Ride Summary

Distance: 36 mi / 58 km
Climbing: 2054 feet / 626 m
Descending: similar
Difficulty: Moderate
Link to workout in Strava

---

there was a line to get "correct direction banff" pictures so I grabbed one from behind

Overpriced hostel included free breakfast, so I had free first breakfast - couple hardboiled eggs, a bit of canned fruit, coffee, and juice. I let the coffee work its way through my system before getting packed up, which process was a little funny...you see, my shoes smell so bad that I really don't like sleeping near them or leaving them indoors. So I found a hiding place for them outside but then it started raining so I moved them to a hiding place in the parking garage but then I couldn't pack my tennis shoes until I visited the parking garage which I had no car in...anyway, I made it down the road, to Timmy's.

This deer was also eating at Tim Horton's; I'm taking the picture from where I parked my bike against the window of the shop

This was the first day where I am riding the same route as I rode back in 2007 with the texas4000 (here's that section of the blog from that trip: Today lines up with July 10th) - in the same direction. I've been bombarded with memories and humbled by how much more effort this ride is than it was 17 years ago for me. I am carrying a 10 pound heavier bike and 80 pounds more stuff, and I am 30 pounds heavier myself, so "more work" is being done, but it is a lot more effort. I usually just feel like "the work is the work" and worry about getting myself up the next hill, and that isn't a demotivating thought, just accepting. But now I have echoes of "how it was" intruding on the zen of "how it is" and it's distracting at best.

WELCOME writ large

I was re-welcomed to the Banff National park (which I had entered and then left the day before, heading into much-more-urban-than-I-remembered-it town of Banff). There were like yesterday LOTS of bikes on the road - I'd venture to say it might have been close to a thousand folks I passed or (much more likely) was passed by. Folks on tandems, adaptive cycles, ebikes, ebikes, ebikes. Pacelines and mountain bikes. That closed-to-motor-vehicles section of the road really drew a crowd today, the last saturday it will be closed. the TL;DR: It was still continually stunning, though rather less animal-tastic than the day before. I saw a deer and a goat and some marmots.

My heart was really jangled by this one trailhead/lodge where I'd hung out for awhile with some texas 4000 teammates. Very fond memories. Looking forward to making some new memories with Lori when we head back past in a week! But, I got my milkshake and carried on.

During the steepest climb today - there were a couple of 10%+ sections that I managed to ride instead of walking! - I was struggling uphill so slowly - thinking about walking - and suddenly a minivan drove past and yelled "you got this!!" and...I smiled...and I made it over the crest. That was my only motorist interaction today, just when I needed it.

Lake Louise, town of, is down there. The whole thing!