Elevation gain: 2701 feet
Average speed: 13 mph
Today was our last day. It wasn't going to be, but we decided it was a good time to stop.
Originally planned for today was 72 miles. However, we decided to cut things short. We were staying at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort for our rest day, and when looking at the route, had the following concerns.
1. We drove to Radium Hot Springs yesterday during our rest day, and realized that the road up to the hot springs doesn't have a shoulder. The road is narrow, winding, and through a national park on a Saturday. We weren't comfortable riding on it.
2. We wanted to ride up the hill before the heat of the day. It's been over 90 the last few days, and we didn't want to be out in that. I do not do well in the heat.
3. In the words of Dad's biking mentor, Dave Ertel, "Remember, this is supposed to be fun!" Riding that portion without the shoulder wouldn't have been fun, and riding in the heat of the day wouldn't have been fun.
Given these constraints, we decided to utilize our support vehicle. Driver Jim took us to the point where the shoulder reappears on Highway 93. It cut off a good bit of the ride, but we decided not to feel guilty about that.
On the way to our drop off point, we saw 2 long horned sheep! They were big guys, and they were probably the coolest animals we've seen so far.
The downside to Jim dropping us off, is we went immediately into our biggest hill. It took us about 50 minutes to ride 5 miles. We averaged 6 mph. On the way up, we saw a young sheep, who scrambled up the cliff to get away from us, a group of female sheep who ignored us, and a large black bear which also ignored us. The black bear, who Dad thinks was about 200 lbs, was right off the road, eating something, and didn't even look up. He made me a big nervous, but seemed utterly uninterested in us.
We made it to the top sooner than expected. That's what happens when you cut 4 miles off the climb. The descent started out fine, and then, like we've had before, the shoulder got really bumping and gravely, which is not pleasant in the traffic. And there's a lot of traffic. July 1st is Canada Day, so lots of people are heading out on their holiday. We got down the hill fine and head a gradual climb for the rest of the time. However, we still weren't having a great time. The vehicles are mostly very polite, but the sheer number of them is stressful. It makes the ride noisy. You can't just relax and ride. Dad and I couldn't even really talk with each other. It just wasn't fun.
Given the fact that we weren't enjoying the ride much, and that tomorrow looked to be more of the same, we decided to end our ride 1 day early and have Driver Jim take us on to Banff. I couldn't cancel my reservation in Vermillion Crossing, so we went and took showers, walked around, made some coffee, and headed out. A part of me is disappointed that we quit 1 day early, but overall I'm okay with the decision. We weren't having much fun any more. Our legs are fine, but we're mentally tired. Better to meet Mom and my grandparents in Banff, and get an extra day to spend there.
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