"You have to like to ride": Some Things Change

First, I must apologize to those of you who have faithfully logged in after my suggestion that blog entries would be more frequent. It turned out that while I did have computer access, we were without Internet connections for several days. So hello from Drumheller, AB and allow me to play some catchup.

Day 11
A strange thing happened today - the sun shone. All day. And the mountains made themselves known and they were glorious, starting with an 18km ascent out of Golden.

An 18km to start the day. But the sun was shining and the views soon became spectacular

Entering Yoho National Park we were soon met with the full majesty of the Canadian Rockies, and pedaled on giddily drinking in the scenery.

Since the day was relatively short, most elected to test themselves on the 13km ascent to Takakkaw Falls, where the road is so steep at one point that campers do 3-point turns to negotiate the switchbacks (I am told that buses don't bother: they enter the first switchback, reverse up the second, and drive straight out the third!).

Our campground that night was circled by mountains, and we even had chocolate pudding for desert. It was hard to imagine a better day.

Day 12
And yet the trip improved. The newly-rediscovered sun warmed up the day from an overnight low of 3 degrees, giving us a chance to limber up on the climb up Kicking Horse pass. At its base, a descending driver lowered his window to yell out "Bear!" as he passed, giving me some pause. As I proceeded up the incline I came upon a small black bear munching vegetation on the roadside. Fortunately, he displayed little interest in me as I pedaled by languidly. I didn't take it personally - I subsequently learned that he had ignored everyone else as well).

However, later as we attempted to take the now-closed old highway 1A to Lake Louise, we were turned back by wildlife officers who said they were tracking 4 grizzlies in the area.

This meant that instead of just having to pedal up a relatively easy 1 km incline to get to the lake, most riders had to toil up the full (and nasty) 4.5km road from the village - something I got to do twice, as I discovered my arm warmers had fallen out of my bag on my first descent. I pedalled back up to look for them and fortunately, did find them - naturally at very top, and sporting tire marks from passing traffic but other than that none the worse for wear.

At least we got to pass a nice highway sign for our first provincial border crossing.

Enjoying a well-deserved banana after the climb to Lake Louise

It later turned out that the cook crew - who had to clean up before leaving camp - encountered no officers and simply rode through the grizzly area, a distance of only 200 metres.

After Lake Louise it was on to the Bow Valley Parkway, a memorable part of my 1994 tour, and still a memorable part of this one for the same reason: the scenery is simply spectacular.

After Lake Louise it was on to the Bow Valley Parkway, a memorable part of my 1994 tour, and still a memorable part of this one for the same reason: the scenery is simply spectacular. So much so that it deserved this 'art' shot.

Leaving the parkway, we discovered the newly-completed bike path that led us straight into Banff away from traffic and alongside gorgeous scenery.

The day was marked by tragedy, however - somehow we had run completely out of bananas!!

Day 13

Not a bad campsite to wake up to

Unbelievably, our descent out of the Rockies saw a 3rd day of sunshine. And a tailwind!

As mountains gave way to foothills, I was flagged over by a fully-loaded tourer on the side of the road going the other way. Thinking he might need assistance, I braked hard from 40+kph and doubled back only to hear "Today is a nice day for cycling, but if Jesus comes back it will be nicer". I crossed back to resume my eastward trek to find that the shoulder disappeared and the pavement worsened. And I knew what lay ahead.

When I had passed this way in 1996 the intersection of 1A and 22 was merely a crossroads, with the town of Cochrane laying at the bottom of the hill to the west. Now the fringes of the city extend to east of the intersection, but one thing remains: the terrain.

The climb from Cochrane. Can you spot the cyclist?

And the rollers to Airdrie. There's a cyclist here too!

Arriving in Airdrie (likewise much enlarged in the last 16 years) navigating to our campsite was an interesting exercise, especially when we got to the point where all route choices had the same name: there was East Lake Road, East Lake Blvd, East Lake Cres....

We camped between two parks, one recreational and one industrial, and the sun actually felt hot. Finally, summer had arrived!

Day 14
It was hard to believe, but the morning once again saw sun, tailwinds, and smooth roads, at least initially. The distinguishing feature today was that the roads seemed to go on forever, stretching straight ahead into the distance and ending at that place where parallel lines converge.

Cruising along at 45 km/hour

And while it did get hot riding in the relentless sun (there being no place to hide), the wind was still cool. We descended to the Red Deer River valley and entered the badlands, meeting our support truck just in time to reload with water. A 12% climb brought us to a wonderful lookout, while a similar descent led to the ferry where another 12% climb awaited.

It was then on to our campsite outside Drumheller. Speeding down the road to the valley we were met by an incredible blast of hot air. It was like entering a blast furnace (not that I've ever done that so I can't really compare. But it was damn hot and in your face in a hurry).

It was hot (for once)

It rained a bit overnight and our rest day was surprisingly cool for a while, as it spit and threatened most of the day. I made the requisite pilgrimage to the Royal Tyrell Museum