We were up early on Day 16, the weather was great (again!) and we headed out on our bikes with a climb to Kicking Horse Pass. Along the way we stopped at the Spiral Tunnels to watch a train snake its way through the mountain. In the past the trains would use a route that followed the trans Canada, but it was too steep a grade (4.5%) and so the grade was cut in half by weaving the railroad into and out of the moutain!
That morning was the highlight of my trip so far... Just before reaching the Alberta border, we passed a big brown Grizzly bear!!!!! He was about 20 ft away, and as we were riding along we both spotted him eating berries to our right. Mel did not want to reply as I whispered/yelled "Mel, do you see it? Mel, there's a bear. Mel, DO YOU SEE THE BEAR? MEL!!" We rode along and he looked up briefly while eating his berries. It was amazing.
Shortly after, we left BC, and passed into Alberta. One province down, seven more to go!
Pedaling Feat crossing into Alberta!
We arrived at Lake Louise that morning and from there we left the Trans Canada highway and took the Bow Valley Parkway to Banff. The route was fantastic with very little traffic and lots of bikers.
Mel's family: Tiff (sister), Jeff (brother-in-law), Lauren (cousin), Craig (cousin's fiance) and a truckload of adorable pups (Ollie, Heidi, Arwen and Nova!), met us in Banff for the night. We set up camp and headed into the city to visit with Bob and Lynne Hancock, friends of the Ranken family. They spoiled us with a delicious spaghetti dinner - of which I ate way too much! - and we shared stories of our Pedaling Feat adventures. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing around the campfire before we passed out for the night.
Team Arsenault around the campfire.
Day 17: Banff to Calgary
Today was a sleep-in day as we didn't start riding until 10 a.m. Mike Garrett (another Ranken family friend!) joined us on the ride, along with Bryan (man in tights!) who were very excited to have join us.
Mike had warned us ahead of time that he had a mountain bike and he wasn't very quick. We assured him that we went at a steady and slow pace, and that he would have no trouble keeping up. Well... not only did he not have trouble keeping up, but he was a Speedy Gonzalez and WE had trouble keeping up with HIM! Mike later informed us that he does not believe in using his brakes on downhills. Since most of the ride was downhill, he picked up speed like a madman and clocked his maximum at 57 km/h!! Speed demon.
Bryan, Mel, Lisa and Mike - ready to ride. Banff to Canmore.
Once in Canmore, Mike left us to watch the World Cup and we met up with te crew to go hiking in Grotto Canyon. The hike followed a creek up into the canyon. Unfortunately the puppies all had to be on leashes (there were 4 of them!) which proved to be a challenge and so the hike was kept short and sweet.
Hiking through Grotto Canyon.
Shortly after, the Arsenault clan and Bryan left for Calgary and we hung out in Canmore eating ice cream and sitting by the river. We then headed to Mike's place for a tasty home-cooked steak dinner, with pudding for desert. Mike did a GREAT job getting it all ready - Margie, you would've been impressed!
That night we headed back into Calgary for our days off. We were very excited because it meant we had all the comforts of home, and Mel was back with her family, but at the same time it felt wierd being back in a big city.
Our bodies are definitely in need of resting. Our legs have been doing well, but they are quite sore, tired and stiff. Other painful body parts? Our shoulders, from being bent over in the same position for such a long time. And our butts - for obvious reasons!
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