Day 6 Athabasca and Jasper

Unfortunately, this late morning shot didn't turn out that well, but it was a beautiful sight and forced Aviam and I to spend several minutes admiring it and hoping for a good shot. We failed... However, it was points like this that made me really appreciate the trip; sore ass, fatigued legs, all forgotten when you saw the beauty of the Rockies.

We spent the day riding quite casually and chose the 93A which hugs the Athabasca for the majority of it. It ia a much quieter road, as people are relaxing and not in a big rush.

I have never seen the Athabasca this high and was amazed at is power and speed. We stopped several times to watch it as it angrily flowed, within a foot of the bank. Quite impressive.

Athabasca Fall were even more impressive.

Day 5....Up....The Icefields!

Perfect weather, awesome scenery, and then the ascent.......

I remember driving this road, with my parents, and friends over the years and this one part always sticks in my mind (unfortunately, I do not have a picture of it). There is a long turn to the right, that seems to go forever. However, before that, you can look up, way up, and see cars parked on the side of the road and it makes you wonder how the hell they got up there. As I rode up to this section, I too wondered how the hell I would get up there.

By this time we had been climbing for quite a long time and were quite spent. I am pretty good about keeping myself going but at this time, I was happy to have someone else pushing to keep me motivated. The wind on 'the turn' was pretty strong but we kept pushing as we knew we still had plenty of uphill climb ahead of us.

It was a warm day, actually, it felt hot at this point. The ascent to the point where the cars seemed to be parked precariously on the edge of a mountain was still a ways away, and damn, it was steep.

We made it, had a rest, received a few compliments from thsoe who drove up, then headed up a bit more. We basically chose a spot we wanted to get to and pedalled on. Stop, rest, pick a spot, pedal on...repeat. Those days of riding my Balfa up the fireroads in Japan paid off....

One more kilometer!

We reached the Icefield Center, sat around and had a couple of beer(s) and chatted with a German woman who was riding the other way, alone and heading to.....not sure. It felt great to be here, 25 years after.

Aviam and I, although completely bagged decided to start heading down....... We only had a couple of beers and this was over a 'considerable' amount of time. Wilcox pass, a campground , 3.1 kms south of the Icefield Center, seemed way to far to go back to; going downhill was the way to go...

We ended up riding another 20 kms, I think, to Jonas Creek, which should have been named Mosquito Creek, cause holy crap, was there a shitload of them (someone was kind enough to leave us some repellent though.

After hauling our bikes up a walking trail to the tent area, which sucked, we set up camp and made dinner. I again, almost lit the table and surrounding areas up with my brother Michael's stove (which he kindly let me borrow...thanks bro!). Aviam got a kick out of watching me fight with the stove and proudly posed with it later.

I think he wanted to steal it and sell it for a new pair of shoes

Day 5 The Climb

The night before Aviam and I decided we would head out in the morning together. Around 6 a.m. I peeled myself out of my tent, packed things up a bit and then headed out to see if Aviam was alive yet. Turns out he didn't actually get a very good sleep under his blanket he brought with him (temps get a wee chilly in the mountains at night) and spent most of the night shivering. I, on the other hand, had a decent sleep in my warm, comfy MEC sleeping bag....

After some breakfast we headed out. I was a bit concerned that I had a leak in my back tire as it seemd to have lost air. However, after pumping it up it seemed to hold. It may have been a combination of altitude and temperature that brought the tire pressure down.




Things warm up quickly when you are riding with 40+ pounds of gear.














Not a bad way to spend a day.....





The first bit of the ride this morning would mean completeing the climb up to the Bow Summit. It is a 40 km climb, which turned out to be pretty painless. When Aviam and I got there we were quite surprised that was all. We were expecting a bit more of an ass kicking than that. I did know what lay ahead. I had driven it a few times in the past and knew that many vehicles disliked the the ascent up to the Columbia Icefields. Constant reminders to Aviam of what we were to face usually resulted in 'Bring it on...". Little did he know.

Day 4 cont._ Lake Louise and the Icefields Parkway

Lake Louis is about 2 kms from the start of the Icefields parkway (it is a junction of the Trans-Canada and Highway 93. I decided to have a bit of a rest here and then start the climb up 93. It is a 40km gradual climb to Bow Summit but I was going to save the for tomorrow. My destination for today would be Mosquito Creek about 26kms up the highway.












Not sure why it was called Mosquito Creek; there weren't too many of the little buggers around. It was a nice enough campground but for 14 dollars , was still overpriced. Spent the evening getting set up, boiling water (they seem overly paranoid about the water in the parks these days) and making dinner. I went next door and checked out the hostel to see if they had anything to drink, as I was fresh out of water. They were closed and advertised it with a 'don't come near me' sign that said something like: " We are not here and we have nothing to do with the campground next door so piss off". At least that's how I read it...




Mosquito Creek Campground



Cooling off my water....



A little back step... as I walked to my favorite hostel, another cyclist rode into Mosquito Creek Campground. We greeted each other with the usual 'Hey' and nod as he rode by. Later, after I returned from the neighbouring HOSTEL, I spoke with Aviam who was on his way to Edmonton from Vancouver. He, like me, was very new to all of this long distance road riding.

Turned out Aviam was working in Korea and was on his way to see his sister in Edmonton.

Day 4_This is what I am talking about

Had a bit of a late start. Got talking with another cyclist (Adam)that apparently got in Tunnel Mountain around 10 the night before. He was coming up from San Francisco and was 5 weeks into his trip. I wish I had taken pictures of his bike. He had an extended frame, with a skateboard base that was basically his rear rack and huge panniers. The solar charger for his iPod was cool....

I rode into town and got a few supplies from Safeway (granola bars, bread, cheese and an apple--- I still had some pasta to last a few days). Then I was off, back on Highway 1 towards Lake Louise. I decided to take 1A because of Adam's recommendation. He said it was quieter, meaning no cars blasting by at 120! He was right. Once I got onto 1A, as I have mentioned to many people, I finally felt REALLY good about riding. It was extremely peaceful, the air was fresh and no one else around me. It was truly what I was waiting for. Although the scenery was not spectacular, it made up for it with the smells and the silence. There was something truly awesome about this leg of my trip.

Day 3..Banff or Bust (or should I say puncture?)

After a good feed with Daryl and his family and a good nights rest, I left the next day around 8 a.m. for Banff. The ride out of Calgary was pretty much all downhill, which made for a nice start. It seemed as though I was going to have nice weather and soon enough I would be able to see the mountains more clearly (I hadn't been able to see them yet as it seemed rather smoky).

An hour or so outside of the city I got my first flat. I had been waiting for this and to this dayI am not pleased with my choice for tire sizes ( I originally had 23C's on but changed to 25C before I left and still feel those are too thin). Changing a road tire is quite easy once you get the actual wheel off. With panniers, sleeping bag, tent, etc in the way, it proves to be a bit of a challenge the first time. By the way, it seems people driving by need to honk their horns at you while you wrestle with the bike in the ditch.

Shortly after getting back on the road, I was finally able to get a decent picture of the mountains....









A Japanese film crew creating a fishing show.



Banff was about a 105 km ride from Calgary and was not a very difficult day. There was a bit of wind coming off the Rockies but nothing too bad. I set up camp at Tunnel Mountain campground just outside of the town ( Not worth the 21 dollars a night thats for damn sure. Or was it more than that? ) and then headed to the Magpie and Stump for some Mexican food and a 'couple beers'. Then it was back UP the road to the campsite where I settled in with an Outside magazine and a couple Labatts Blue.

Day 2_Calgary. Beer, beef and UFC

I rolled into Calgary late morning but still had to get to Daryl's place (friend of mine from school). It had been awhile since I had been in Calgary but knew roughly about where he lived. Country Hills....no problem. It is on the outskirts of town... Well, after another 11kms, uphill, in the blistering heat, I found his place. Of the 306 kms I rode in those 2 days, they were the toughest ones yet (missing the turn-off didn't help).

My trusty steed with about 45 pounds of gear.