Dirt biking is a sport that combines the elements of speed, skill and a deep love for the outdoors. River Valley, the largest urban park in Edmonton, Canada, is a great place for dirt biking enthusiasts. With a mixture of trails ranging from easy to very challenging, there is something for everyone in the Valley. However, dirt biking, especially on the River Valley’s varied terrain, can be hard on your joints. In order to enjoy this sport to the fullest and at the same time, keep away from injuries, it is important to focus on exercises that strengthen your joints. In this blog, we will identify the topmost must-see dirt biking spots in Edmonton’s River Valley and share exercises to keep your joints strong
Dirt Biking Spots in Edmonton’s River Valley
The rambling landscape of the River Valley is a haven for dirt biking enthusiasts. It has a variety of trails that cater to different skill levels of this sport, providing a unique dirt biking experience for the beginner as well as the expert. Let’s take a look at some of the key spots within the River Valley that dirt bikers should definitely explore:
Mill Creek Ravine
- Location: Southeast Edmonton, starting near Argyll Road.
- Description: Mill Creek Ravine is very popular with dirt bikers looking for both adventure and scenic views. The trails wind through a verdant and dense forested area. The terrain has narrow paths that demand a high degree of precision and control while negotiating the tight corners and steep descents. The intermittent mud patches and natural obstacles like roots & rocks encountered in this region test one’s agility and joint stability to the utmost.
Gold Bar Park
- Location: East-central Edmonton, along the North Saskatchewan River.
- Description: The rolling terrain of Gold Bar Park has a mix of dirt paths and grassy stretches, ideal for riders who wish to practise their skills in a relatively easy environment. The trails in this park are generally less technical and can handle different levels of dirt biking experience. It is also a prime favourite with beginners and intermediate riders in view of its serene riverside setting.
Capilano Park
- Location: Southeast Edmonton, near the Capilano Bridge.
- Description: Capilano Park, with its challenging trails that cut through the thick woods, tests the skill and endurance of the dirt bikers. The paths here are narrow and the ground uneven. Natural obstacles like fallen branches challenge your reflexes and lower body strength. In addition, the park’s elevation varies and the sharp turns require precise handling and stable joints to navigate safely.
Hawrelak Park to Buena Vista Park
- Location: Central Edmonton, along the river.
- Description: This stretch of the River Valley, with its wider trails, offers a more relaxed dirt biking experience. The trails here are perfect for riders looking to enjoy a scenic ride while maintaining a steady pace. The Buena Vista-Hawrelak Park Footbridge offers a stellar view of the North Saskatchewan River in a natural setting and should not be missed. The technical challenges are fewer. The well-maintained, winding paths are ideal for building up stamina and working on control.
Terwillegar Park
- Location: Southwest Edmonton, near the Terwillegar Drive.
- Description: Terwillegar Park is a favourite go-to spot for dirt bikers in view of its open areas with spaces and varied terrain. The park has a mix of flat, easy paths as well as more arduous climbs and descents. The loose dirt and gravel sections can be tricky to move on and necessitate strong joint support, particularly in the ankles and knees.
The Importance of Joint Strength for Dirt Biking in the River Valley
The trails in Edmonton’s River Valley are diverse and can take a toll of your body, more particularly your joints. It is the joints that help you to stay balanced and in control whether you are climbing steep hills, making sharp turns, or riding on rough paths. Strengthening your joints will help you to ride better and also lower the risk of injuries like sprains and strains.
Essential Joint Strengthening Exercises
Building in joint-specific exercises into your regimen is a must to take on the physical demands of dirt biking in Edmonton’s River Valley. The exercises listed below focus on the major joints involved in dirt biking: the knees, ankles, hips, and wrists.
- Knee Strengthening Exercises
While traversing the varied terrain of the River Valley, it is your knees that are constantly engaged in pedalling, navigating obstacles and absorbing shocks. In view of the same, it is essential to make sure that the muscles around your knees are strong; this increases the stability and reduces the risk of injury.
Squats:
- How to do it: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lower your body as if sitting back into a chair, keeping your chest up and knees behind your toes. Slowly return to the starting position.
- Benefits: Squats work on your hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps, which essentially support the knee joint. This helps to manage the impact from jumps and rough terrain in the River Valley.
Step-Ups:
- How to do it: Stand in front of a sturdy box or bench. Step up with one foot, then bring the other foot up to meet it. Step back down and repeat on the other side.
- Benefits: This exercise imitates the action of climbing hills and strengthens the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings. Such activity helps to keep your knees stable during steep climbs in places like Terwillegar Park.
Hamstring Curls:
- How to do it: Lie face down on a mat with a resistance band looped around your ankles. Bend your knees to pull your heels towards your glutes, then slowly lower back down.
- Benefits: Strong hamstrings help balance the forces around the knee joint, reducing the strain on your knees when going downhill in the River Valley.
- Ankle Strengthening Exercises
Your ankles play a key role in keeping your balance and absorbing shocks, especially when riding over rocks, roots and uneven paths in the River Valley.
Calf Raises:
- How to do it: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lift your heels off the ground, balancing on the balls of your feet. Then, slowly lower your heels back down.
- Benefits: Calf raises strengthen the calf muscles, which support the ankle joint. This helps you to stay in control while moving on irregular trails like those found in Capilano Park.
Single-Leg Balance:
- How to do it: Stand on one foot with your knee slightly bent. Hold this position for 30 seconds to a minute, then switch to the other leg.
- Benefits: This exercise improves ankle stability and balance, which is important while riding on narrow and bumpy paths in Mill Creek Ravine.
Resistance Band Ankle Inversion/Eversion:
- How to do it: Sit with your leg extended and wrap a resistance band around your foot. Turn your foot inward against the band’s resistance (inversion), then outward (eversion).
- Benefits: This exercise helps to strengthen the muscles around the ankle, thus preventing sprains and improving stability when riding over loose dirt and gravel in the River Valley.
- Hip Strengthening Exercises
Strong hips are crucial for generating power and staying in control during your rides, especially on the hilly and winding trails in Edmonton’s River Valley.
Glute Bridges:
- How to do it: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Lift your hips towards the ceiling, squeezing your glutes at the top. Slowly lower back down.
- Benefits: Glute bridges strengthen the glutes and hamstrings, providing stability to the hip joint, which is essential for power generation during climbs in the River Valley.
Hip Flexor Stretches:
- How to do it: Kneel on one knee with the other foot in front, so as to form a 90-degree angle at both knees. Gently push your hips forward until you feel a stretch in the front of your hip.
- Benefits: Stretching the hip flexors brings down tightness and enhances flexibility. This allows for better mobility when negotiating tight turns and steep descents in the River Valley.
Lateral Band Walks:
- How to do it: Place a resistance band around your thighs. Bend your knees slightly and take small steps to the side, keeping tension in the band.
- Benefits: This exercise, by focusing on the muscles on the sides of your hips, helps to maintain balance and control on your bike, especially on the rugged trails of Gold Bar Park.
- Wrist Strengthening Exercises
Your wrists are constantly at work when you are on your bike, steering and absorbing shocks from the handlebars. Strengthening the muscles around your wrists can help prevent injuries and improve control.
Wrist Curls:
- How to do it: Sit on a bench with your forearms resting on your thighs, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Curl your wrists upwards, then slowly lower back down.
- Benefits: Wrist curls make the forearm muscles strong. This in turn improves wrist stability and grip strength—important for staying in control on the tricky trails of Mill Creek Ravine.
Reverse Wrist Curls:
- How to do it: Performed in a similar manner as wrist curls, but with your palms facing down. Curl your wrists upwards, then slowly lower them back down.
- Benefits: This exercise targets the extensor muscles in the forearm. It helps to give your wrist joint more balance and support during long rides in the River Valley.
Grip Strengtheners:
- How to do it: Use a grip strengthener or squeeze a tennis ball repeatedly.
- Benefits: A stronger grip improves control and reduces hand fatigue, especially on longer rides through the varied terrain of the River Valley.
- Core Strengthening Exercises
A strong core is the key for keeping your balance and control while riding, especially on the difficult terrain of the River Valley.
Planks:
- How to do it: Lie face down, then lift your body onto your forearms and toes, keeping your body in a straight line. Hold this position as long as you can.
- Benefits: Planks strengthen your entire core, including your abs, sides, and lower back, giving you the stability needed for tough trails in Terwillegar Park.
Russian Twists:
- How to do it: Sit on the ground with your knees bent and feet flat. Lean back slightly, holding a weight or medicine ball in front of you. Twist your torso to one side, then the other, while keeping your core engaged.
- Benefits: Russian twists work out your side muscles. This is important in order to maintain balance while manoeuvring sharp corners in the River Valley.
Bird Dogs:
- How to do it: Start on your hands and knees. Extend one arm forward and the opposite leg backward, keeping your body in a straight line. Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
- Benefits: Bird dogs improve core stability and balance, which are vital for maintaining control over your bike on rough trails in areas like Capilano Park.
Conclusion
Edmonton’s River Valley offers some of the most scenic and challenging dirt biking trails in Canada. The diverse terrain provides an exciting playground for all sorts of riders, right from amateurs to seasoned pros. By incorporating a set of joint-strengthening exercises into your daily regimen, you can keep your joints strong and flexible. This way, you will not only improve your performance on the bike but also protect yourself from the likelihood of injuries. So, brace up, hit the trails and revel in all that the River Valley has to offer with confidence and strength!
