Day 13: 84.24 km‏

May 19, 2012 

Lake Louise- Canmore

Today we averaged 10-12 km an hour on a super flat, even down hill ride. To say we doddled would be an understatement. It was amazing. We took Highway 1 A from Lake Louise to Banff. That is THEE most beautiful highway ever. My favorite. The views are by far the most exquisite I've ever seen. I have driven that highway a lot. Which I suggest everyone should do one day. But biking it was something so different. You see everything because you have all the time in the world to look around. We stopped at every plaque and read about the area, we stopped for ice cream, everything! 

Then in Banff we stopped for a quick bite. We met James who offered his brothers place in New Brunswick! It is so encouraging when people who i dont know get interested in my trip. Matt stayed with someone and he donated to my trip. It amazes me the amount of support I have. 

For lunch I had sushi and dad a pulled pork sandwich. And we just sat and watched people. Banff is an awesome place to people watch. 

When we passed the signs for radium and cranbrook today and yesterday I really struggled. Oh I wanted to go home. Bad. I'm already home sick. But I kept trudging on. Hopefully this trip will be amazing and will fly by so I will get home soon and enjoy every moment! 

Now, I'm sitting in Canmore waiting for my mom to get into town!! I can not wait to see her. Then a push tomorrow for Calgary! No more mountains, and my dad will be leaving me! I'm terrified to be alone but it should be good!

{Pictures Day 12} Golden- Lake Louise

  

Our site for the night.

  

Packing up and starting the climb.

 

 

How much we had climbed already in 10km.

 

  

So excited to try and climb up that waterfall.

  

and...I almost fell in.

  

So we settled for this. Not quite as epic but that's ok.

   

Over those mountains we go...

  

Stove: 1, Kieren: 0. So gross. Didn't notice it until lunch though!

 

Spiral tunnels.

  

Such blue/green water!

 

  

Ice! Getting cold.

  

Summit of kickinghorse pass! Ice still on the water.

 All day climb!

 

Good bye BC!!!!! You were incredible!

Day 12: 88.28 km

May 18, 2012

Golden- Lake Louise

Today was a good day. Tough, but good. It feels like my footsteps are lighter. There is a saying "you can't grasp tomorrow if your hands are full of yesterday's junk" that is so true. I got rid of yesterday's junk today in many ways! I feel more confident on my bike already, my knees felt decently good today even through the pass. I needed the occasional stop but it was better than before for sure. But most importantly, I AM NOW IN ALBERTA! It's so exciting to be moving on! One notch on the belt for sure. A big notch! It feels great to have all the passes behind me, and all the junk. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE BC. More than anywhere. But I'm not a fan of it on bike... At least this kind of bike. It's good to be done it. 9 more provinces to go.

This morning we woke up to a beautiful blue sky in Golden. Because it was so clear, it was freezing cold. There was frost on everything. I didn't get the best of sleep the night before because of the cold, but I can catch up on that in Alberta!

We ate at Smittys and then began our all day climb up to Lake Louise. Quite the climb. It was warm in the beginning. I rolled up my long sleeve shirt to let in some cool air. I looked down, and my skin was blistering!!!! I must have burned it last night on the stove and not noticed! Crazy! And so gross!

We climbed and climbed and climbed. Then, 60 km down the highway we got to Field. I loved it there. When we biked through it seemed like a ghost town. There were old houses and in front of the old houses were plaques with information on who lived there and neat little facts. Then we went to the cafe for a late lunch and some warm soup. The cafe was a general store! It had every little knickknack you could think of. I really wanted a bracelet but controlled myself, cause I bought one in Golden! We got our delicious soup, and all the sudden it was bustling! There were so many young people in the store to grab things for the long weekend! One guy was talking about my trip to my dad and came running up to me and shook my hand and wished me luck, it was nice.

Then off we went to summit the pass. It was pretty good, as far as passes go, but very cold. It started to snow on us a bit. I was quite chilled, especially going down hill.

Tonight we are at the hostel in Lake Louise. It's a really nice hostel, with a lot of bikers here! Matt is in Calgary tonight already. Can't wait for Canmore and Banff, two of my favorite towns!

British Columbia Stats

Here's some stats on our trip through British Columbia. 

-4 passes
-total of 5000 meters climbed on passes (adding up summits)
-flat tires:
   Kieren: 0
   Matt: 2
   Bruce: 0
-new bikes:
   Bruce: 2 (new bike for trip, and a new motorcycle!)
-total km cycled: 949.64 km
-number of days: 12
- average km per day (including rest day and broken bike day): 79.14 km/day
-favorite song for those gnarly hills: Stronger by Kelly Clarkson (it's a gooder)
 
Overall, tough but beautiful province. It kicked my ass into gear, but Loved it. 
 

{Pictures Day 11} Rogers pass - Golden

 

Beautiful pass!

 Man BC your lucky your beautiful cause you SUCK to ride.

 

 

 

While I was putting my jacket away, a black bear ran across the road 30 km in front of us! Here is his tracks. ♥ bears. One of two we saw today.

 

I'm camping for 70-90 days... I wonder how long they are going for!?

 

Yum. Mid day oatmeal snack!

 

 

So hilarious!