The bike is loaded to the max. We leave town on provincial highways, avoiding TransCanada. We get one puncture. Maybe we are loaded too much.
We travel over the Allison Pass at 4,403 feet and stay at an Outward Bound camp. We have porridge and scrambled eggs for breakfast, and then head for Lake Okanagan.
We ride up the Okanagan Valley to Kamloops, and park up for free at a Christian hostel. Everyone is very friendly and hospitable. I patch two more punctures.
We head up into the Rockies in Yoho National Park. It’s very cold, with ice on the puddles, but it’s a spectacular ride. We inquire about accommodation when gassing up: nothing, all either full or closed. It’s cold and dark, but the gas station attendant says that the ladies toilets are out of service for repairs and have a heated floor. This is a first, but we doss down the night. In the morning, while we’re packing and shaving at the crack of dawn, a lady comes in—the garage attendants changed shifts in the night and forgot about us. We make a quick exit.
We head up and over the Kicking Horse Pass at 5,405 feet. We get clear skies, cold air, frozen puddles, and a great display of icicles. A magic ride.
Outside Banff, we encounter a giant moose, way bigger than an elephant. We pull over to watch, but a convertible with its hood down comes the other way, slows down, and agitates it, so both us and the car must take off rather quickly in opposite directions before we can get any photos.
John has some contacts in Calgary, which is great. A bit more comfortable than the Wapta Falls gas station.