Today was the third “event ride” of the Bow Cyclist Club 2022 season. The first two were from Cochrane to Water Valley and the Road to Nepal. Today’s was riding from Banff to Lake Louise.
It was going to be Ian’s longest ride ever (I keep having to say that!) because to get from Banff to Lake Louise and back was 113 km. Thanks to some detour distance, it ended up being about 120 km. He’s tired but fine.
We had 63 people signed up for the ride. There were three distances. The greatest number of people did the middle distance to Lake Louise. A smaller group added riding to Moraine Lake and the smallest group rode to just over halfway to Lake Louise and turned back. I was leading out a very large group of 19 riders at a “B” pace. We had some who wanted to go faster, but we also had some in our group who had to work hard to keep pace, especially by the end of the day.
The day started early, with Ian and I leaving home at 7:00. It was a sunny but chilly morning. It was only about 6 degrees at the ride start, but it was 20 by noon and in the mid to low 20s in the afternoon. It was difficult to dress for. Needed layers! Here’s video that Will took, with me leading the group and Ian in hot pursuit.
We stopped at the Banded Peak Base Camp at the Lake Louise ski hill for lunch. They have had a promotion on for about three years called “Parkway to Pint”, where if you show your bike computer or phone showing that you’ve ridden to there from Banff on Highway 1A (the Bow Parkway), you get a free beer, a cap and discounts off the entrees. Considering the number of Bow Cyclists there today, I’m sure they were crying all the way to the bank.
Ian and I had Cuban turkey sandwiches while marvelling at the mountain views.
Here’s a picture of our riding group as we’re ready to bid farewell to the ski resort and start back:
The ride back was faster thanks to a slight tailwind and an overall downhill trend. We got back before 3:00, and then started the drive back to Calgary.
It was a fantastic day.
Updated
I noticed after the fact that I have rolled over 20,000 km on my Specialized Roubaix that I bought in 2016: 20,076.4 km according to Strava. In some ways, that’s an interesting insight into cycling in Calgary. I am now in my seventh riding season on this bike. By the time the 2022 season ends, I’ll be somewhere around 21,000 km, or 3,000 km per season. Considering I ride about 10,000 km per year, the majority is still held by my Norco Valence, which gets the odd summer ride but spends seven months of the year attached to my smart trainer. I do more virtual riding than outdoors thanks to the climate. I don’t have a precise record of distance on my Valence, but it’s at around 43,000 km. Assuming it doesn’t break and we don’t move somewhere with warmer winters, my Valence is likely to remain the king of the hill.
Weather looked excellent and glad everybody had good and safe ride.
Test
It worked! 😁