Rockie Ride

topcat33

Hi all,

I've been here in Calgary for about 9 months now, yesterday was my first chance to get a decent ride in the Rockies, it was AMAZING!!

I did the 1A road from Banff to Lake Louise and back, about 66 miles of awesome scenery....I stopped for a drink and heard bears had been sighted on the 1A. When cars and other cyclists were nowhere to be seen I did kind of wonder what I'd do if I had an encounter...still not sure what I'd really do.

What a fantastic place this is, loving every minute of it..............I'll be spending every spare minute in the Rockies and the foothills from now on........just have to tell my missus!

bobtbuilder

I did a cycling tour holiday from Calgary to Banff & Jasper via Lake Louise a few years ago. One of my best experiences on a bike.

The Sunwapta Pass is a great climb! You lucky barsteward!!!!

Crapaud

topcat33 wrote:

... What a fantastic place this is, loving every minute of it..............I'll be spending every spare minute in the Rockies and the foothills from now on........just have to tell my missus!

Couldn't agree more!

Towards the end of the Tour du Canada I was repeatedly asked by different members of the tour which was my favourite part of Canada. It's a bit of an awkward one to answer as Canada's just a great place, but the scenery in the Rockies is superb. Words, or even pictures, can't convey how stunningly beautiful the Rockies are. I wish I'd taken more SD cards for my camera now.

I didn't see any bears, but a couple of the riders did. It was after their PBJ sandwiches apparently.

STEFANOS4784

topcat33 wrote:

stopped for a drink and heard bears had been sighted on the 1A. When cars and other cyclists were nowhere to be seen I did kind of wonder what I'd do if I had an encounter...still not sure what I'd really do.

I hear soiling yourself is your only chance...... :shock:

mrushton

Pedal as fast as you can past them or turn around. The grizzlies can move fast over a short distance. Black bears are smaller but can climb trees in case you seek refuge aloft

Monty Dog

I've driven from Jasper through Icefields Parkway to Lake Louise and Banff and whilst I enjoyed the scenery, lack of traffic (early May) I'd still be put off by the road conditions - the state of the hard shoulders, rednecks in trucks and dementia-ridden geriatrics in RVs would be off-putting. I've heard the traffic in summer is horrendous too.

topcat33

You do have to choose your road wisely over here, a lot of riders drive out to the quieter roads in the rockies, ride around and then drive back.

I'm not sure I'd like to go mountain biking on the trails here, especially when the berries are ripe and the bears are hungry!!

UncleFred

Hi TopCat,

I'm coming to the Transrockies and staying in Calgary for a week before hand.

Can you recommend some good bike shops to stock up on supplies?

Ta

topcat33

Hi Unclefred (felt strange typing that!)

The shop I always go to is MEC (mountain equipment company) on 10th Ave in the City, it's a co-op so you'd have to join ($5) but they have loads of stuff there and it's fairly cheap. There's a few out of town that I haven't been to.

If your looking for warmup rides, there's 400miles of (fairly flat) cycle paths in the parks around here, if you get fed up of doing loops of Calgary try Bragg Creek.

Any more info, let me know! And good luck!