Tag: Alberta

Northern Rockies Tour – Summing Up

Posted on August 18, 2017June 22, 2018 by Rich

How does one sum up this Northern Rockies tour? Difficult, breathtaking (in more ways than one), stunning, magnificent. Words fail. The true highlights for me: Logan Pass, Sunwampta Pass and Columbia Icefields, Bow Lake, Lake Louise, riding through fires, the moose(!). I truly LOVED every bit of the camping – 12 nights in a tent at great campsites. My tent is now rolled up in my garage wondering why it’s not being used. The bike and gear really served me great. Each tour I think I realize this more. For the future, I need a new camp pillow (or maybe

NR10: Bison Liason

Posted on August 12, 2017July 31, 2023 by Rich

I unzip the tent fly early this morning to see a deer strolling by our site. Jack’s immune to them since they’re always in his back yard, but I still get a thrill. Maybe he thinks javelina are neat. Phil is unusually still asleep this morning as Jack and I are folding up tents, but minutes later he’s out, dressed, and folding his own. That guy moves fast. Our maps suggest there are few provisions out on the route today, so our first stop is a c-store. We head south out of town on 6. A tiny tailwind aids our

NR09: Crowsnest Pass

Posted on August 11, 2017October 7, 2017 by Rich

I meet Phil and Jack at the continental breakfast this morning and Phil’s twittering about something. He’s gotten Facebook-messaged by the girl that beckoned to us to have a beer at The Bull Run pub 2 days ago. Something about how she wants to hook up with him. Phil investigates and surmises that she is a working girl. Wow. Phil decides the only way she could have gotten his contact information is through the credit card transaction. Jack and I convene this morning to examine our ride plan. The original plan has us riding 15 straight days but we

NR04: Change of Plans

Posted on August 6, 2017September 10, 2017 by Rich

Awoke about 6AM and connected to the bcdrive website. 93 is still closed but an updated report is due at 6:27AM. Lo and behold when the report was issued, they’d opened up the road on an hour-by-hour basis. Hmmm… Eggs, potatoes, sausage, toast, and coffee at the cafe. Alpine Centre hostel is a very fine place to stay when you’re in town. At breakfast we set our day’s plan: . take the Bow Valley Parkway out-and-back to Banff, as originally planned, but… . take a look at the entrance to 93 at Castle Junction to see if it was open

NR03: Lake Louise

Posted on August 5, 2017September 6, 2017 by Rich

Man, real cold this morning! Gotta be in the low 40s. Don’t wanna get up! But we’re out by 8:30 or so for a snack breakfast and tear down, and off we go. The original ride plan had us going 80 miles today, but our efforts the past 2 days have reduced that to less than 40. A nice easy day for sure. We stop almost immediately at the other Waterfowl Lake a little south of us, and hike a few hundred yards down to the lakefront. Absolutely stunning. The still waters reflect a beautiful steep mountain (Howse Peak) illuminated

NR02: Banff National Park

Posted on August 4, 2017September 4, 2017 by Rich

Nice last night – rain on the tentfly. Makes the sleeping that much better. Seems like it cooled things down a lot too. We’re all up by 7 and ready to go by 8, and I bet it was in the high 40s maybe. In checking our maps, we note “only” 17 miles to breakfast, but oh my. This segment takes us up on a brutal climb to the Glacier Skywalk tourist attraction. We’re talking a sustained 9-10% grade, actually one of the toughest I’ve encountered. The views around here are stunning, including lakes, icefields, glaciers, alpine forest, monstrous mountains. It’s hard

NR01: Jasper National Park

Posted on August 3, 2017September 11, 2017 by Rich

The four of us get up early, pack the vehicles, and complete an hourlong drive to Jasper. I kept watching the car thermometer, noticing it dip into the low 40s in the low spots. Brrr. We soon find ourselves in the town of Jasper. Touristy but not nearly as crowded as I might have imagined. Bikes are readied and panniers loaded. Time to get this thing started! Linda takes a group photo and heads off on her own, with a plan to golf and spa her way around British Columbia for a couple weeks. I know she’s going to love this