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.