Day 3 - Lots of Climbs & At Last - Sunshine!

Destinations - Mt. Edith Cavell, Athabasca Falls and then to Sunwapta Falls. Total today - 60 miles ridden and a total of 4500 feet of climbing. Challenging day!

We were so happy to see the sun peeking through the clouds this morning yippee! The best news it accompanied us for most of the day, we just had about 30 minutes of rain during the mid part of the day and then it was gone. Overall a stellar ride with overwhelmingly beautiful scenery.

We started our day by heading up to Mt. Edith Cavell . We had 2750 feet of climbing in 17.5 miles, gotta say it was a bit tough. There were lots of switchbacks and up and up we went. As we climbed we were treated to more and more spectacular views of the glacier and snow covered mountains. 

Mount Edith Cavell is a mountain located in the Athabasca River and Astoria River valleys of Jasper National Park, and the most prominent peak entirely within Alberta. It was named in 1916 for Edith Cavell, an English nurse executed by firing squad by the Germans during World War I for having helped Allied soldiers escape from occupied Belgium to the Netherlands, in violation of German military law.

We toured the Angel Glacier at the top of the mountain - breathtaking!

Then we descended the very same road we had come up - wow, lots of downhill twisties AND sunshine, what could be better! We actually were able to go faster on the downhills than the cars because of the switchbacks - FUN!

After a brief break we headed to Leech Lake (did not see one leech) and on the way stopped a few times for photos.  We relaxed at the lake and enjoyed the picnic lunch provided by our guides. 

After lunch we rode a few miles to Athabasca Falls viewpoint - totally worth the stop.

We then did the last part of our ride to Sunwapta Falls and our hotel. A long slog up along highway 93A - however the view was spectacular! We also stopped to see the mountain goats that were stopping traffic along the highway.

Why is it that the last part of the ride sometimes is the most difficult? We added headwind to the last few miles and I have to admit, I was beat by the time we arrived at the hotel.  We had spent close to seven hours on the road, and I was pretty well toasted!

 After dinner we walked about 3/4 mile down to Sunwapta falls. It was good to get out for a short walk.  This water for these falls comes right down from the snowpack and thunders through the canyon with almost an overwhelming force. 

Tomorrow the weather forecasts call for freezing temps at the Glacier Icefields, and we have been promised a mile and 1/2 climb that averages an elevation of 12% at the first half of our ride. Getting out all of my warm clothing and am hanging in there for yet another challenging and fun day.

Day 2 - Rocky MTN Tour - Jasper to Maligne Lake

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. 

The Canadian Rocky Mountains Tour Begins!

Today we spent the early morning doing a quick tour of Banff. We got a quick photo of Bowl Falls and a drive by of the Banff Springs hotel. We then had a brief breakfast, gathered up our stuff and headed over to the train station to meet up with our tour.

The tour actually begins in Jasper and we were driven in a van from Banff. We stopped along the way at the Athabasca Glacier at the Columbia Ice Fields. We were able to view parts of the ice fields on our drive today and will pass by them again when we cycle back to Banff, in hopefully much better weather. Note - The Athabasca Glacier has receded significantly since its greatest modern-era extent in 1844. During the summer months visitors to the area can travel onto the glacier in the comfort of large "snowcoaches". We saw some of them doing that today off in the distance.

Our lunch stop was at the Saskatchewan RIver Crossing. This gave us some relaxed time to get better acquainted with our group.  Everyone seems very friendly and I look forward to getting to know them even more over the coming days. 

When we arrived at our hotel in Jasper we did a pretty short ride, but did get a chance to ride up to the Jasper lodge and surrounding lake area. And yes, these are REAL photos - just glorious scenery. You can see the lodge in the distance. 

The sun is coming out tomorrow and we are looking forward to much better weather. We will ride approximately 60 miles from Jasper up to Maligne Lake and back. Looks like one big climb up and one big downhill back. Here's to sunshine! More tomorrow. 

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BOB'S UPDATE

Bob reports that he sadly packed up and had to leave Sherpaville today. There were lots of great friendships made and some wonderful shared experiences. Some of which he will share a bit later. It is a bit difficult for him to write because he is just carrying an iPhone. However, he does have a camera so I hope he takes a few more pictures on his adventure home.

He put in over 350 road miles today landing in the lap of luxury at a Hilton Inn in Westerville, Ohio. While he seriously misses his tent, porta-potties and shower trucks he says he will tough it out at this elegant hotel.  I think after chatting with Bob today that while he truly enjoyed his camping experience he has had enough roughing it for quite some time to come. 

The Canadian Rocky Mountains Tour Begins!

Today we spent the early morning doing a quick tour of Banff. We got a quick photo of Bowl Falls and a drive by of the Banff Springs hotel. We then had a brief breakfast, gathered up our stuff and headed over to the train station to meet up with our tour.

The tour actually begins in Jasper and we were driven in a van from Banff. We stopped along the way at the Athabasca Glacier at the Columbia Ice Fields. We were able to view parts of the ice fields on our drive today and will pass by them again when we cycle back to Banff, in hopefully much better weather. Note - The Athabasca Glacier has receded significantly since its greatest modern-era extent in 1844. During the summer months visitors to the area can travel onto the glacier in the comfort of large "snowcoaches". We some some of them doing that today off in the distance.

Our lunch stop was at the Saskatchewan RIver Crossing. This gave us some relaxed time to get better acquainted with our group.  Everyone seems very friendly and I look forward to getting to know them even more over the coming days. 

When we arrived at our hotel in Jasper we did a pretty short ride, but did get a chance to ride up to the Jasper lodge and surrounding lake area. And yes, these are REAL photos - just glorious scenery. You can see the lodge in the distance. 

The sun is coming out tomorrow and we are looking forward to much better weather. We will ride approximately 60 miles from Jasper up to Maligne Lake and back. Looks like one big climb up and one big downhill back. Here's to sunshine! More tomorrow. 

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BOB'S UPDATE

Bob reports that he sadly packed up and had to leave Sherpaville today. There were lots of great friendships made and some wonderful shared experiences. Some of which he will share a bit later. It is a bit difficult for him to write because he is just carrying an iPhone. However, he does have a camera so I hope he takes a few more pictures on his adventure home.

He put in over 350 road miles today landing in the lap of luxury at a Hilton Inn in Westerville, Ohio. While he seriously misses his tent, porta-potties and shower trucks he says he will tough it out at this elegant hotel.  I think after chatting with Bob today that while he truly enjoyed his camping experience he has had enough roughing it for quite some time to come. 

Rain and Waterfalls

I know, I know it has been a few days, but we've been really busy! We arrived in Kelowna at 4:30 pm Thursday night and after unloading our luggage and settling in at the hotel Margaret, Christopher, Hilary and I drove to Murray and Nicole's house for dinner. We were joined by Terry and Agnes also residents of Kelowna. How great it is to have Trilogy Bike club friends in so many places. Once again we were treated as honored guests and enjoyed a wonderful dinner and sharing cycling stories. Thank you for the hospitality!

The next morning we woke to a fine mist dripping from the skies but we decided to cycle the Myra Canyon and the Kettle Valley Railway on rented mountain bikes. The ride was beautiful as we cycled primarily downhill through the forests on a well manicured trail. This trail used to be a railroad track and we cycled across many trestle bridges - wow, what an experience! 

It would have been perfect if it had been a bit sunnier with a bit less rain. We stopped for a quick lunch and slogged back to the hotel after riding approximately 30 miles a bit wetter than we had been when we left. Thank goodness they weren't our bikes and we did not have to clean them!

Today we drove from Kelowna to Banff and the ride was spectacular as we saw plenty of waterfalls, remarkable scenery and then even more rain. I'd rather trade the rain today for better weather we are expecting tomorrow and the rest of the week.

We crossed the continental divide just as we left British Columbia into Alberta and made our way into Banff. Tomorrow we meet up with.our tour and get driven to Jasper for the beginning of our adventure.  Here's to dry roads and sunny skies!!!!

CONTINENTSL DIVIDE

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BOB'S UPDATE 

Bob is having the time of his life and has loved his time in tent city, aka "sherpaville" where they set your tents up for you and even bring you coffee in the morning. The weather has been perfect and better yet, NO BUGS He has met so many people from all over the country and has formed new friendships in his little tent city. 

He was off today to Niagra Falls and was overwhelmed by the beauty and grandeur. He visited both sides (USA & Canadian) and so was fortunate to get two different views. 

He is surrounded by motorcyclists and living the life. He says staying in "sherpaville" was a wonderful decision as he is immersed in the experience and really part of the convention. He is truly living La Vida Loca! And BTW, he also just celebrated his 65th birthday on Friday - what a better gift than to be surrounded by all of these gear heads!

Bob checks into his new home - TENT CITY

No blog from me today as it was our day to travel from Vancouver to Kelowna and other than some spectacular scenery on the route we had a pretty relaxing day. 

BOB CAMPS!

However, Bob finally checked into his tent at the rally and to a few little videos that I assembled and set to music. You will see the accommodations, the amenities (including a charging station for gadgets), a tour of his tent and a quick view of one section of the rally grounds. Just click on this connection. 

https://quik.gopro.com/v/wW2GbQs5IL/