Alberta: Kananaskis to Banff

The ride back wasn't as bad as I'd expected. No wonder I had trouble with the section on Highway 40 yesterday - it was almost totally downhill today coming back out to Transcanada 1. So it was uphill with a strong headwind yesterday after riding 50 miles. Transcanada 1 back into Banff was a slight uphill grade most of the way, but really not too bad. I pulled into Tunnel Mountain campground at about 2. Interesting approach - windy road totally uphill. I should have guessed that one by the name of the campground. There are actually two Tunnel Mountain campgrounds, one for tents, and one for RVs. The tenting sites are beautiful, in the trees. There are bear lockers across from the bathrooms. Showers - like the ones in Waterton that I almost couldn't figure out how to turn on! There is an unmarked knob (really more of a button) that spins around to adjust hot and cold water mix. To turn the shower on you push the knob in, and the shower runs for about 10 seconds (I'm not kidding!). It's really interesting trying to get the soap out of your hair given the short time. But I'd bet this mechanism stops people from taking long showers!

I rode a couple of miles towards town to pick up something cold to drink. Then I stopped at the Hoodoos Trail for a short hike/walk. I met a couple from Ontario there who were just aghast at my trip. In fact, she told me that she has a 45-year old son, and she wouldn't allow him to take a trip like mine. I asked her if she thought he'd listen to her ultimatum - but I got the sense that he would because he yelled at them for not calling home enough, and they're traveling by car and staying in hotels. I think they're afraid of their own shadows - they told me that I should be carrying a gun!



I came back to the campsite and met a guy from Holland who is traveling on a recumbent. I asked him about the bike - and it turns out that he is pretty unhappy with it. He said that it is great at home and on the flats, but he isn't happy with it on the uphills. He said he's had to walk up many hills that he was able to ride on his "upright" bike. He's taken a year off, and is spending 3 months in North America, primarily following Adventure Cycling's Great Parks route. He's decided to ride into Calgary and rent a car for the remainder of his trip - driving and doing day bike rides. He said he started out by riding every day, but then switched to alternating between a day of riding and a day of hiking.

I've ridden eight days in a row - maybe I should follow his example and take a day off. But I'm just not ready to get off of the bike.

As much as I've enjoyed staying at hostels the last two nights, I'm really enjoying the solitude tonight. I've talked to a few of my neighbors, but I've also had some quiet time to myself.

I picked up a couple of good bagels yesterday when I passed through Banff - one multigrain and one focaccia. And although I've been on a mad hunt for good bread this entire trip (the last and only good bread before this was that great little bakery in Missoula!) - it really hit home today that good bread is the one thing that I've really missed. Funny how the little things are the ones that stick out..

I think I'll sit here an read for a little longer, then head over to the campfire program.