Today we did an out and back tour from Jasper to Maligne Lake. Forecasts called for a sunny day with temps peaking at 70 degrees and only a 20% chance of rain. We rode right from the hotel and within a short while we were treated to some beautiful roads and the beginning of some lovely forests with promises of waterfalls. Total miles - 60.5. There was 3,563 feet of climbing, most of it on the way up - 30 (+/-) miles to the top (5495 elevation).,
Our ride profile also showed climbs primarily on the first half and coming back we would ride the same roads so of course it would be mostly downhill. Here is one of the places I stopped on the way up - nice little waterfall!
SAW THIS CUTE LITTLE MAGPIE ON THE WAY
Our first stop was at Medicine lake. The water's depth of this lake varies as much as 20 m through the year and much of the time has no visible outlet. In spring it is fed by the snowfall runoff but October as the snow comes and the springs freeze the lake literally vanishes and drains out the bottom feeding just a few small pools. Indians believed this to be magic or "big medicine."
After we left this rest stop we rode through the 2015 Maligne Lake burn area, this fire was started by lightening and burned thousands of acres.
And then it started to rain and we stopped to put on our rain jackets and just a bit down the road came across these female and young Rocky Mountain Sheep. They didn't look scared and kindly posed for photos.
And then it rained some more - all the way to the summit and Maligne Lake. This road was spectacular and hosted lots of challenging climbs. Thank goodness for all my practice rides prior to our arrival.
The ride down was pretty much as advertised and was mostly downhill and rained the entire time, oh and temps were around the high 40's - low (very low) 50's. This was my longest ride ever in the rain and I really did do well, I actually had quite a bit of fun but also had some key learnings.
Here's what I did well:
- Layered my clothing and had a pretty good rain jacket, but it could have been a bit warmer
- Continued to pedal all the way down keeping my core temperature up.
- Did not stop
- Wore a shower cap on my head under my helmet keeping my head warm. Looks goofy, but it works!
- Wore knee warmers/leggings, even though they got wet they kept the needle like raindrops away from my skin.
Here's what I could have done better:
- Bring my rain shoe covers on the ride, they did no good sitting in my hotel room.
- Bring an extra pair of socks
- Get waterproof socks for my next adventure!
Here's what wet looks like. NO, not the waterfall - ME!
Of course it stopped raining just as we came back into town, giving us some lovely sunshine for the clean up crew to get the bikes in riding order for tomorrow.
2 comments:
You're a trooper !!
Are you serious? Most of the climb was on the way up! And then the ride down was downhill! No way. That just never happens. Shower caps work great. I am glad to here that it worked well for you.
Post a Comment