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Tuesday August 13         Cycling Day 34

      Mosquito Creek (Alb) to Banff (Alb)

Distance:  (Km). 97

Time:  4:18

Average Speed: (Km/ hr). 22.3

Ascent:  (m). 664

Heart Rate: (beats / min). 112

Cumulative Distance:   (km). 3732

Cumulative Ascent :  (m). 31,797

Punctures so far : 0

Almost packed up.

Arose this morning relaxed and refreshed on Site 9. It was cold but I noticed Bow Peak was clear. By the time I had the tent packed away cloud had moved in and when I was leaving after breakfast(porridge, egg, sandwich and coffee) it was covered in cloud.

Today is the last day for Cynthia, Nelson, Kevin Mc, Ronda and Alex. They’ll head home in the next day or two.

Again it was a foggy start, the start we have become accustomed to over the last while. We know towering peaks are there but cloud blocks our vision.

Today is mostly one of losing altitude. But there still is a need for the lower gears at times. Last night we were at 1800m ASL and tonight in Banff we are at 1400m.  

After 26 km I arrived at Lake Louise village and a recommended side trip was to go up to view Lake Louise itself. This was a 4 km side trip with a 1.5 km climb varying from 6 to 9%. So much for a downhill day.

When I arrived.

But the effort was worth it all. When I arrived shortly after 9 it already had a sizable crowd but the view at the far side of the lake was less than impressive. It stayed around for an hour or so as the crowds increased and as the clouds rose. When they lifted I was amazed by the sight of the Victoria glacier at the rear. When this lake was ‘discovered’ in 1882 it was called the Emerald Lake due to its colouring but by 1884 it was being referred to as Lake Louise in deference to Queen Victoria’s fourth daughter. The lake is fed by the Victoria Glacier 7 km further up the valley and is 80 m thick (a 20 stores building). When ice breaks off the toe of that glacier with a boom, it takes 20 secs to reach where the crowd is. Since 1970 the toe of that glacier has receded almost 1 km.

I spent almost an hour there and during that time the cloud gradually lifted and the glacier at the back became evident. Also the battery in my camera went dead, and the battery in the iPad went dead. I resorted to using the phone to record these images and the images of the rest of the day.

I was loath to leave Lake Louise, it was so beautiful and it had been an effort to climb up here.

On the way down I had a great view of the ski slopes of Lake Louise that are used for the Ladies World Championship each year.

MooseMeadow

Bow River and.....

The day kept clearing and peaks ahead and behind looked so clear as a cycled along the. Bow River Parkway to bring me out of this fabulous route. This Parkway was pleasantly twisting and turning along by the slowly moving Bow River.

Vermillion Lake

After 90 km I moved onto the cycle path beside busy Highway 1 and this led straight into Banff. Banff is Jasper on steroids. Tourist crowds everywhere and tourist outlets. I’ll find out more about it tomorrow.

I arrived at 2pm but rooms wouldn’t be ready till almost 4. Our hotel again is on the very edge of town almost 1.5 km away from the centre with only hotels between us and it. Disappointed with the location. It was much the same story in Fort St John.

Finally I checked in, into an overflow facility of Inns for Banff around 4, showered and dried out the elements of the tent. Also spent some time trying to transfer photos from the phone to the iPad for this blog.

In St James Gate

At 6:30 Walker and I hit into town (courtesy bus) and gave our custom to an Irish pub....all waitresses from Australia. I had a delicious Guinness Steak pie and a nice pint of Guinness for dessert. Lovely atmosphere there but would like to have a bit of background Irish music.

A good day overall. Nice visibility, pity we didn’t have this weather since Jasper. But people here in Banff have commented that they have been rained out for the last few days.

Going to be enjoy the down day tomorrow; nothing too strenuous.

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.