When visiting Edmonton, I was very surprised that there were tours like these as I mostly recognized them from Portland. Biking around a table with a bunch of strangers over food and drink for a few hours. Urban Pedal Tours operates from both Calgary and Edmonton and offer different types of tours daily.
They currently offer 3 different tours in Edmonton:
- Old Strathcona Tour
- Downtown Tour
- Early Riser Tour
All of them are 2 hours long except the early riser, which is 2.5 hours. Either way, you get to explore the neighbourhood , exercise, meet new people, and explore new eateries.
Edmonton Early Riser Tour
We all arrived at 9:45am and we began promptly at 10am to begin our tour to 3 different locations for coffee, donuts, and drinks in the Old Strathcona neighbourhood.
The bike fits about 14 people and some seats have pedals and some don’t. People switched on and off certain seats to get a break from pedalling. It’s an easy bike ride and isn’t not very difficult at all because you are all working together to move the bike.
The Holly Roller
The Holy Roller was our first stop on the tour for coffee. As you walk in, the space is so eclectic with so many trinkets on the wall. I spent a lot of time admiring the look of the space.
The seating is very antique and very instagrammable.
The golden antique scale, candy maker and the chalkboard menus add so much to the look of the space.
I put in my order ad watched them create my order with their beautiful espresso machine. They use ACE Coffee Roasters for their beans and its a local Edmonton Coffee Roastery.
My latte came out delicious with a good ratio of espresso and milk.
If you look carefully, they have a lot of comic books and unique coffee table book in their bookshelf.
Ohana Donuterie
Ohana Donuterie makes fresh donuts inspired by Hawaii. The building is a bit hidden but you’ll find them on the east side of the Planet Organic building near the McDonald’s parking lot.
All their donuts are made in-house and made to order. There is even a window into the kitchen to see how its made.
The space is rustic with lots of seats which reminds me of weathered boats of Hawaii.
You can also park your bike inside, which is a nice feature. plus free wifi.
I got an original cinnamon sugar donut with chocolate cream filling. Tt was very similar to malasadas, Portuguese donuts which can be found in Hawaii at the popular Leonard’s bakery.
Have Mercy Southern Table and Bar
The last stop of the tour was at Have Mercy for some drinks on the patio since it was a nice sunny day.
The specialize in all things Southern, so you’ll find a lot of Southern inspired dishes on the menu. We didn’t stop for food on this tour, so we just drank.
I got a caesar a it was still before noon. It has vodka, caesar mix, clamato juice, celery bitters and topped with a lime and pickled asparagus. A good way to end this tour.
Final Thoughts
After the 3 stops and a good amount of biking through Old Strathcona, I had a really good time connecting with the others on this tour as well as checking out a few new places in town.
Remember to bring cash as it is easier to settle up the tab, but most places do take credit cards too.
We were done at around 12:30pm, so I still had lots of time to explore Edmonton.
Address:
#100, 10004 79 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB
Website:
https://www.urbanpedaltours.com/
