton Valley to Rocky Rapids and back is 16 km. There are a few not so small hills, and did I mention it’s 16 km!?!? Compound these seemingly insurmountable obstacles with the fact that Connolly Doerksen is only four years old. Most parents would say the bike trip was doomed for disaster.

Keeping it simple

But, they’d be wrong. Not only was the trip doable, it was fun and only took 1 hr and 45 minutes.

Angela said the pair decided to take the trip on a whim and left with nothing more than a cell phone and a basic bailout plan. But, no bailout ride was needed and in hindsight a backpack would have been a welcome piece of equipment as the temperature rose they found themselves without a place to put their sweaters. But sweaty or not, Angela said there were points of interest they took along the way including the playground at H.W. Pickup, going down the big coulee hill, the municipal airport, Rocky Rapids Store, and Rocky Rapids playground.

While many people I shared this story with were as surprised as I was to hear that four year old Connolly completed the 16 km trip there are only some who know that this kid was born out of the womb riding a bike. He rode his first pedal bike when he was two and a half years old. But with the body of a toddler getting on and off the bike proved to be difficult. Soon his body caught up with his ambitions which led to riding his older brother’s bikes around playground obstacles, and now onto the trail rides in the nearby Eagle Point Provincial Park.

I’m not going to lie, 16 km is a long ride for most adults, let alone a young child. But Angela said that by keeping expectations low, letting her son set the pace and giving him encouragement they were able to go farther than ever expected.

Setting new expectations

“He didn’t start to get tired until we were climbing up the coulee hill on the way back,” said Angela.

Many things about kids cause us to stop, pause and reevaluate our expectations. When I heard that Angela biked with her son to Rocky Rapids it got me thinking about what’s stopping me from taking my own kid. The hard truth is; it’s me. But in hearing her story I am encouraged to give it a try.

The ride from Drayton Valley to Rocky Rapids is one of the scenic beginner routes in our Brazeau and Beyond region. There’s a paved path that stays well clear of the road, and it’s generally fairly quiet.

It is a great starting place for people of all ages…even four year olds.