Hello from Banff, Alberta! Oh, yes, we are at the Rockies!

 

We were not supposed to stay in Banff today, since we managed to get here yesterday. However, Pak’s achilles tendon has been hurting for a couple of days, so we decided to get a bit of a rest an explore the town. And, since we found a nice public library with a super fast upload bandwidth, we thought it would be nice to surprise you all with a new post.

 

 

We arrived to Calgary with a delay of almost two hours. Luckily, Paul from warmshowers was very patient and kind enough to wait for us. We thought we could manage to get at his place before 7 pm but we actually got there after 8 pm! Our Greyhound left Regina 40 minutes late and the driver not only could not manage to make up that delay, but it was much worse after we changed drivers in Medicine Hat and one of the passengers was irresponsible enough as to miss the departure –he was already on the bus and we had stopped there for more than 20 minutes.

 

 

Anyway, we enjoyed a nice talk and pizza with Paul and then proceeded to finally a nice rest. The previous night at the airport and the journey on the bus had been quite exhausting –even though we had just cycled from the bus terminal to Paul’s place in Calgary… although during that short trip we had to push Anacleta and FU.LA.NA. along a steep 12% climb! The day after Paul cooked us some delicious pancakes and then changed to his cycling clothes to ride with us and show us the easiest way to get out of the city. Unfortunately, our plans changed after Pak started feeling not so well and finally even passed out. He had not been drinking much water during the last two days in Regina and on the bus and the air in Calgary was not the cleanest in Canada. After a visit to the doctor’s we stayed another night in town and had some additional rest.

 

 

We managed to continue our journey and on 9 September we left Calgary and cycled to Cochrane, where we stopped for lunch. Before leaving, Pak took some pictures of the nice Cochrane Classic Car Club Show and Shine.

 

 

We then resumed cycling and we stopped outside Exshaw, at an area with several camping spots we saw in iOverlander. By that time we had already started enjoying the change of the landscape with the impressive Rocky Mountains hiding a bit behind some clouds. And we even found some ‘wildlife’ in the very middle of the road!

 

 

Despite the fact the temperature had dropped several degrees and the area is just in between the road and the railway, to be able to pitch our tent at the very feet of the Rockies was reason enough for us to get a decent sleep.

 

 

Yesterday –10 September– we gave some time for the sun to dry our tent. We did not have any rain but the temperature kept on dropping and it got quite damp with condensation. As soon as we got to Exshaw the sun left and it started raining. That did not however stop us and we kept on cycling after getting our rainproof equipment on us. We stopped for lunch in Canmore and Pak went to get some fuel for the stove and also try to get his glasses tightened up, while Tere was keeping an eye on Anacleta and FU.LA.NA. By the time Pak was back, she was talking to a very strange guy, who happened to be the owner of a bicycle with a trailer we just left our own next to at the entrance of a supermarket –where you usually find washrooms/toilets, which is very useful.

 

And this is how we met Crazy Larry, ‘the legend of Bow Valley’ as some people call him. He is a very interesting guy and a high energy person, who ties balloons for like EVERY kid in his Bow Valley. Parents alike and all his balloons –he says– are always FREE to ALL! His way of leaving a world of drinking alcohol behind to spread a real ‘Pay it Forward’ attitude by action. He certainly does prove it!

 

 

After we had been talking for more than half an hour, he decided to interview us and record a video with his phone –which we will post as soon as we receive the link from him. That was our second big moment of fame after our first episode in Tatamagouche… and we had more than a laugh.

 

This guy is really crazy: he is training with his Bike and Bob Trailer for riding 2,765 miles in the Tour Divide race, which goes all the way clear to the USA New Mexico/Mexico border. We wish him the best of luck in doing such an epic feat on a bike: NO stages and ALL self supported! You will be able to track him the ENTIRE way –he says– on his SPOT tracker.

 

Thanks to Larry and one of his friends, we followed the Legacy Trail instead of getting to Banff along the 1A. The low temperatures and the rainy afternoon did not prevent us from enjoying this nice trail and we felt very lucky to have been told about it. We could add more explanation to that but it is way much better if you just take a look at the pictures –or get there and ride it!

 

 

We got to Banff around 6 pm and we went directly to the Banff Food Rescue, not only because it is an amazing initiative to get some food that otherwise would be wasted, but also because Ladia was volunteering there. He is the Czech guy we met in Vélorution, in Salut Ste. Marie. He managed to complete his trip on 31 August and he flew back from St John’s –right where we started– to Banff, where he lives. After we had gotten some supplies and talked to Ladia, we headed off to one of the campgrounds in Tunnel Mountain, as we were not lucky in getting someone to host us for the night and wild camping is strictly forbidden in Banff Provincial Park. Although it took some time –we ended up pitching the tent around midnight,– we managed to spend the night in the campground. You can check the full story told by Tere on Travelling Sucks.

 

 

And this is how we get agin to this morning: Pak was still feeling uneasy because of some pain in his achilles tendon and we decided to stay another day in Banff. While these words were written, we received the visit of Florian, who managed to get here after been cycling non stop since Kenora! He will finally get some rest and go hiking around the park with some friends… ah, youth!

 

So now it is time to go back to the campground and get Anacleta and FU.LA.NA. checked before resume our pedalling tomorrow. Pak’s seat post might have moved a bit after the bus trip to Calgary and we will review all measures and settings before going to bed –correction: sleeping bag. His foot is feeling better; therefore, if everything goes well, we should be able to get to Lake Louise at least. We will for sure tell you all about that on our next post!

 

Thanks a lot again for following us on this blog or on the social world. Do not hesitate to contact us or ask any questions; we will try to reply as soon as possible. And, of course, please keep in mind you can always subscribe to our blog and/or our social media.