My Flickr site for more pictures -
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| Done anti clockwise. |
Day 5 (August 6 - Golden to Radium - 105 km - 23km/hr)
We got up at 4:15 to beat the heat but oh it felt way too early for the body. I found myself overly tired but I knew the midday heat would suck the energy right out of me again if we didn't get an early start. It was dark but we soon sensed that there was smoke in the air. There was a forest fire to the north.
The highway to Radium was truly gently rolling but was pebbled, and only a narrow shoulder of pavement was smooth. Small towns had convenience stores where we bought drinks to help stay hydrated. But smoke filled the air and views were hampered by it.
It didn't get hot until the last hour or so, but even so things were tough as is was very hot, and the only campsite near town didn't have any safe drinking water. To cap it off, the campsite was dusty and the bathrooms were on the grungy side. On the lighter side, Chuck tried to shoo a very dumb turkey off the highway just before we arrived in Radium.
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| Golden Triangle |
We had lunch at Smitty's, slept until 7:30, and then had supper at a great pizza place in Radium. We cycled back to our tent in the dusk, and again slept in our briefs, not needing a sleeping bag in the persistent heat.
Day 6 (Radium to Marble Canyon 88km 18 km/hr)
We got another early start and started up to long climb to Sinclair Pass. It wasn't quite as steep as I had feared, but it made up for that in its length. Our low gearing and the cool of the morning made it quite bearable. On the top of the pass we had the Vermont Cycling Club with its entourage of San Diego cyclists catch up with us. We felt just a bit superior to them as they weren't carrying any of their gear, and some of them avoided the hill altogether by riding up in the van!
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| Somewhere along the Kootenay Highway |
To show our contempt for unladen cyclists, Lickety Split set a banana peel "trap" for the American cyclists on the shoulder of the road, and when the van pulled up to the pull out we were having a break in, it stopped for just a second and sped off. We discussed various reasons why it sped off. ;-)
The Kootenay Valley was smoky but by the time we crossed over into the Vermilion Valley, the skies were clear. We missed the lunch sitting at the Kootenay Crossing restaurant by 15 or 20 minutes so sufficed with hot dogs and drinks. We also found out that the Storm Mountain Lodge at the top of Vermilion Pass was not open this season. So much for a nice breakfast the next day!
We cycled on to Marble Canyon where there is a campsite. The water had to be treated with Chuck's iodine pills and we feasted on sardines, cheesies, and Gatorade. Chuck complained of a sore but, and Dale's back was doing well. My "new" Brooks leather saddle was breaking in without pain. We all decided that our new Louis Garneau cycling shorts were more comfortable that the MEC ones.
At 9:00 pm in the campsite the sky was partly cloudy. Children called for their dads in distant campgrounds, people could be heard searching for things in their campers, and cars continued to whiz by on the highway beyond the trees. I was tired and content.
Day 7 (Aug 8 Marble Canyon to Lake Louise 46km)
We spent the early morning climbing up to the top of Vermilion Pass and the continental divide. Following that, there was a screamer of a long hill down to Castle Junction.
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| Snoozing in Lake Louise |
In Lake Louise we got a campsite in Fairview campground and we slept from about 3 to 5 pm.
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| Ken, Chuck, Dale |
We paid our $4.00 each for the communal showers in town and did laundry. I had beef ribs and ice cream for dinner. Our computers showed a total of 733 km so far.
Day 8 (Lake Louise to Rampart Creek 100km 18km/hr)
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| Keith, Chuck, Dale, Ken |
Up at 5 and at the deli at 6 for breakfast. What an assortment of baked goods! It's a place returning to. We finally got a good cup of coffee. Most of the coffee we had up until now was a poor excuse for it.
Ken's bowels were in an uproar but he felt well enough to continue. It was cold and clear. It was a glorious morning for a cycle.
We got to Bow Lake Lodge about 11:00 and paid $8.50 for a sandwich and a fruitopia drink! We cycled on up to the Peyto Lake viewpoint after that. It was beautiful, but crowded with tourists.
Dale (Lickety Split) MacQuarrie is a speed demon on the hills. The runs down from Bow Summit and the hill just before Saskatchewan Crossing were a real rush.
When we reached "The Crossing", we found the pub, rehydrated some, and enjoyed a cold beer. We also made ourselves an undercooked hamburger. We couldn't really blame the cook as it was a "cook your own" deal. We left the pub, noticed a massively towering cloud from a forest fire to the east, and then headed north into a headwind to do the 11 km to our proposed campsite at Rampart Creek.
By 6:30, we had camp set up and had our power bar supper. God we were getting tired of power bars. I was writing in my diary, Ken was reading a book, Chuck was making use of some Penatin cream that he found worked very well, and Dale was being his usual very comic self. We thought the trip would be about 1300 or 1400 km long, so this day had been half way.
I'm not sure why I write a diary but I suspect that it's because I feel trips like this are defining times and their events should not be forgotten.
Yesterday I had felt weak and tired, but today, thanks to more sleep and good food, I did well. Not bad for a middle aged heavy weight.
I suspect that the hardest part of the trip was behind us, except for tomorrow morning's climb up the infamous southern approach to the Icefield Center.
... on to part 3
Ken's bowels were in an uproar but he felt well enough to continue. It was cold and clear. It was a glorious morning for a cycle.
We got to Bow Lake Lodge about 11:00 and paid $8.50 for a sandwich and a fruitopia drink! We cycled on up to the Peyto Lake viewpoint after that. It was beautiful, but crowded with tourists.
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| Ken at Bow Lake |
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| Posers at Waterfowl Lake |
When we reached "The Crossing", we found the pub, rehydrated some, and enjoyed a cold beer. We also made ourselves an undercooked hamburger. We couldn't really blame the cook as it was a "cook your own" deal. We left the pub, noticed a massively towering cloud from a forest fire to the east, and then headed north into a headwind to do the 11 km to our proposed campsite at Rampart Creek.
By 6:30, we had camp set up and had our power bar supper. God we were getting tired of power bars. I was writing in my diary, Ken was reading a book, Chuck was making use of some Penatin cream that he found worked very well, and Dale was being his usual very comic self. We thought the trip would be about 1300 or 1400 km long, so this day had been half way.
I'm not sure why I write a diary but I suspect that it's because I feel trips like this are defining times and their events should not be forgotten.
Yesterday I had felt weak and tired, but today, thanks to more sleep and good food, I did well. Not bad for a middle aged heavy weight.
I suspect that the hardest part of the trip was behind us, except for tomorrow morning's climb up the infamous southern approach to the Icefield Center.
... on to part 3
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