Icefields Parkway

Between Thursday July 21st (Day 56) and Monday July 25 (Day 60) was some of the best bicycle riding we had done on this trip, and possibly in our entire lives. From Lake Louise to Jasper we were on the fabled Icefields Parkway, a 140 mile (230 km) two-lane road that parallels the main spine...

Edmonton!

Hey kids! We made it to Edmonton! More about that sooooon.Here's the quick stats: Three days of riding between Jasper and Edmonton. 230 total miles, broken up into three days (50/80/100). Yep, we pulled a century.We've also passed the two month and 2,000 mile mark on the road. Woot!We'll be in town the next several...

Contest: Guess the Bears!

UPDATE 7/29/11: Contest closed! Winners Announced! See below.Hey, before we leave Jasper and have limited internet access until Edmonton, let's have a fun contest!The question: How many bears have we seen on this trip?Parameters:This is an all inclusive number. So this includes bears that only I (Shawn) have seen, bears that only April has seen,...

Jasper!

Just a quickie post. We haven't had internet (except for a brief second) since leaving Lake Louise on Thursday. Heck, we didn't even have electricity for most of that time either! And the internet we're having right now is pretty spotty. So...We are currently in Jasper Townsite in Jasper National Park. We just finished riding...

Dodging tourists and wildlife on the road between Banff and Lake Louise (and Bear Encounter Number 2)

Wednesday July 20. Day 55 of the tour. It was hard getting up this morning as the bed in the HI-Banff Hostel was so soft and inviting. But get up we did, and we rode our asses into the town of Banff to check out the town.The village was...interesting. Just like Waterton Townsite, Banff is...

I Always Knew It Could Happen, But…

Currently still in Banff, Alberta, getting ready to ride 40 miles to Lake Louise.And I just heard the forecast for Lake Louise, chance of rain and snow showers overnight. I know that in the mountains snow can happen any time of the year, but it's still a big deal when it happens!Thankfully we'll be indoors...

Thy Mountains Returneth…

Oh sure, the distance between Calgary and Edmonton is only 300 km (180 mi). Three days on a bike, right? But like we're doing this trip "The Easy Way", right? Part of the point of coming up so far north was to ride between Banff and Jasper National Parks via the Icefields Parkway. And this...

Equipment Failures

It's probably a given on any long bike tour that something's going to go wrong with the stuff you bring. Even if you get a whole bunch of new and quality equipment before departure, there's bound to be some equipment failure along the line.Usually something will go wrong with the bike, as thousands of miles...