First 2 days
This route wastes no time in kicking your ass, or in giving you some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable. Day 1 took me from Banff to a campground at Lake Kananaskis. The elevation profile didn't show any big climbs, so I thought things would be easy. Instead the route gives you 100 ft up. 40 ft down 200 ft up, 300 ft down. There was almost never a minute I was not climbing or descending, and some of the climbs were brutally steep and rocky. Some sections of Elk Pass, which I climbed first thing this morning were too steep to ride and I had to push at various points for about a mile total. Tonight I am camping at a primitive campground about 5 miles north of Round Prairie, Alberta. Not much else to say. Below are a bunch of pictures. This one was taken by Olie, who is visiting from the UK to do the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. He was younger and in much better shape than me, so he disappeared off into the distance very quickly. Day 2 start Elk Pass (above, an...