Day 5: Rampart Creek - Jasper, 96.20 miles

August 31st, 2009

Today, I was up early to the sight of another fantastic day weather-wise. So far, the weather has been nothing short of fantastic. I rode my bike up the Sunwapta Pass to the Columbian Icefields. A challenging hill I believe is the polite terminology. I did treat myself to a few stops along the way - to take photographs you understand and not to rest. Actually, Tom said he didn't have to wait that long at the top for me...but maybe he was just being kind.

The two of us cooked lunch just by the Athabasca Glacier part of the Columbia Icefileds (lunch, this time, was pasta and Ragu...with sardines instead of tuna...variety, you see).

We took a walk up to the icefield, which was pretty impressive. I tried desperately to remember my GCSE geography on how glaciers work, but the grey matter wasn't doing its job. I think we were stood on terminal moraine though, looking at the glacier. There were lots of signs telling you not to go on the glacier -- one of them said something like, "While our guides are well trained in glacier rescue, on the last 3 attempts they have been unsuccessful." The signs worked for me...

The rest of the ride was supposedly all down hill. Yeah right! The first thing we came across was another climb to the top of the Sunwapta Canyon. I have learned that you can never believe what anyone says when it comes to hills or distances, particularly when they are a non cyclist.

Along the way to Jasper, I stopped to help one man change his car tyre. Unfortunately, Tom didn't hear me yelling to stop and continued cycling on and had to wait for ages at the next rest stop for me to finally catch up.

The rest of the day's ride was long - over 90 miles for the day, and I really started to bonk towards the end (not that kind of bonk, but the cyclist-getting-knackered kind of bonk). Tom on the other hand was on fire, so a bit of drafting seemed to do the trick. We saw a mountain goat though and passed an impressive rockfall. And as we arrived in Jasper just after dark, we were treated to seeing elk crossing the road.

We a had a bargain meal ($6 Burger & chips) washed down with a pint of Traditional (which tasted like an exceptionally good ale, but I'm not 100% sure if this was in fact the case or if even a Bud Light would have tasted just as good on such an occasion).

At the end of the long day, I set up camp and said my farewells to Tom. He was off early, cycling to Prince Rupert with an average of over 200km a day. I initially had vague thoughts of joining him, but fortunately, for once, sense prevailed.

Day 4: Lake Louise - Rampart Creek (Icefield Parkway), 63.21 miles

August 30th, 2009

Onto the Icefield Parkway today. I was feeling quite nervous -- not really sure what to expect of a road of over 200km and no town in between. Armed with a tip from the bike shop guy to "stick my thumb out" in a worst case scenario, I started out on my way.

Turns out, there was no need to have worried. There were plenty of stops along the way, and I was able to drink water straight out of the creeks too. The bike guy was likely right though; I'm sure that in a worst-case-scenario situation, one of the hundreds of RVs that passed me on the road would have picked me and my gear up in no time at all.

The scenery along the road was nothing short of phenomenal. The Bow Summit and the view over Peyto Lake in particular was amazing (despite the long ride up). I began the ride along the parkway alone, but soon caught up with four other cyclists. I rode with them for a little while but was unable to keep up. I'd like to suggest that this was because I had a full load, but there is a minor possibility that they were just in better shape than me...hard to imagine I know.

Later, I met up with some other cyclists, a guy called Peter and his wife on a tandem bike as well as another Englishman called Tom who was also riding the full length of the parkway. They rode at a far more reasonable pace, and I ended up riding with Tom for the next day as well to the end of the parkway.

That night was spent at Rampart Creek for the night, where Tom and I shared a campsite and met up with another English guy and his wife who shared a couple of beers with us and also lent their stove. Frustratingly, the gas canister I had carried for the last 100km did not fit the stove I had bought. I wasn't pleased, but I wasn't going to take it back now. With the aid of my new friends' stove, I made pasta with Ragu along with some tuna. I foresee this becoming a favourite.

I've discovered that camping in Canada's back country most always takes conversations toward one topic: bears. One guy suggested that if we met any black bears we could scare them away and give them a good kick up the backside to shoo them off. I wasn't convinced and was fairly sure I wasn't going to be kicking any bears. All the talk did was make me super paranoid and so everything I had with me that had even a remote scent was carefully put away in a bear container provided by the campsite, leaving me safe for the night.

Day 3: Lake Louise, 30.20 miles

August 29th, 2009

After a quick stop at the horribly overpriced supermarket, I decided to stay in Lake Louise another night because of all the good things to see here. I spent my day cycling up to both Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, and they were both absolutely spectacular. The ride to both were not easy, but so lovely to see...and I enjoyed the pleasure of not having a fully loaded bike for the day.

Thinking the youth hostel was a bit pricey, I decided to stay at a campsite and shared the spot with a few other backpackers. One backpacker had been travelling for the past 3.5 years on his beautifully maintained 1973 BMW motorbike, visiting far off places including Australia and Russia all on German plates. He mentioned that his travels couldn't last forever though and would likely have to stop in the next 2.5 years to return to the business he shared with his brother (who apparently has been slightly annoyed by his business partner's nearly 4-year absence).

I seem to lose all sense of self-consciousness inside my tent, so I didn't feel the need to worry about my snoring so much this night (for some reason, being inside a tent gives a false illusion of sound proofing - obviously not the case). I've decided that I prefer sleeping in my tent though. I feel more comfortable there, I enjoy the bit of privacy I get, and it's a lot cheaper too ($7 as opposed to $42 in the hostel).

Day 2: Canmore - Lake Louise, 61.13 miles

August 28th, 2009

Having had a good night's sleep in my tent, I woke up to a beautiful day in Alberta. Being in the mountains and bearing witness to such great scenery, any questioning thoughts I may have been having about whether I had made the right decision were now quickly disappearing and the adrenaline was beginning to flow. (Editor's note: the cause of such adrenaline - and such cheap camping - has been deleted to save my parents from the shame of their dishonourable son...although it's really not as bad as this note might lead you to believe...)

Cycling into Canmore, I stopped to get my clicky gears adjusted (by another nice bike man). I had a breakfast outside Safeway and then continued on my way to Banff.

Following a quick stop in Banff, I then joined the Bow Valley Parkway onto Lake Louise.

Fantastic scenery! Quiet road! Sun still shining! This is why I had come!

The only thing I would have changed is the amount of training I had done before I left for this trip, and at the end of the day, I virtually collapsed and walked my bike up the last hill into Lake Louise.

Lesson #1 on this trip: A fully loaded bike makes a significant difference.

Tired, I spent the night at a youth hostel and although I was exhausted, I spent a good part of the night wondering if I was the annoying sod that kept everyone up by snoring. I suspect I probably was.

Day 1: Calgary - Canmore, 70.16 miles

August 27th, 2009

Starting with a not-so-easy walk to the airport shuttle pick-up spot at the ungodly hour of 5:45 am, carrying both a boxed bike and a box of my sole belongings for the next couple of months, my trip began as a bit of a challenge. From catching the bus to checking in at the airport, struggling with my boxes left me wondering how on Earth I'd be be able to carry all of this stuff all of the time on two wheels.

Things didn't get any better when a) I was charged an extra $50 for a luggage surcharge (the bike is only small) and b) I discovered was assigned the dreaded middle seat on the plane.

Things began to get better after a quick seat swap while the hostess had her back to me, giving me a bit more room to spread out, enjoyed my home-made lunch and watched a movie (Sunshine Cleaning). The time in the air was uneventful.

But everything changed once I landed. That's when the adventure started.

At the airport, I had to first put my bike together. This not only took a long while, especially pumping the tyres up with the hand pump. Then I had to find a place to change while keeping an eye on the bike. In a stroke of ingenuity, I changed behind the large cardboard box the bike had been packed in - no doubt a special treat for any passengers just landing!

Soon after, I was making my way through Calgary but not before making a quick photo stop at a sign outside the airport that so perfectly summed up the aim for my trip: Non-stop to San Diego. Stop California Dreaming.

Making my way across Calgary involved an early visit to Canadian Tire for some last-minute alterations to the bike and to pump up those tyres properly...and then I was really off, cycling out on the Trans Canada towards Canmore wondering what the hell was I doing, what exactly was I in for and how my legs could be so sore so soon!

Continuing on across the plains of Alberta, I stopped at Chiniki for a quick microwaved chicken pie, which slightly exploded in the store owner's microwave (I made a quick sharp exit). A highlight in Chiniki was learning that I had wireless internet access; Chiniki is a small native reserve, so I figured if I could get wireless here, I should get it just about anywhere.

Once it started getting dark, I was fortunate enough to stumble across a campsite almost by accident. There, I set up my new tent for the first time (in the dark). Afterwards, I visited a nearby gas station and snuck into the toilet to wash as the campsite had no washing facilities. Oops! I got caught with my shirt off by the attendant who was coming in to clean, just as I was creating a nice little swimming pool on the floor. He seemed alright about it though. In fact, he gave me a pot noodle, not quite sure why, but never one to complain when it comes to free stuff, it was pot noodle for dinner! I also think he offered to give me the end-of-the-day sandwiches, but I wasn't really sure and opted not to take them just in case I had to fork over money for them in the end.