"Would you like to try the new Cruiser bike?" asks Adam, our tour leader at the new Cycle Adventures in Fredericton. "Your behind will thank you by the time we reach the 10th kilometre," he kindly points out. As a recent graduate from the kinesiology program at the University of New Brunswick, Adam knows what he is talking about.

I head to the Cruiser with uncertainty. It is a shimmering baby blue, the color of cotton candy. I poke at the seat tentatively. It is definitely softer than the regular 18 speed mountain bike. The only problem is that the Cruiser has no gears.

"So are there any hills on this 13 kilometre adventure?" I venture casually.

"Just one," Adam replies.

Another tourist pipes up that her friend had taken the tour earlier this summer, and that her behind had been sore for over a week. That clinches my decision. I hop on the Cruiser.

The Cycle Adventure begins on the Fredericton waterfront, at the base of the lighthouse. The plan is to go all the way to Marysville and back. The tours were started this summer as an initiative to share with tourists some of the city’s best trails.

It's no surprise that Fredericton was voted second most walkable city of the year. Other than the pedestrian friendly downtown streets, there are 85 kilometres of trails. These are suitable both for walking and cycling, and some are paved while others are made of gravel. They are situated where the previous train tracks use to run and as such are wide enough to allow two-way traffic.

As it turns out, the hill Adam had told me about is at the very beginning of our ride. I pedal furiously and inch forward slowly across the incline from the waterfront to the pedestrian bridge, which crosses the St. John River. I do very well and am quite pleased with myself and my sparkling Cruiser. The handles are wider than a regular mountain bike and there are no brakes- you simply have to peddle backwards. This takes a bit of getting use to, and reminds me of the bike I had when I was five years old. I'm suddenly feeling nostalgic when Adam brings us to a sudden halt to point out one of the sights.

"The Cathedral Christ Church was built in 1846 and took seven years to complete," explains Adam. "It was designed according to the neo-Gothic plans of British architects Frank Wills and William Butterfield in collaboration with Bishop John Medley, who was the first Anglican bishop of Fredericton."

We don't have time to stop in, but I make a mental not to pass by afterwards. We hop back on our bikes and the adventure continues. Our next stop is the Hyla Park Nature Preserve, which is an amphibian park. "If we’re lucky," Adam says, "we may even get to see a land turtle." But the area is flooded and we can't penetrate more than a few metres.

From here, it is another five kilometres of scenic cruising. Wild orange tiger lilies, bright sumac bushes and fields of purple clover dot the landscape. With the wind blowing in my hair, and whiffs of rosehip trailing in the air, it is a full sensory experience.

We arrive at Marysville and Adam points out Alexander Gibson's old cotton mill, an impressive brick building that now holds government offices. Though Mr. Gibson died penniless, he was once a rich man who owned most of the land in the area. In fact Marysville was name after Mr. Gibson's wife, Mary. How is that for a Christmas gift?

We munch on granolas and kelp under the shadow of an oak tree, before heading back to the road towards the city. Adam points out an eagles nest and a red-winged blackbird along the way. I ride back with my thoughts changing as quickly as the fleeting scenery. As we reach the end of the trail, my only regret is saying goodbye to my shiny Cruiser.