Calgary Bike Tour + Foodie Vlog 2025 + Voice Guide/Info included
Previously on my Calgary and Banff vlog Episode #1. I walked around downtown Calgary for a bit, mostly on Steven Avenue. Did a little room tour of l’hôtel Le Germain. Hit the road… I mean Trans Canada Highway For the Canadian Rockies! Took a bunch of nice photos, for my major profile photo updates! Now that we’ve done Banff, as promised, let’s do a bike tour of Calgary! Let’s go! In this episode, we will… Eat some nice food Browse a bit of downtown Bike alongside the river See interesting landmarks and architecture of Calgary See some interesting animals And visit the home ground of the Calgary Stampede! And last but not all least…! Okay, too much review.
Let’s go! I had a good night’s sleep, I mean goooooood night’s sleep last night after a day trip to Banff. “Tuna tartar.” Yeah, this is a tuna tartar. Fish was fresh, nicely but not overly marinated with the sauce. “I’m going to do a little Korean wrap–lettuce wrap.” Not entirely sure what they gave me the lettuce for, but as a Korean, I’m doing what I know to do with protein and lettuce. Korean lettuce wrap! (Sahng-choo-ssahm) “Here is your lettuce tuna tartar wrap.” “Anything else, my friend?”
– “Uhm… I think I’m doing uh..” “Rigatoni… all…”
– “All’amatriciana? Yeah, of course!” Yeah that’s me, struggling to pronounce rigatoni all’amatriciana. I mean, of course, I’m looking at the menu now. LOL But honestly just when I’m about to eat my wrap? C’mon, bro! “Korean style tuna tartar lettuce wrap!” I’m starting to think this IS what they gave me the lettuce for; it was so good! Of course, I washed my hands for sure! I guess…? I love salads with high protein amount. That would be a lot of fiber, vitamins, and protein. Sometimes that alone is a proper meal. This, is the riatoni all’amatricana! Tomato sugo (i.e. sauce), crushed chili peppers, pecorino Romano cheese, And… a secret ingredient! There were tiny little, kind of hard and crispy pieces of… I don’t know nuts? Could be meat? So, as always, I ended up asking the server what it was. That secret ingredient was pork guanchiale–an Italian style of cured dry-aged bacon made from pork cheek! One of the reasons I like fine dining, although I’m broke, is the communication I have with the servers and sometimes, if I’m lucky, with the chef. I get to talk about the city, the neighborhood, the weather, And most importantly, about the food! If the conversation is pleasant, ooh, I’m more than willing to tip 20%, sometimes 30%!! It’s just that these days, if it’s not an upscale restaurant, you can’t really expect that interaction, at all… especially in Toronto. Sometimes in some places, they don’t even pour water for you or come check on you and ask how the food is… But you’re still expected to tip at least like 15%. That’s ridiculous! A hearty meal, a nice little long black, and then I’m ready for the bike tour! Stephen Avenue, everyone! Let’s ride with me through downtown core of Calgary! This is Stephen Avenue, which is 8th, and 6th Street SW. A lot of downtown Calgary roads are numbered, which makes it easy to locate spots. Also as I mentioned in my previous vlog, elevated walkways like this (aka. sky bridges) give the folks a nice little warm break from the harsh winter. We’ll be headed west first, cross the Bow River, ride along the riverside bike path, then cross the Bow River a lot of times while exploring the riverfront park areas. I think it was 14th Street; we’re crossing the Bow River here. Bow River, everyone. It was right before the start of the peak season, just as my hotel was cheap and not at all crowded. So, no one else showed up to the tour! It was an exclusively private tour at the price of a group tour. Thank you, tour company! Here, my guide was more than nice and knowledgeable. She had such passion for what she does. I even felt a bit sorry because she had to do the entire tour just for me. Well, if I hadn’t showed up it would have been a break for her. And we got to share a bit about our lives, talk about the city, how livable Calgary is and stuff… The weather was cloudy and sunny again, but not rainy, a bit on the cooler side–about 15° C in early May. Good weather for a bike trip! I love this long bike path along Bow River. We rode along the river for about an hour, with stops along the way, of course. And I love these bike paths: this alone could be a reason
to move to this beautiful river city! A city with a river accessible from all sides–something Toronto does not really have. We are riding through the area called Eau Claire (clear water). It’s a waterfront community with nice park areas, pathways, and a lot of condos. This area really made me want to move here; I’ve never lived in a waterfront community. It must be nice living close to the area that has an unobstructed, open-air view. with a lot of greenery and parks. Now entering Prince Island’s Park–a man-made island with picnic areas, trails, and a nice restaurant. Having an easy access to the river and the river bank area in the middle of the city is a privilege, for sure! This made me miss living in Seoul. Seoul has great riverside park areas along the river called Han-gang, or Han River. Calgary had a big flood back in 2013. Of course Bow River flooded and this Prince Island was also underwater. As always, I’m going to shut up about 15 seconds.
Please enjoy the exhilarating bike ride along Bow River! My guide told me that all the bottom floors of the condos alongside the river bank, the ones you see on the right here, were all underwater when the flood happened. So, the city decided to elevate the whole neighborhood by literally laying (and raising) the groundwork about a dozen feet or so. Which is why today the previously bottom floors of these condos
have all become basement levels. Notice the Chinese letters?
Chinatown! Such a perfect weather for biking in the city. If it had been sunny I would have sweated like I was in a sauna. Now we’re entering another island called St patrick’s Island. Is this place going to be all green, green on St patrick’s Day?
I don’t know… Let me know, Calgary locals! Ooh, that looked fun! I can easily imagine kids playing here in the winter, too. Now, last but not all least…!! We’re headed to a scenic viewpoint of downtown Calgary skyline! But before that, we had a pit stop for some caffeine fueling. And finally… hold your breath… The breathtaking view of Calgary skyline! Wow… just wow! As you noticed, I was speechless for about 10 minutes here. Just fully absorbing the moment. How about we dream of our dream life, while watching this peaceful view before we go down the hill? As you also noticed, another fun thing about Calgary is its terrain. It has rivers, parks and conservation areas, but above all, it has a lot of mountains and hills–also something Toronto lacks. I almost decided to pack up and move here. Which, I would say, is still a possibility! “Elbow River Pathway.” This is Elbow River, not Bow River. Elbow River runs to merge with Bow River eventually or is it the other way? Let me know if you know! This is Scotia Bank Saddledome, a major venue for hockey and other sports and events. And now, ladies and gentlemen, this is Calgary Stampede! The world’s largest outdoor rodeo, featuring the world’s toughest competitors! On the right are what seem to be waiting garages for horses. “Oh yeah!” Did you see it? Did you see it? Can you see it now? See… them? To clarify, the door was wide open and we did NOT enter, but just zoomed. They seemed to be practicing for the July Stampede. And now, the Stampede Stadium and Racetrack! I haven’t really thought about Stampede, but being here in the middle of the Calgary Stampede Stadium made me want to come again for that event in July. This is a monument sculpture called By the Banks of the Bow. Let me know what this is exactly if you’re familiar with this. And the Scotiabank Saddledome. I can see the logos of some NHL teams. And this is BMO Centre, the largest convention center in the city and the largest in Western Canada. This is Bell Music Centre. And now we’re right in front of the City Hall! “Perfect sky!” Calgary City Hall, everyone! I’m so hungry. After about 3.5 hours of bike riding and the guided tour information, I used up all my energy. Let’s go eat! But on the way… Was this beautiful road with a perfect Teletubbies style hill! I hope most of you guys know what Teletubbies is! (A BBC kid’s show back in the 2000s.) The Memorial Drive of Calgary, everyone! I can only imagine how much more beautiful this area is in summer! I’m telling you, folks, I learned in person that Calgary is the Texas of Canada (or Alberta I guess). Ooh… what adjectives can I use to describe this beautiful scenery?
Picturesque? Pastoral? Peaceful? Let me know what your adjectives are! I feel like I’m in a Disney or Pixar movie, but in real life! For dinner, I’m headed to a sushi place on Kensington Road. Prepare yourselves for… Another scenic view of Calgary skyline! Turning left here, and we are entering… Kensington Road. Kensington is one of Calgary’s top destinations for shopping and dining. It sits just north of downtown and has C-Train access via Sunnyside Station. It’s now home to trendy brunch spots, eye-catching public arts, and specialty stores… according to Tourism Calgary. Thank you! I started off with a nice little salmon here while making up my mind for my main. For my main, I chose… Okanagan salmon, **** scallop, hamachi, blue fin tuna, and the top is ikura. What the fork is it, you say? Yes, kaisendon! Meaning “seafood bowl”. A bunch of assorted sushi pieces on top of rice And of course served with a nice bowl of miso soup and some pickles. Miseno pikuru desune (House pickle, it is!)
Itadaki-masu! (Thank you for the meal!) On top of everything is ikura–the salmon roe. The assorted sushi pieces are: Salmon, scallops, hamachi (i.e. yellow tail or amberjack), Yeah I believe it was this one. Otoro–fatty tuna, and ikura–salmon roe. The food was overall… okay. Well, the servers were all kind. I don’t know… it’s just that it’s been less than a month since I visited Japan and ate a lot of authentic Japanese food. (You’re more than welcome to check out my Japan vlog!) So my taste buds for Japanese food might have been spoiled. Jal mogo soup-knee-da! (That was a good meal, thank you!) I wish I had more time to explore more areas of Calgary, more restaurants, meet more people but I only stayed for two nights and three days including Banff. I don’t know, maybe I’ll go check out the city again in July.
What do you think? My questions to you: (1) Which area is your favourite in Calgary? (2) What is your favorite event in Calgary? (3) Do you think I should go again in July for the Stampede and more exploration? Let me know in the comments section! Stay tuned and subscribe for more life, travel, foodie vlogs! And for my own original thoughts on life, society, and self-development. Do you like to travel? I have done a fair share of traveling here and there, but I’m realizing these days that… No matter where I go, it’s the “people I am with” that make my trip happy. Do you agree?
Hi, everyone! As promised in my previous Banff vlog, here is your Calgary Bike Tour + Foodie Vlog 2025!
I will shortly add the places I went to in the chronological order.
Enjoy!
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