AR700 2019

It was a dark and stormy night...no, seriously, it was.

The forecast for Canmore was rain with snow at upper elevations the day and night before the Alberta Rockies 700. It had me concerned as I am not a big fan of inclement weather but I had already made arrangements with a friend to stay at their place in Canmore Friday night and after the event if I wanted. I almost skipped the event because I was so busy with work but I had talked with my wife leading in to the ride and told her that it would most likely be my last event of the summer. I promised her I would take it easy with my underlying heart condition that had popped up earlier in the summer.

My weekend started off with a dark and rainy drive out to Canmore at about 8pm Friday night. I made it to Canmore around 9 and went to my friends place and had parked inside and went to go inside but the door from the garage was locked. Someone had locked it when they were last there and they did not have a key hidden in the garage. I texted my friend and told her the situation and she advised me that her parents were out of town and I could use their place instead. I packed up and drove up the hill and made it into the house this time. I unpacked my car, setup my bike and set everything up for the next morning. It was still raining pretty good when I went in for bed. I had my rain gear ready but hoped the rain would stop and that there wouldn't be much riding in the rain. I was finally in bed around midnight and did my classic tossing back and forth with my brain much too active thinking about what was in store for me this weekend. I finally drifted off at some point only to be woken up by a big bang. Then lots of talking. It felt like they were in the house. Was there someone else coming to the house that my friend didn't tell me about? I shot up out of bed and went upstairs to see what was going on. No one was there. I could still hear the talking when I came back downstairs and then I could see through the side windows the neighbours outdoor light on. As I focused in my sleepy haze I made out some shadowy figures and then finally a hot tub. Oh, I see what is going on here. Late night hot tub party. I went back to my room and checked my phone. 2am. Ugh. I tried to go back to sleep but it took a bit for the adrenaline to filter out of my blood. The party next door was fairly chatty too. Talking and laughing loudly not realizing someone was next door. They finally shut it down around 2:30 and I was able to get some sleep.

DAY 1

My phone buzzed at 6:30. I rolled over and looked at the forecast. It actually showed good weather in the next couple of days. Nothing warm but definitely no more rain. I peeked out the window and the clouds and mist hid most of the details but the rain had stopped. I said "F it. Lets do this." I kitted up and shoved some food into my gut. The roads in front of the house looked wet so I went with full rain gear as I figured the trails would be wet as well. I still had to hustle as the clock was ticking and it was almost 6:50 now. I jumped on my bike and thought I would take the paths down to the start as that seemed the most direct path. I really had no idea where I was going. I just aimed down and down I went. Nothing like some slippery steps and roots and off camber section to wake you up. The trails spat me out onto some road and I booted it to Rebound Cycle, the start for this years AR700 ride. I arrived and most everyone was there. Jonathan, the organizer, took a quick individual picture of me and then had everyone line up for a large group picture. He said some words and sent us off. Go!

The town was quiet and the clouds were low in the valley. It was very humid out and my glasses had droplets on them. I rode most of the trail out of town without my glasses on rotating them from my mouth to hands and back. The clouds were dissipating and every little bit I caught a glimpse of the sunny mountain tops above us. Sunny, but a bright white from the snow that had fallen that previous day. I wondered if we were going to see any snow on Skogan pass as that is a high pass. As we toodled out of town I said Hi to Lennard and others. I mostly ended up talking with RJ Sauer that I had briefly met after the BCEpic from the previous summer. I had never left out of town towards the south so some new trails and sections were nice. We flip flopped from pavement to trail and back. I really wasn't looking at my GPS and just followed as some riders jockeyed back and forth trying to find their pace group or chat buddies. We meandered through the trails and developments eventually getting onto the powerline trail towards the base of Skogan Pass. There were some big puddles along the double track. I remember it being fairly overgrown in sections as well. It made for some tricky puddle avoidance riding. Some had success but most ended up in the muddy puddles or splattered with mud. The double track improved a bit when we turned away from the powerline and into the trees. The trail ended at a creek and the road we needed to climb was on the other side. We found a rickety plank bridge to cross the creek. It was better than riding through the creek.

The road is where the climbing was really going to start. We had a tough climb ahead of us. Skogan pass separates the Bow Valley and Kananaskis valleys and although I had always ridden it in the other direction I knew it was a long climb because the descent off the top is a long, high speed blast. I started up the road and settled into a good pace to see who would follow. I was overheating going up the climb and I needed to do some adjusting to my kit so I stopped just after we turned off the pavement. There was a good lead group already forming. Having sorted my issues and getting my glasses cleaned I was ready to go. The double track climb did not disappoint any who enjoyed a tough uphill slog. Up into the clouds we went. The lead group was out of sight to me by halfway. I was really hot and unzipped more and more layers. It wasn't long after the track deviated from the powerlines while going up the switch backs that we found the snow. I would say the top 20% of the climb was in the snow. The one positive though was that the sun was starting to poke through the cloud which made for very humid conditions. I was just off the lead group when I summited the pass. I quickly zipped up and set off to catch the leaders. The sun was melting the trail and turning it into a sloppy mess. There were some tricky high speed corners but I stayed off the brakes and quickly reeled everyone in. The route down the pass went by quickly and soon we were out of the snow and slush. As we neared the base there are a lot of trails for cycling and skiing. I missed the first big turn and slammed on the brakes. I tried to watch my GPS while zipping down the trails but it was very hard. We traversed across to the base of Nakiska ski hill and again I missed another turn by a lot. I had to back track a good couple hundred meters to get back to the turn. In the time it took me to back track Lennard, RJ and Robin had gone past me. But not by much as I found them on the short climb up to the Kananaskis resort. Our lead group had some troubles navigating through the resort as there are roads and trails all over.

Once past the resort we entered a long single track section that I was really looking forward to. My family and I make a trip out here once a year to ride the Terrace trail out to Wedge pond for a picnic and back on the Bill Milne bike path. It is great fun for the kids and adults. I zipped down the trail putting my mountain bike skills to the test. I scared a group of hikers when I shouted at them to let them know I was coming. It was an amicable exchange as they really weren't expecting anyone nor was I. I thanked them for letting me through and powered on. This trail is a lot of fun and has all of the elements of a great cross country trail. It was not long before a short power climb up to Galatea day use parking lot and onto a dreaded highway section.

For this ride I thought I would try something different and finally put to use some clamp on TT bars I had bought for my first attempt at the BCEpic. They had just sat in my closet since. I knew there was a lot of gravel roads and road riding in the AR700 so I thought it might help me a bit. I think it did help a bit but I really didn't have it setup properly and I threw them on my bike kinda last minute. This next highway section is where I could test it out and it probably helped a bit but I wasn't used to riding in an aero position. Lennard and RJ slowly reeled me in from my 2 minute lead coming out of Galatea parking lot. The TT bars definitely did help with my aerodynamics though and I am sure I saved some time. The highway was quite busy and we came across a large group of cars on either side of the road and a large group of hikers congregating across from where we were riding. Not sure what was going on but some very large group hike, who knows. Lennard, RJ and I were rotating positions along the highway. Each riding had their strong and weak sections. For me, I was weak climbing. meh. The descent down from the highway and down towards the Kananaskis lakes was a cold one but soon we were going back up and warming up. The route kicked us off the road and onto the paved pathway through some of the campgrounds and over to Boulton Creek Store. The paved pathways meanders around through the park and I had ridden this before so I was just focused on moving forward. I was oblivious to a bear on the side of the path near to the Boulton campground. Both RJ and Lennard told me they saw and but I didn't which is weird as I typically am always watching the nature as it goes by. Oh well.

The three of us rolled into Boulton store for a stop. It was around noon and we were making good time. We grabbed what we wanted from the limited selection of sandwiches and snacks. While we ate and chatted Lennard had mentioned that he was going to take it easy on the next section as he didn't want to push too hard. We were getting a chill and thought it was time to go. It was still cool out but the sun was nice and warm. My gloves and clothes we damp so I switched out for dryer gear and took off my rain pants. When I was getting ready to pull out I noticed my SPOT tracker was turned off. Hmm, I think I forgot to turn it on at the start. Oops. Lennard was gone by the time RJ and I jumped on the road but it was not long before we saw him again just as we entered the trail. This double track is the last section of the High Rockies trail and infamous for the Tour Divide riders for the steep climb over the Elk Pass. And it was steep both down and up but mostly up the one long double track climb on the loose gravel after crossing Fox Creek. Yikes! It did eventually level off and move back onto a power line trail before we hit the top of the pass and entry into B.C.. RJ and I were keeping similar paces and we rode most of the route down the Elk Valley together.

The descent off of the Elk pass was on and off muddy double track. I would pull ahead of RJ on the descents but he would gain on me through the flats. The scenery of the upper Elk Valley was spectacular. We talked a lot or maybe that was just me. I am always curious about other peoples adventures and RJ has had many. So that made the trail go by quickly. We came across a lot of other bikepackers going both directions which was nice to see. A lot of people on casual bike vacations is awesome.

I found myself struggling to keep with RJ after we crossed the Elk River and RJ just kept inching away from me. I just didn't have the energy to push hard and wanted to enjoy myself so I settled into an easier pace while I watched RJ shrink away into the distance. I was dipping into a physical and mental low. I was out of sight of RJ and couldn't see Lennard behind me. I needed food and started thinking about what I would get in Elkford. There were more and more people out the closer I rode to Elkford. Campers, Hikers, etc. I was distracted and daydreaming about how I need to quickly get to Elkford and get some food in me. When I finally hit the pavement in Elkford and looked at my GPS to see where the gas station was and there was no magenta line.... I panicked and yelled "F***!" How did I miss the turn? Where did I miss the turn? I began to zoom out and out and out. Damn. The turn was a ways back but I was exhausted. I decided screw it, I need food. I will message Jonathan when I get to the gas station and tell him I missed a section and to relegate me. I was so toast. I rolled in to the gas station and loaded up on food. I checked Trackleaders on my phone and messaged Jonathan about my mistake. After 30 minutes RJ arrived and he was surprised to see me there and I explained what happened. He told me that I had missed a fun section of singletrack but there was a tough climb up from the road to it. We chatted for a bit and then Lennard came in and I explained my story again and he again told me about the fun single track I had missed. I was originally thinking of continuing on with RJ but I was energized from resting and eating and their tales of fun singletrack were just too tempting. I made the decision to bike back up the road and complete the full course.

The ride back up the road was quick and I had a chance to look around at the nice area. I found the turn I missed and it was obvious how I missed it. The trail and the signs were partially hidden around a corner. In my fatigued state I only had tunnel vision on the road towards town and I was not looking around enough. I followed the singletrack for a bit but somehow ended up in a dried up river bed with lots of rocks. The river bed looked well used though so I just kept moving up. There were a couple of tricky areas to get across and I reviewed my GPS and it looked like I was off route again. I glanced around and saw the single track on the hillside to my right. The bushwhack across to it looked tough but it look like it paralleled the creek so I pushed on. Eventually the singletrack crossed the creek bed and the route went to the left. That was a tough climb. Now on the singletrack I was happy to pedal away. It was a very nice trail go up through the forest between burnt out, logged and untouched areas. The trail kicked up some more before flattening out on the side of a bench in the side of the valley. From here on it was a blast and truly some great, well built trail in the middle of nowhere. I was really impressed and I felt great flying down the trail. As the trail dropped into town I passed a rider, Glen(GB), but I zipped around him pretty fast and didn't really chat with him other than a quick "Hi". Down past the gas station where I took a quick look to see if anyone was there, and then continued on to the next stop in Sparwood. I was pushing the pace as best I could because I had lost of good chunk of time and wanted to catch up to RJ.

The trail popped right back into singletrack after leaving Elkford and it meandered up and down a large bench on the opposite side of the Elk River valley. The trail became double track and I negotiated between logged areas. It was not long before something because to tickle my nose. A funky type of smell that I remembered when I used to visit Kamloops when I was a kid. Sulphur and it kept getting stronger. I guessed that is must be coming from one of the coal facilities in the area until I popped out of the forest and saw the large sulphur ponds. Yuck, but an impressive size. I was more curious about how they formed in this random location which then reminded me of the sulphur ponds by the Canyon Creek ice caves. But no time to investigate. I circled around the springs and kept moving forward south. In and out of cut blocks. The trails started to crisscross and I had to check at each junction. The route went from fire road to singletrack then to double track then to no track and back. I had to double check a couple of times as there were multiple options heading in the same direction. In one of the cut blocks the trail was out in the open and I could finally get a good look around at this magnificent valley. Amazing scenery once again. The route spat me out onto a nice access road and I was able to get some speed going now. Down across the bridge of the Fording River and I could see the route heading towards a paved road. It was nice on the body to relax on the pavement for a bit but not very stimulating. I was planning on what I would eat in Sparwood and at the same time wondering if I would make it there in time. Most restaurants close around 9 and it was coming up on 7 and I had not idea how much further I needed to go.

On the highway I was able to use my time trial bars again for a bit but they just didn't feel right. I didn't have them set up properly. The little bit of highway was over quick and I took a left down a little used side road but at least it was paved. This road descended down to the bottom of the valley and cruised along side a lot of farms. Almost no traffic, clouds dissipating, sun out and moving steadily forward. It was bliss. After a while I could see the route on my GPS deviate from the road so I kept my eyes peeled for the exit and it was not hard to find the turn into the farm fields. The route skirted around the edge of a large farm field and a drop off to the Elk river. Bumpy at first but then smoother and smoother before kicking me back on to the same road I was on before but back near the highway. I turned left on to the highway and the traffic was light. I glided down the hill and could tell that I was coming in to Sparwood now. I could see a faint trail off the right side of the highway and it matched my GPS so I gladly jumped off the road and onto some rugged double track and right into a construction zone. I lost the trail and couldn't figure out where I was supposed to go. The route looked like it went into the construction area. No one was working so I decided to take a peek. It looked like they were doing some water line work. I did find the trail on the other side of the work area in a large open field. I climbed up a bit of trail and then missed a turn on the descent. It seemed like there were a lot of trails or I was just fatigued again. I kept my GPS on and navigated through the park. There were some punchy climbs in there but also some good trail as well. There is always a trade-off. It was not long before the route was back on the road and I saw a bridge across the river and heading straight into town. A quick check of my GPS and this was not the bridge I wanted. The route went a little further down a gravel road and around a farm neighbourhood before crossing what looked like a very new pedestrian bridge. It seemed like a very random spot for a pedestrian bridge as there were not any houses nearby. Up and over the railway and then into a tricky little forest park section that had me putting on my route finding hat once again. But that challenge was overcome when, after a short grunt climb, I emerged out to the commercial area of Sparwood. Yay, dinner time!

I found Lennard first at the gas station and chatted briefly. He seemed like he was in a bad spot but loading up on food and drink. I headed over to the A&W, a BC Bikepacking staple, where I could see three bikes out front. Inside I found the riders sitting at a table and asked to join them. I met Robin doing the 500 and Jeff and Sara doing the 700. By the time we ate our food the sun was getting low and the others had made their plans for the evening. Robin was grabbing a room and Jeff and Sara had booked a spot at the local campground. I had planned to push on to Fernie where I planned to get a room at whichever hotel was closest to the route. It was about 35km to Fernie from Sparwood so I figured about 2 hours. It was just after 8 when I went to grab some water and food at the gas station for the next section. Lennard had just loaded up and I told him I hoped to see him later. He said that shouldn't be too tough as he was taking it easy. I hit the trail about 5-10 minutes later.

The sun was setting and the first section of trail out of Sparwood is in some old growth forest so it was quite dark under the canopy. The trail was fun and smooth and I rolled through quick. There were some tough climbs mixed in and I had to slow myself down a bit or I would burn out before hitting Fernie. I settled in to a strong but moderate pace and I caught up to Lennard on the top of the climb. We enjoyed the descent together and I slowly pulled away but not completely as the sun was fully down now and I stopped to attached my helmet light which, along with my dynamo powered Klite, was plenty bright to follow the trail. He caught and passed me while I fiddled in the dark and had to pee. It seemed like an incredibly dark night and after passing Lennard for the second time the single track trail became more challenging where one began to cross over access roads. Going in and out of the forest. This is where I started to have navigation issues. It was just so dark I kept missing the turns back onto the trail even though the trail had a marker at its entrance. I was getting frustrated but my mind was still content with my progress. I eventually made it to the small hamlet of Hosmer and I could hear the highway. The AR700 route jumps on the highway from here because the trail is blocked by construction around Fernie. I put on my arm and knee warmers for the cooler weather on the highway and turned on my two blinkers. Traffic was moderate at first and I cruised along down the highway. It was quite surreal when there were no cars around. Pitch black and just my own sounds. As I neared town there were more and more lights from farms and houses along the side of the highway and the traffic was light. I rolled up to the first set of lights and was thinking away to my self when some one yelled at me. I looked around and saw RJ waving at me from the McDonalds and I rolled over. He told me he had just grabbed the last order from McDonalds before closing. I told him I was going to grab a room in town for the night and then hit the trail early the next day. He seemed hesitant about grabbing a room and wanted to push on. I told him that I wasn't sure about the single track leaving out of Fernie and would like to tackle it with rested legs. I mentioned that I was going to hit up the 7-11 on the route before going to the hotel and he said he would make up his mind there. It was not but a couple of minutes after we arrived at the 7-11 that Lennard arrived. I loaded up with food, drink and snacks for the next day. Lennard said he was going to grab a room as well and I suggested we split one. I think RJ was on the fence about coming with us but with both of his competitors taking a room he decided to take a break as well. *Sorry RJ, I told my wife I was going to be safe and not push it this race.* Lennard and I checked in made our way to the room where I ate the spicy chicken fingers and french fries from the 7-11, yum! Lennard told me that RJ had texted him about grabbing a room and making a plan to leave together tomorrow morning at 5:30. While Lennard checked in with his wife I hit the shower and it always feels amazing after a long ride. I tried to sleep but I struggled, as always. I should know better than to try to sleep on the first night. Ugh. I was finally drifting in and out when poor Lennard began coughing and wheezing. It sounded quite bad as he was wheezing and coughing all night. He had told me before bed that he had some lung issues and that was most likely the reason for him taking it easy this weekend. In the end I didn't get much sleep as I was also having weird dreams. My alarm rang far too soon but we both popped up out of bed and readied for another day on the bike.

Day 1 Statistics

Distance: 250.8km (about 14 bonus km's for going back and riding the full course)

Elevation: 3,373m

Ride Time: 13h 48min

Elapsed Time: 16h 18min (2.5 hours of rest. A bit too much)

Avg Speed: 18.2km/h (decent)

Strava: AR700 Day 1

DAY 2

We met in the lobby at around 5:30. Lennard was checking out while RJ was outside already working on his bike. I went outside as well and gave my drive train a good brushing and worked in some lube that would hopefully last me the day. It was still quite dark but the sky was lightening ever so slightly as we rode through Fernie like the three amigos. The air was crisp and I had most of my arm and leg warmers on along with my thermal jacket keeping me warm. The route put us into some good singletrack right on the edge of town and I could feel each of the short hills with my tired body. It was not long before Lennard started to fade. He had mentioned he was definitely going to take it easy today. RJ and I pushed on our pedals up and up as the sun slowly rose and began to ignite the very tips of the mountains on the west side of the valley. There were some tricky sections in the trails outside of Fernie. I specifically remember one on the descent from the top where we were in the tight trees. Possibly a young forest section where we had to lift up our bikes and climb over a gate like obstacle. For the most part it was up and down and across some large cut blocks towards the end where we dropped down a long high speed section before some good switchbacks that spat us out onto a road. From there we over lapped a bit of BC Epic course before deviating down a side road that kept us close to the railway. This matched the Trans Canada Trails route. After the slight deviation we continued on the Trans Canada Trail route to Elko which was generally good gravel road. From Elko we followed the BCEpic1000 route up into the challenging Wigwam flats area on the south side of Mt Broadwood. The climbs were loose as always with large round rocks all over. It was faster to hike some sections than waste the energy fighting for traction around them. After getting through the flats and onto the gravel access road RJ and I took a break to eat some food. From here on, the route was all new to me and I was curious to explore it as the Tour Divide shares some of the AR700 route through the Flathead valley.

We crossed Lodgepole creek and were quickly met with a long climb that just seemed to get steeper the further up we went. Once the road leveled out we were met with a large forest fire burn area and some large cut blocks. We paralleled the Wigwam river up the valley. It was well into the morning now and the sun was feeling warm and the skies were clearing. I was happy to be riding my bike and sharing the journey with RJ. The gravel road we were on took a long left turn and we went from southbound to eastbound and began a tough 25km climb up to Cabin pass. On the way up the sun was quite hot and I tried to ride in the shade cast onto the road from the trees. We came across what looked like an old quarry that some one had setup and left in a hurry. There was also a very odd ranch about halfway up that seemed out of place. RJ and I were getting low on water and needed to rest to cool down. The Big Horn creek was very inviting and ice cold. I filled up two bottles and dropped in my chlorine tabs. As we continued on the views just kept getting better and better. A truly stunning mountain range to the west as we made it to the top of Cabin pass. After going up that long we were looking forward to the long descent on the other side. We zipped down the other side. The road at the bottom became quite busy for us as we had not seen a soul all day. Offroaders and lots of other cyclists were out. We stopped at another creek crossing and RJ used his pump to fill up his bottles. Mine were not that empty yet so I just relaxed on the bridge. The road was rough in spots where the logging trucks had made some very large potholes. There were also some small but steep hills mixed in to keep the heart rate up. We made it to the infamous, in the bikepacking world, Butts Cabin around a quarter after two and decided to take a lunch break. After taking a peak inside the cabin I am amazed that the Tour Divide riders would actually stop and sleep there. It was dark, dank and dirty but I guess after riding all of the way from Banff in one go you wouldn't care where you slept as long as it was a secure and safe shelter. We met two young women here on a road bike and maybe a cross bike with some skinny gravel tires. They said that they had come from middle pass and told us it was very rough and tough climbing and descending. Of course they were not on appropriate bikes for that type of riding but kudos to them for making it that far.

After about 15-20 minutes we were rested and ready to go. Onward to the pass. Just after leaving the cabin a big logging truck came barreling down the road towards us before taking a sharp left and going across the bridge in the direction we were headed. I thought out loud that I hope there weren't anymore of those trucks coming as that one was moving. It was just a lone random truck I guess as we never saw another one. Up the road we went where came across an interesting relic of days past. It was an old rickety wood bridge. I could see that there was a route across it made with loose boards. Challenge accepted. I went for it and it wasn't really that bad. The exit on the other side was rough though as not many people ride it and the off roaders use the route around it that goes down through the creek. From here the route really starts to climb hard. RJ and I were really struggling and there was not shade on the trail here. Uggh. At the top the trail gets more and more over grown and it was littered with bear scat everywhere. RJ and I cautiously road through the bush. We had to push through the bushes in large sections all while listening for bears. We thought it was only a matter of time before we came across a bear. When we made out into the open we were once again treated with incredible views. We could also barely make out the route up to the pass. We passed what looked like an old exploratory mine site. Through some more heavily overgrown and now rutted sections and the trail really started to kick upwards. We were off and on our bikes until we were most of the way up. The gravel, sand and shale was just unrideable towards the top and we hiked up to the pass while also doing our best to take in the stunning valley that we had just biked up. We could see the trail way down in the valley and thought about how Lennard was doing and whether we could see him down there.

We crossed back into Alberta now while going over the summit but the wind was very strong so we did not linger for long. There were multiple routes down from the summit and I tried my best to follow my GPS but it had us climbing a short section before we plummeted down a large rocky road. It was challenging on my mountain bike and I was more impressed that RJ was able to ride it on his drop bar Salsa. We passed a bunch of hikers on their way up to the summit. They could probably hear us coming as my brakes we screeching as they quickly overheated trying to hold back 210lb. of bike and rider. I had to stop halfway down to give my brakes a rest and rest my hands. This was a tough, steep, downhill. The trail did gradually smooth out and open up and I could let off the brakes and get some speed. I opened up a good gap on RJ before waiting for him at the bottom to be sure he made it down safely. From the bottom we could see Castle mountain ski resort. I was hoping we had made good time and the restaurant would still be open. We arrived at the base at 5:40 and everything had closed at 5pm. RJ had mentioned that he had a fiver dollar bill but we checked the vending machines and none of them accept bills. We were in dire need of calories. RJ and I noticed one of the buildings was a hostel so we thought that they might have a front desk where we could get change. I went inside and lucky enough there was a woman just closing up for the weekend. She was able to break the bill and we had enough for pops. While we talked with her we had mentioned that we needed food and there was not any food vending machines around. She then offered to take a look upstairs to see if there was any left over food in the fridge. Sure enough 5 minutes later she came out with fruit, yogurt and pudding. RJ and I were in heaven. We devoured everything.

We left Castle Mountain on a high and it felt even better as the road was nice and smooth pavement. The cool shade of the mountains in the valley was refreshing. Not even 15 minutes on the road and our GPS pointed us into some double track. It was a moderate climb up some double track as we rode a short cut between roads. When we came out on the gravel road it was a nice long descent but it became quite risky when we went through a herd of cows. Nothing like erratic calves to make you brake check some valuable momentum. I believe RJ actually had one calf dart right at him and he had to hit the brakes to avoid it.

The route follows dusty gravel roads through some remote camps and then up a long valley. This is where I started to hit a low. The sun was setting and I had not eaten a good meal since breakfast at 5:30am. I finally pulled over to put on some warm clothes and I dug through my camelback to try to find some food. Jackpot! I found a Snickers bar that I must have bought in Fernie. I was hoping that would be enough energy to get me to Blairmore where I knew there was a gas station and a 24hour Timmies. Sure enough my energy returned as we began to climb up a long hill. I had so much energy that RJ and I traded positions with me pushing the pace and he seemed to be struggling. It was well into dusk once we summited the pass and began down the other side towards Blairmore. The road was smooth, hard pack gravel and we could really let off the brakes. It felt great to fly down the mountain. This downhill lasted almost all of the way to the town. The route took us right through the old town but most places looked closed or sketchy. We decided that we would eat at the Tim Horton's and arrived at 9pm. Oh my, food never tasted so good. I inhaled some tasty chowder, bun, large sandwich and coke. Yum! We checked Trackleaders to see where Lennard and everyone else was and Lennard was not far behind. I began to search for a hotel as there would not be another one for a while and asked RJ what his plans were. He was mulling over continuing and the idea was tempting but I knew I had to take it easy and I was exhausted. I found a room just back up the street and RJ was finishing his coffee. We packed up and were about to go across to the gas station when Lennard arrived. He was hungry and tired and said he would grab a room for the night before going in to the Tim's. RJ and I went to the gas station to load up for tomorrows big push to the finish. I told RJ to message me if he gets a room and we can finish the route tomorrow. I rode to the hotel. Checked in. Had an amazing shower. Hit the sack and checked my messages. Nothing. RJ's dot was still at the Tim's. He was probably chatting with Lennard. I closed my eyes and I was out.

Day 2 Statistics

Distance: 203.1km

Elevation: 3,738m!

Ride Time: 13h 27min

Elapsed Time: 15h 55min (Again 2.5 hours of resting time)

Avg Speed: 15.1km/h (lots of climbing)

Strava: AR700 Day 2

Day 3

My eyes shot open and I immediately leaned over to grab my phone. I thought I had missed my alarm. I woke fully rested and energized. My phone said 3:40 something and no messages from RJ. I did a quick check of Trackleaders and found his dot riding north on Highway 40. I thought both that he was sneaky and good for him. I kind of figured he wasn't going to linger for another night with the amount of coffee he was drinking at the Tim's. I jumped out of bed and figured I might as well chase him down and see if I can close the gap some with an early start. I was out of the hotel just after 4. It was very dark out but still somewhat warm. I pushed out onto the empty highway. Only one car passed me the whole way to the turn off and it was an early bird miner's truck on his way to the mine. Allison Creek road begins to climb right from the turn off and then turns to gravel at the first split a couple of kilometers up. I passed through what seemed like a large campground and even at 5ish there were still some people awake around a campfire. I kept a steady pace on the gravel even when a skunk pulled out in front of me and lead me on for bit before jumping back into the bush. It was so dark I could only see what was illuminated by my headlights. I knew that the route passed right beside the impressive Crowsnest mountain but I couldn't see anything when I looked up. The gravel road levelled for a bit then climbed up some more. The trail seemed to either go up or down for the next while. It really felt like some remote road through the back bush. At one of the summits I could finally see the sun begin to lighten the sky on the horizon. The sun was coming but unfortunately not quickly enough. It was really getting chilly out and while I rode towards Hwy 40 my fingers were freezing. I just kept hoping to get into the sun soon but it just never came. The roads were to protected by the mountains and I was forced to ride in the shade. Brr. As I neared Hwy 40 I saw more and more campers. I was getting back towards some civilization now. I made the turn onto the first highway and looked around a bit and kept moving forward. I did finally find a nice sunny spot to warm myself up. I pulled off the road in a large open valley area with some farm houses around and ate some breakfast consisting of a cliff bar and Cheezies. Yum!

Highway 40 is a very scenic road. There was lots to see and lots of off shoot roads that I wondered where they went. Cows helped moo me up a hill. Deer were all over. Streams every which way and campers in the bush. Traffic was fairly light except for one big logging truck that I heard roaring up from behind me. I couldn't see it behind me but I could hear him getting louder and louder. I finally saw him coming hot around a corner with a massive dust cloud in his wake. I wanted none of that and immediately pulled well off the road. He didn't even slow and just blasted on down the road. Impressive.

At the junction of 532 there were some constructions signs up saying road work and grader working. I was worried as I know freshly graded roads are nightmares for cyclists as graders typically spread the gravel evenly across the top and you have to ride the soft gravel and there are no worn spots to find. My fears were put at ease and I actually felt pretty lucky as the grader had only started and he was scraping my side first. The graded section was nice and hard pack as the grader had pushed the gravel into the middle of the road. I could feel the lack of resistance on my tires and it was a boost for me. That is when I thought of the other riders. RJ most likely didn't get this treat and what about the poor riders behind me. They might have to navigate the freshly graded gravel. Lennard might be able to sneak through in time. This blessing did not last long though as I came upon the grader just before the summit/pass area. The grader stopped to let me pass and I gave him a wave and a thumbs up.

Another scenic and speedy descent. More creeks and water crossings and very little car traffic. Road signs helped me count down to the turn on Hwy 40 and onto the pavement. But first I was looking forward to a stop at Highwood House but upon arriving I was sad to see it closed. Oh well the break will have to wait until Boulton Store. Now my focus shifted to the paved Highwood pass. The highest paved pass in Canada...ugh. I did the only thing I could do. I kept pedaling forward.

I had ridden Highwood pass once with a friend from gate to gate to gate during the spring before the road opens from its winter closure many years ago. I had also driven it many times so I kind of had and idea of what to expect and I did relive my memories at all of our stops. It was about 30 minutes after riding on the highway that I could see another rider on the road. I had to really squint to see who it was. As I slowly closed the gap I still couldn't make the person out. He was definitely a bikepacker but not RJ. It must be a 500 rider but who. The road kicked up a bit and I was able to get close enough to make out the rider. It was Tim Johnson. He seemed in good spirits but was pushing through his fatigue. I believe he was having issues with his body. I can't recall what though. It was a short ride along and I had to keep going. I saw my first bear along the side of the road. It was a sow and two cubs that were foraging in an open field near a day use area. There were lots of looky-loos parked along the side of the road hanging out of their windows with their cameras. A lady even asked me if I needed help and if I had bear spray. I told her I wasn't worried and I did have bear spray.

When the road really started to kick up to the pass I began to have my own issues. My right foot began getting a sharp pain in the bed of the foot. I tried pedaling differently. That did help a bit but the pain persisted. Eventually it began to happen in my left foot as well. I could only think that it must be from pushing down hard on the pedals while climbing so I pulled over for a bit to massage my feet. It helped and I also switch my pedaling to focus on the outside of my feet. The whole time I was fiddling with my feet I was trying to also take in the amazing scenery on the upper part of the pass. Absolutely stunning.

I didn't spend anytime at the top of the pass and dropped down the eye watering descent down the other side. Much to my dismay the wind wanted to push me back up the pass. Dang. I guess I will have to pedal on the downhill as well. Such a fun descent either way. Near the bottom I knew to watch for the turn off as I had researched beforehand. It dropped down into some speedy double track with a climb and some water thrown in to keep you on your toes. The trail became less difficult as it neared the campground before dropping straight down to the store. It was refuel time and a much needed break after an 11 hour push from Blairmore with only one break for breakfast. I was back on my bike and re-energized after an hour. I zipped back on the paved High Rockies trail where the route overlaps through Peter Lougheed park. Once on the Spray Lakes road I came across Tim again. He had chose not to stop at the store and keep going to try to finish today. That was my plan as well but I wanted to get to the finish before dark. There was a lady at the High Rockies trailhead that Tim knew and she was concerned about her family that she had dropped off a while ago so they could ride down the trail and across the fun bridge. She asked me to watch our for her husband, son and daughter. (She would have to wait quite a while as I did finally come across them but they were way up the trail. I told the husband that his wife was concerned). Tim stayed around a bit longer and I took off.

I mean I really took off. I remember riding the full High Rockies trail with a friend the year before as an out and back and I struggled on this section as it climbed up and away from the lakes. Today was different. I was flying up the trail on a loaded bike with 600+km in the legs already. The human body is truly amazing. There were a lot of riders on the trail. Mostly families and rec. users which was great to see. The trail is masterfully built single track and never leaves you with dull moments and I was feeling the flow. I just kept pushing and pushing. Across the fun creek crossings and across the unique suspension bridge. My fun was all over much too quickly and the route pushed out back onto the Spray Lakes gravel road. I could feel myself craving more HRT and I probably should have stayed on the HRT as soon the washboard hit. Grrr. At least the road was somewhat faster but no where near as fun. The gravel road was also very dusty with the crowds heading home from their adventures at the end of the day. The sun began to set as I cruised down towards the Spray reservoir. "Almost there", I thought. I think I can finish before dark with one strong push through the last little bit of singletrack. Jonathan was kind enough to put the route back onto the HRT for the final kilometers around the lake and to the start of the HRT just off the Goat Creek trail. I raced the sun down the trail and when I hit the Goat Creek trail the sun was still licking the tops of the mountains around me. I pushed up the short climb up to the day use parking lot and then down the long gravel descent into Canmore. Onto the pavement and down past the nordic center I kept off my brakes. I zipped into town and made my way to the finish at the NWMP barracks. Woo! In classic bikepacking fashion there was no one around to congratulate me or cheer. I was there for myself and I had accomplished another great adventure on my bike.

Day 3 Statistics

Distance: 256.8km

Elevation: 3,675m

Ride Time: 14h 25min

Elapsed Time: 16h 28min (2 hours of rest time)

Avg Speed: 17.8km/h

Day 3 continued...

My day did not end after I finished. I rode back up to my friends cabin from town and had a shower and packed up my things. I loaded everything in the car and then went to start it and nothing... My battery was dead. In my hurry to the start in the morning of the race I must have left my dome light on. Uggh. Called the tow trucks and Standish towing had a guy but he was in Banff helping out someone already and it would be about 1.5 hours until he could make it. It was just after 10pm on a Monday and most people were already in bed so I didn't want to wake anyone up so I said fine, I can wait. I lulled around in my car and checked in on Trackleaders. Tim had finished around 10:30 and Lennard was looking to make it in around midnight. It was under an hour before the tow truck arrived and boosted me. I drove down into town with just enough time to see Lennard and Tim at the finish. I congratulated both of them and found the Dominos and ordered a large pizza to eat on the drive home. I think my day finally ended at around 2am when I flopped in to my bed at home. Whew, what an eventful weekend!