A summer of spinning (probably quite slowly).: 28 July

Golden to Canmore 167km (1702km total).

Most people ride from Golden to Lake Louise but having spent time there and knowing it would be heaving with tourists I had a more ambitious plan in mind. Susie, a search and rescue and ski patrol buddy from Ottawa had suggested I stay with her parents in Canmore and when I gave her the dates announced she would be in town too. I spoke to her in Revelstoke and she and her parents were very excited for my visit. She proposed meeting just outside Lake Louise for a picnic and then joining me for the last stretch to Canmore.

I left Golden early and although you climb straight out of town I was chilled. It was a really cold morning and the road was in the shade. However I was happy to be on the road before the traffic built up as it winds its way up a narrow canyon. I climbed for a while before it levelled out and the mighty Kicking Horse river kept me company. I entered Yoho National Park and after a few hours dropped down into Field. Susie had decided I would probably be in need of food before the Kicking Horse Pass and they had driven up the road to see if they could see me. As I arrived in Field I found her waving at me on the side of the road. I was so happy, I was indeed starving hungry and I found a table full of food and her excited parents. It was awesome we chatted and had quesadillas (these guys know how to put on a picnic!!). Her Dad offered to take Bob in his truck but we had made it this far and I stubbornly wanted to drag him over the Kicking Horse Pass, the final and highest pass I had to conquer before crossing into Alberta. It had got warm again and the sweat dripped off me as I once again climbed slowly uphill, but Susie had thought of everything and I had also had cold water and salty chips at lunchtime. I thought of the 21 days it has taken me to ride through BC, all the landscapes I have seen, weather I have experienced and most of all people I have met. I feel proud of my efforts and extremely fortunate that I have the time and health to be able to do this ride.

I was disappointed that there was no summit sign at the top of the Kicking Horse Pass (1647m) but I saw some motorcyclists stopped by a stunning blue lake and took some photos there. Sadly there was also no Alberta sign as I dropped down, just a welcome to BC sign on the other sign of the now divided highway. The highway on the Alberta sign seemed new and had a big shoulder, suddenly I looked down and realised Bob and I were going 50km/hr, I think he might have been happy to see the back of the big mountains. It didn't take long to hit Lake Louise where I stopped for a quick photo, I have taken a job with a dog sledding company called Kingmik and this area will be my office this winter!

I followed the signs for the Bow Valley Parkway and headed to meet Susie and her parents at the first picnic area. They had more tasty treats for me, cookies and pineapple and it was so good. I had done 87km and there was another 80km to go to Canmore, although I did not want to give Bob up I decided to take up her parents kind offer of support and offloaded my bag into the back of their truck. It felt pretty damn amazing to have an all but empty Bob and Susie and I spun along the quiet and pretty Bow Valley Parkway. Susie had really wanted to ride this road which is the old highway and we chattered away stopping for an ice tea and sandwiches she had sensibly decided to bring (with an ice pack to keep them cool) so at least Bob had something to carry! We stayed off the main highway by taking the Legacy Trail and decided to do ice cream in Banff. Summer evenings in downtown Banff are craaaazzzyyy but the ice cream was good and we only had 20km left. I wasn't sure how my legs were still going, I definitely could not have made it with my bag on my own. The legacy trail is awesome and we watched the evening light change over the mountains as we arrived in Canmore. I am not sure what time it was but it was getting dark and my bike computer said I had been in the saddle for over 9 hours, 167km in total. Her parents were pretty glad to see us and cooked up some pork chops on the BBQ followed by cake and ice cream. An awesome end to an epic day.