Kootenay National Park to Calgary

Distance: 180.30 km, Total ascent: 1,321 m, Time: 09:07, Trip distance: 1,801.66 km

When I punched in the address in Calgary I was heading to, it came in around 180km... This is going to hurt. Little did I know, this day was going to hold a lot of other challenges other than distance.

I sat off before the break of dawn and quickly crossed over into Alberta.

The sun broke over the mountains just outside of Banff.

I made my way from Banff to Canmore, all along the beautifully smooth bike roads they have around there.

On this day, I had an unbelievable four punctures, which just added insult to injury.

After a very trying day, with punctures, rain and headwinds, I finally made it to Calgary! Just in time for the Stampede.


Gist: It was an EPIC final day! I achieved my target of cycling solo from the east coast on Vancouver Island to Calgary, through the Rocky mountain range - a total trip distance of 1,800km. It was a fantastic experience and the people I met along the road were simply fantastic.

If you ever consider doing the same trip, I would highly recommend it! I would even consider coming back and doing the same trip on the Trans Canada Trail with a mountain bike!

Radium Hot Springs to Kootenay National Park

Distance: 88.13 km, Total ascent: 1,403 m, Time: 05:37, Trip distance: 1,621.36 km

Today was a rough day. My legs were very tired from the previous day's 150km and the day started with a climb of 700m in less than 10km and the rest of the day was a gradual uphill. Despite the pain and the flat tire (see below) the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. A big effort with big rewards.

Snaps (more):

Entering avalanche country at the start of the climb.

It was bound to happen, and I finally had my first flat just before reaching the peak of the climb. Unfortunately, it wasn't simply a thorn or a nail. I somehow managed to ride right through the outer tire, so I ended up putting the patch on the outside. Surprisingly, it worked quite well.

The scenery in Kootenay National Park is simply spectacular.

I was lucky enough to meet Jim shortly after my tire blew. He said that he'll come find me as I cycle down the road and hand me a spare tire he had in his van. Unfortunately, I lost his details and never managed to thank him. So Jim, if you ever read this. Thanks a million! You saved me a ton of time and effort.

My camp site was next to the Marble Canyon, so I quickly set-up camp and walked down to the canyon.

The Marble Canyon is just amazing. Relative to other canyons, it is not massive, but the colour of the water and the stone is magical. Feels like the fountain of youth should be around these parts.


Gist: It was a really trying and painful day. Apart from a single downhill, the whole day was uphill with no flat sections offering respite. Luckily the scenery made it all worth it, and luckily Jim was kind enough to give me a tire, saving me a trip down into town. Tomorrow is going to be a big one. It is my last day on the bike, and from my GPS it seems as if I would need to do in excess of 170km. That's going to sting.

Cranbrook to Radium Hot Springs

Distance: 146.98 km, Total ascent: 901 m, Time: 07:00, Trip distance: 1,533.23 km

Today was a big one. Nearly 150 km. Luckily the road runs through the Kootenay Valley and there were hardly any climbs. The legs felt ok, the weather was mild and the skies were clear. Three days to go before the stampede...

Snaps (more):

The valley. Glad the road did not go over those.

Nice little farm.

Close to Fairmont.

The "hoodoos" rock formations just south of Fairmont.

More rubbish scenery.

Gaby and Geoff, owners of the Misty River Lodge where I stayed. Gaby rode across Canada on that yellow bike a few years back. Respect.

Gist: A pretty good day. Three 100+ km days in a row and I still felt pretty good. I ran out of steam the last 15 km or so, but I guess it was a heat and hydration issue. My fitness has come a long way since I first sat off.

Creston to Cranbrook

Distance: 115.42 km, Total ascent: 868 m, Time: 05:56, Trip distance: 1,386.25 km

I had a good night's rest and luckily the previous day's showers stayed away. With four days remaining and more than 500 km to go, you just have to put your head down and try to cover as much ground as possible.

Snaps (more):

The start of the Rocky Mountain range just outside Creston.

It's official. Luckily the roads snaked through the mountains and there were no big climbs on the day. Just a gradual incline up to Cranbrook.

Next time I'm taking the train. Should make for a cool trip.

I saw loads of deer. Felt like every time I lifted my head, I saw one by the side of the road. No moose or grisly's yet though. Still need to tick those two from the list.

After a 100 km or so I reached Cranbrook with a lot of daylight to spare. The legs felt ok, so I really had trouble keeping myself from continuing onward. If it wasn't for the lack of accommodation further down the road, I would've done 20-30 km more. Instead I filled the tank with a chicken salad from McDonald's and treated myself to a hot chocolate at Starbucks. The weather got pretty cold and miserable after I stopped, so in retrospect I'm glad I decided to stay the night.

The night was spent in a college residence, which is turned into a hostel during the summer holidays. I've always wondered what dorms looked like in North America and it wasn't all that different from the residences I stayed in back home.

I've lost a lot of weight during the trip. Not sure how much, but without a belt, those jeans would've been on the floor.

Gist: A very average day. The weather wasn't particularly nice or bad, nor was the scenery. The ride wasn't easy or hard either... Lol. I was happy with my progress though. Just wished I could've gone a bit further to take the sting out of tomorrow's 150 km.

Nelson to Creston

Distance: 117.19 km, Total ascent: 1,049 m, Time: 06:24, Trip distance: 1,270.83 km

Having rested a day, I was in much better spirits and was ready to get going again. Today's ride promised to be very scenic, running along the Kootenay Lake and also featured a ferry ride.

The pics (more):

Very nice properties along the way. These are just outside of Nelson.

After about 35 km, I reached Balfour where the (free, w00t!) ferry crosses over to Kootenay Bay.

Some more beautiful spots along the shoreline.

On the other side of the lake, I stopped at the Gray Creek Store. It's a very cool little shop, with the address: 1979 Chainsaw Avenue. Hehe. Apparently this is where real lumberjacks still go to get their chainsaws sharpened and to buy the chequered red shirts. Haha, love that place. I considered buying one, but they were heavy and I didn't really have space to carry more clothing.

Another odd place along the route is this house built entirely out of glass bottles. Over 500,000 of them! Crazy.

I kept pushing on and got showered with rain several times over the last 40 km or so. I think this had a bit of a mental effect on me, as the final 20 km was a hard stretch, even though the terrain wasn't that challenging.

The gist: The first 80 km or so was pure cycling heaven. The roads were smooth and flat for the most part. There was also very little traffic. The scenery was also spectacular as the road kept on hugging the Kootenay Lake shoreline. The last bit wasn't challenging physically, but it felt like it took ages to cover the final 25 km before Creston. The legs felt pretty good and I hope they will hold up so I can reach Calgary in time.

Christina Lake to Nelson

Distance: 119.73 km, Total ascent: 1,857 m, Time: 07:06, Trip distance: 1,153.63 km

Another big big day in the saddle. 120 km is far enough, but having to do that and get over a 1,000 m high mountain with a loaded bike is a different story.

Here's the snaps (more):



Another early morning. I was in the saddle at 5 AM sharp, leaving the beautiful Christina Lake. After about 3 km I cycled past a much better camping spot than the one I stayed at in town. Arggh... another sweet provincial campground. For some reason it did not show up when I ran a search. Anyhow, onwards! I have a mountain to climb.

Half-way up the Bonanza Pass on Paulson Bridge (elevation 1,106 m). I still had 400 m more to climb. The sun and heat was also starting to creep up on me.

I reached the top of the climb at Paulson Summit (1,535 m). I rewarded myself with a bite and some Gatorade next to this weather station. Mozzies were again ferocious up there.

The downhill into the town of Castlegar was great! I clocked 60 km/h and nearly broke the law too. There was a headwind, so one should be able to go down even faster than that. This suspension bridge is down stream from a series of dams used for hydro-electricity generation along the Brilliant River. Kid you not, the Brilliant. Overselling it a bit, but it was nice enough.

I'm not sure why, might be the fatigue creeping in, but I got extremely angry with myself for getting stuck in Vancouver for two weeks. I guess it is because I passed several places I would have loved to explore, which my current time frame did not allow. I read Paul Wittreich's book before starting my tour and he mentions that he never allows adversity to get him down. I should have taken up that advice.

Long story short; exhausted and annoyed, I cycled into the town of Nelson and had to wait for some blasting (road works) to finish. Great. Once the dust settled, we were allowed to continue past the blasting zone in single file. For the first time during the entire trip, I accidentally dropped my fantastic Olympus Tough 6020 camera. Aaargh... I stopped immediately to pick it up, only to see a huge pimped-out pickup truck, with a trailer, run right over my camera. @$%#!! A pickup AND a trailer; are you kidding me? These cameras are tough indeed, but not THAT tough. Needless to say, it was dead, but still looked in pretty good shape considering the pounding it took. Felt like the worst day ever.

Ok, so my options were:

1. Finish the trip without photos. Yeah right. Not going to happen.
2. Use camera phone. Not a chance, the image quality was horrific. Those pictures are not worth a thousand words.
3. Have my camera repaired. I'm not sure what the extent of the damage is, but even if it could be repaired, I did not have the time to wait. Being Sunday did not help either.
4. Buy a new reasonably-priced camera.

It felt like such a waste of money, but the last option seemed to be my only one. Luckily I found an electronics store that was open on Sunday and they happened to have a special on pretty sweet little Canon (PowerShot SD1400 IS). I bit the bullet and bought it.

With the new camera in-hand, I took a few photos of the town (a streetcar, a sail boat race, City Hall, the historic Baker Street, etc.) I checked into the fantastic Dancing Bear Inn (backpackers) planning only to spend the one night there.

During the night my heart-rate was jumping around between 60 and 80 beats per minute. This is somewhat unusual as my heart rate is usually just below 50 when at rest. I was pretty sure that it was not anything serious, but having done three 6-7 hour rides in a row, I thought it best to stay in Nelson for another day and give the old ticker a rest. I had one final rest day to play with, and it seemed as if this was going to be my last one. I would need to cycle at least 100 km every day for six days straight. No easy feat as I still had to get over the Rocky Mountains.

Gist: The climb was hard, but I felt a million times better than I did on Allison's Pass in Manning Park. My form has improved considerably too, but the fatigue was getting to me. I was extremely disappointed with myself for dropping the camera, but luckily managed to find a nice replacement. I'm also very glad I got to spent my final rest day in Nelson. I love that town. The vibe is great and it's location, nestled between the mountains and Kootenay Lake, was even better. It's the type of place where one can hike for days, mountain bike, ski/snowboard, sail, row, catch some brilliant live music and emerse yourself in everything cultural. I spoke to several locals and their interests and views resonated with my own. Definitely my favourite hangout thus far.