Rest day!
After 9 days and almost 1000km of biking, we are through the Rockies! We made it over Rogers Pass a few days ago, and set a new 1 day personal distance record of 150km to Golden, BC the same day! Needless to say, we were hurting the next day. We'd planned to make it from Golden to Calgary in 2 days, but after our climb over the pass, we decided it might be a bit more reasonable to make it 3 days instead.
We stayed at a hostel in Lake Louise after leaving Golden, and then headed on to Canmore from there (all on the Trans-Canada... noisy as usual, but with nice wide shoulders and good pavement). We crossed Kicking Horse Pass without any equipment malfunctions more serious than a flat tire (spokes all intact!). It was a pretty significant uphill, but not quite as punishing as the Coquihalla Pass. There was some great scenery near the top, but we were a bit disappointed by the lack of sign at the top. Without photographic proof, we have a few friends back in Kingston who will probably suspect we did the whole thing by Greyhound.
Upon arriving in Canmore, we decided we couldn't justify the expense of a hotel, seeing as how it was gorgeous outside (at 5pm), and we'd only biked 80km that day, and weren't feeling too in need of luxurious accomodations. Little did we know what the weather had in store for that night...
About 10 minutes after setting up camp at the Bow River Campground (just east of Canmore), the skies blackened, and we were hit with a torrential downpour (to the point that a park ranger came and advised us of a "heavy rainfall advisory", and told us to keep an eye on the level of the river 50m away from our campsite). We were dug in by then, so all we could do was tough it out. Unfortunately, the storm was unrelenting for the entire night (and the entirety of the next day), which gave us the opportunity to find all of the not-so-waterproof spots in our tent... there were several.
We woke up the next morning soaked and freezing, with ice on the tent and bikes, and a thermostat reading 3 degrees celsius. My sleeping bag is rated to 5 degrees, so I guess it's a good thing I slept in my jeans! We dismantled the tent with numb fingers and attempted to get on the road to make it to Calgary, but after 5km it became apparent that we'd be risking life and limb by staying outside in that weather for very long.
We pulled over in the fantastically-named Dead Man's Flats to inquire about cabs ($140 to Calgary, and no bikes allowed) and hotels (not terribly useful since the cold and rain were projected to last for days). Despite a very helpful attendant at the Husky gas station (thanks Mike!) it appeared we were up the creek. However, after about 20 minutes of sitting around being bummed out by the weather and drying/thawing out, we were spotted by Chris and Debora, a couple heading to Calgary in an RV. They (VERY generously) offered to let us toss our gear in the RV and hitch a ride to Calgary, thus keeping us on schedule and ensuring that we retained our full complement of fingers and toes. Once again, thanks Chris and Debbie!
It should be noted here that we're not being sticklers about biking every kilometre of the trip. It's more of a trip across Canada with bikes, as opposed to a bike ride from coast to coast.
Now we're here in Calgary staying with Lindsay Lackner (a friend from working at Clark Hall Pub back in Kingston), who has very generously agreed to let us stay in her fantastic new apartment while we rest up and prepare for the prairies! They're not quite as daunting as the mountains, but I think I speak for Andrew and myself when I say we're both ready for some flat roads and some summer weather.
More from the road as access allows!
We stayed at a hostel in Lake Louise after leaving Golden, and then headed on to Canmore from there (all on the Trans-Canada... noisy as usual, but with nice wide shoulders and good pavement). We crossed Kicking Horse Pass without any equipment malfunctions more serious than a flat tire (spokes all intact!). It was a pretty significant uphill, but not quite as punishing as the Coquihalla Pass. There was some great scenery near the top, but we were a bit disappointed by the lack of sign at the top. Without photographic proof, we have a few friends back in Kingston who will probably suspect we did the whole thing by Greyhound.
Upon arriving in Canmore, we decided we couldn't justify the expense of a hotel, seeing as how it was gorgeous outside (at 5pm), and we'd only biked 80km that day, and weren't feeling too in need of luxurious accomodations. Little did we know what the weather had in store for that night...
About 10 minutes after setting up camp at the Bow River Campground (just east of Canmore), the skies blackened, and we were hit with a torrential downpour (to the point that a park ranger came and advised us of a "heavy rainfall advisory", and told us to keep an eye on the level of the river 50m away from our campsite). We were dug in by then, so all we could do was tough it out. Unfortunately, the storm was unrelenting for the entire night (and the entirety of the next day), which gave us the opportunity to find all of the not-so-waterproof spots in our tent... there were several.
We woke up the next morning soaked and freezing, with ice on the tent and bikes, and a thermostat reading 3 degrees celsius. My sleeping bag is rated to 5 degrees, so I guess it's a good thing I slept in my jeans! We dismantled the tent with numb fingers and attempted to get on the road to make it to Calgary, but after 5km it became apparent that we'd be risking life and limb by staying outside in that weather for very long.
We pulled over in the fantastically-named Dead Man's Flats to inquire about cabs ($140 to Calgary, and no bikes allowed) and hotels (not terribly useful since the cold and rain were projected to last for days). Despite a very helpful attendant at the Husky gas station (thanks Mike!) it appeared we were up the creek. However, after about 20 minutes of sitting around being bummed out by the weather and drying/thawing out, we were spotted by Chris and Debora, a couple heading to Calgary in an RV. They (VERY generously) offered to let us toss our gear in the RV and hitch a ride to Calgary, thus keeping us on schedule and ensuring that we retained our full complement of fingers and toes. Once again, thanks Chris and Debbie!
It should be noted here that we're not being sticklers about biking every kilometre of the trip. It's more of a trip across Canada with bikes, as opposed to a bike ride from coast to coast.
Now we're here in Calgary staying with Lindsay Lackner (a friend from working at Clark Hall Pub back in Kingston), who has very generously agreed to let us stay in her fantastic new apartment while we rest up and prepare for the prairies! They're not quite as daunting as the mountains, but I think I speak for Andrew and myself when I say we're both ready for some flat roads and some summer weather.
More from the road as access allows!
posted by Bryce at
3:37 PM
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