Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Day 16 – Distance: 102.62 km
Kicking Horse Pass (Field) to Banff, AB
We woke to some rain, and even thunder, but eventually decided we had better get going. It turned out to be truly a gift day. We started out with breakfast at a lodge, then rode to old Hwy 1A, which is closed to vehicle traffic. We were warned there might be bears, so we should make noise, so I taught Monique and Cassie the chorus to my favourite biking song, “Today While the Blossoms Still Cling to the Vine…”. One neat thing about this route is that it includes the old Continental Divide marker, where if you spit on one side, it will flow to the Pacific Ocean, and on the other side it will flow to the Arctic. Monique said she had always wanted to spit on both sides, so she proceeded to do just that. I think she also tried to pee on both sides, but I don’t think she quite managed that. This somewhat hilly, unmaintained route took us to within one km of Lake Louise, so we decided to tackle that hill as well in order to show Cassie the lake and the Chateau. Then we headed to the Bow Valley Parkway, which does allow vehicles, but no trucks, and we had a great day. There was some rain, but nothing as serious as in other locations (Adele mentioned rain bouncing off the pavement). We stopped lots of times just to enjoy the scenery, and the fact that there was not much traffic. We also met many other bikers; this obviously is a favourite route for the bikers in the area. The hills are rolling; the road is winding, and it’s a great training ride. We did run into some strong wind at Storm Mountain, where we had stopped for lunch, but luckily it didn’t last. We arrived in Banff around 4:00, and gradually got ourselves organized to go to the hot springs for a nice soak. Cassie had some sad news waiting for her, in that her great grandmother had passed away, so we decided we should find a nice restaurant and surround her with life and love. We drank a toast to a grand lady who sounds like she remained feisty to the end of her 97 years.
We camped at Tunnel Mountain campground, shared our blood with huge mosquitoes, and went to bed, rather late. I vowed I was going to get to bed early next day!
Kicking Horse Pass (Field) to Banff, AB
We woke to some rain, and even thunder, but eventually decided we had better get going. It turned out to be truly a gift day. We started out with breakfast at a lodge, then rode to old Hwy 1A, which is closed to vehicle traffic. We were warned there might be bears, so we should make noise, so I taught Monique and Cassie the chorus to my favourite biking song, “Today While the Blossoms Still Cling to the Vine…”. One neat thing about this route is that it includes the old Continental Divide marker, where if you spit on one side, it will flow to the Pacific Ocean, and on the other side it will flow to the Arctic. Monique said she had always wanted to spit on both sides, so she proceeded to do just that. I think she also tried to pee on both sides, but I don’t think she quite managed that. This somewhat hilly, unmaintained route took us to within one km of Lake Louise, so we decided to tackle that hill as well in order to show Cassie the lake and the Chateau. Then we headed to the Bow Valley Parkway, which does allow vehicles, but no trucks, and we had a great day. There was some rain, but nothing as serious as in other locations (Adele mentioned rain bouncing off the pavement). We stopped lots of times just to enjoy the scenery, and the fact that there was not much traffic. We also met many other bikers; this obviously is a favourite route for the bikers in the area. The hills are rolling; the road is winding, and it’s a great training ride. We did run into some strong wind at Storm Mountain, where we had stopped for lunch, but luckily it didn’t last. We arrived in Banff around 4:00, and gradually got ourselves organized to go to the hot springs for a nice soak. Cassie had some sad news waiting for her, in that her great grandmother had passed away, so we decided we should find a nice restaurant and surround her with life and love. We drank a toast to a grand lady who sounds like she remained feisty to the end of her 97 years.
We camped at Tunnel Mountain campground, shared our blood with huge mosquitoes, and went to bed, rather late. I vowed I was going to get to bed early next day!
posted by BikingBabe at 7:40 AM
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