Biking In Banff

Tuesday morning and early afternoon the rain came down in buckets. That did a number on our long planned bike ride of the Bow Valley Parkway between Banff and Lake Louise. There is a major divided highway that connects Banff and Lake Louise but there is also the Parkway that runs parallel to the highway. It is 31 miles long and is closed in the evenings during certain times of the year because of the multitude of animals crossing the road before the sun sets. There are few cars on this road as almost all opt for the much faster highway (speed limits on the Parkway do not exceed 35 MPH). The road has some significant elevation changes in some parts -- one hill was so steep that we exceeded 45 MPH on our descent without even pedaling -- but much of it is fairly flat. Marc and I have been training for this ride and others. Last week we climbed Chinnook and Cayeuse passes and then climbed the road to Sunrise in one afternooon.

When we were here two years ago we drove around a corner and saw a biker waving his arms and realized there was a grizzly right behind him! When I saw that I was determined to bring my bike and ride what is considered one of the most beautiful roads in the world. The surrounding mountains and rivers are truly spectacular.

This afternoon when I had given up on the weather and was ready to get on my workout clothes and ride the stationary bike in the hotel, I saw a glimpse of blue in the sky. Indeed it looked to be clearing, so we decided to go for it. The evening was perfect for a ride. We rode a total of 62 miles -- 31 each way -- and every inch was gorgeous. The only disappointment was that we did not see any bears -- I guess that was a good thing as I did not bring the bear spray and I understand a grizzly can easily run over 30 miles/hour.

However, we did have a little excitement with the wildlife as you can see below (I wanted to go back and take a few more good pictures with these elk but Marc wisely talked me out of it when one of these guys didn't look very pleased with us).


Here are a few more pictures of the ride. These were all taken with Rebekah's point and shoot camera as we rode along at about 20 MPH. You might note in these pictures that Marc is riding my prized bike, "The Red Rocket" and I am riding "old Red" as I can't get the seat low enough to fit him on the old bike.





We ended this unforgettable day with some Ben and Jerry's ice cream and a trip back to the Bow Valley Parkway well after dark to see some very impressive meteors in the annual August 11-13 meteor shower. It was indeed a day to remember. I'm grateful for a wonderful son who will join me on these adventures.