Cycling from Jasper to Banff

This ride was my big one for 2009. It's the reason I shed 5 kg and didn't go rock climbing all summer. The thought of failing on the Sunwapta Pass after all that effort was not to be entertained. Jasper to Banff is about 295 km along the Icefields Parkway, via Sunwapta Pass, Saskatchewan Crossing, Bow Summit, Lake Louise and the Bow Valley Parkway. We rode it in three days, as a team of four, with two support drivers also managing to ride some of it, and two guest riders joining us partway through. The internet is crammed with people piling on the superlatives about 'one of the greatest rides in the world' - personally I lack the experience to qualify that statement, but it was better than my last multi-day cycling trips, which both involved riding through the industrial estates of Telford. It was also a bit harder. It's par for the course that one of the top Google search records is the Grauniad's cycling corespondent's Top Ten, and she doesn't rate it, preferring instead a 30 mile ride on the outskirts of London. I think perhaps she needs to get out a bit....or just give up writing. If you just want to see the pictures from this ride, to check whether it is indeed more scenic than a view of the Wrekin complemented by Ironbridge Power Station, then here are the links:

Day 1: Jasper to Columbia Icefield









Day 2: Columbia Icefield to Bow Lake



Day 3: Bow Lake to Banff

I managed to squeeze in a quick ride the night before we started the main journey. Lou and Caroline dropped me at Medicine Lake, from where there is a lovely 27 km descent to Jasper. The temperature that evening was in the upper 20s, and I got a top speed of around 78 kph, which wasn't to be bettered all weekend. I also had two close shaves with idiots in cars (a pizza delivery boy and a Japanese tourist) that would set the scene for the ride - you have to assume that every driver on the Icefields Parkway is an imbecile, even (and especially) the 'professional' ones. I got to the hotel to find the party had begun - Hamish had packed 18 bottles of wine 'just in case', plus whisky and beer. We'd be alright!

Day 1: Jasper to Columbia Icefield. 106 km.

The first day can be summed up in one word: uphill. You climb steadily all day, then finish with two steep sections on the Sunwapta Pass. The forecast was hot, and the forecast was right (for once), with the Sunwapta Pass arriving at 96 km and 30 C. The riding is dead simple - join the Icefields Parkway and stay on it, following the Athabasca river upstream. This river flows to the Arctic Ocean via the Albertan Oil Sands; the next two rivers (Saskatchewan and Bow) flow to Hudson Bay and thus the Atlantic. You pass the sources of the Bow and Athabasca during the ride.

The morning riding was pleasant, constantly uphill, but allowing us to make good time. There was one issue that began immediately, of which we had been warned. The road was built in sections and between each section is a seam. These start off 20 m apart, but in places they occur every 1-2 m and start to become a real pain in the back - aluminium framed bikes and skinny racing tyres at 110 psi probably don't help much here. It's not the Paris-Roubaix, but it's enough to annoy you. Fortunately, there's not a road in the western world that hasn't been dug up by the cable guys, so for the full distance between Jasper and Lake Louise, you can ride on the patched asphalt, which appears to have been laid without a break. The down side is that it's narrow (eight inches), rougher than the road, and often slightly elevated.

We got a bit strung out in the morning. John was recovering from a nasty cold, and riding a very heavy bike (it much have been twice the weight of Hamish's new carbon-framed toy), so he was riding a bit slower than Neil. That led to Neil and I being ahead and out of sight of Hamish and John. We stopped at Athabasca Falls for a pee and to wait for the guys. They had a radio so in theory we just had to wait until they came into range and tell them where we were. Unfortunately Hamish hadn't turned his on, and we were extremely fortunate to spot a flash of blue through the forest, that was John passing by on the road above the falls, otherwise we'd have lost a lot of time.


We set off in pursuit of John, and could see Hamish a km or so ahead, riding hard away from us. It transpired that he was trying to catch Neil, but Neil was now behind him, trying to hunt him down. The dog chased its own tail for several km beyond the falls, but when Neil got to within maybe 300 m of Hamish, two bear cubs came barreling across the road between them. Neil and John did very swift U turns and retreated, waiting for mum to appear. Hamish rode on, quite oblivious to the situation - he was pissed off later!

Eventually we regrouped at Sunwapta Falls, where we did a great job of avoiding the bar, with its promise of ice-cold beer. We met the support team here (Caroline had almost taken the turning up the Yellowhead by mistake - that would have been a long wait for lunch!), and arranged to meet again at Bubbling Springs for food. Unfortunately the signpost is only visible when you are headed north, so we rode past it, and in doing so became rebels and minor folk heroes for an hour.

In Canadian parks people generally do what they're told. Tell someone you're hiking off-trail and you're likely to get a frown in response. Admit that you can use a compass and people will ask you why you need one. It's not like the UK - trails are laid out and 99.9% of people stick to them. Parking lots and picnic areas are provided, and that's where you stop to eat. Maybe it just makes life easier for the bears - they know where every hamper in the park will be between 12 and 2. Well, we'd missed the turning and we were hungry, so we pulled up on the roadside and laid out a delicious picnic that Caroline and Lou had prepared that morning. A healthy spread too - tuna sandwiches, olives, vegetables and hummus, and not a breadcrumbed eyeball, spicy sausage roll or Cheezey Pleezer in sight. (I coped, and somehow didn't lose any weight all weekend). As we enjoyed this princely spread, traffic streamed past on the Parkway 50 m away. Cars tooted and people waved, bikers punched the air, and fellow cyclists shouted greetings as the passed. We felt that we had somehow crossed a line into a place they all feared to tread but regarded in fleeting envy - or maybe there was a grizzly just down the riverbank that we couldn't see.

After lunch, the wind increased (a headwind, of course) and the road started to climb. Google Maps had told me that Day 1 was 97 km, and various internet sources had claimed that the Sunwapta was 12 km long and steep all the way, so we were not excited about the forthcoming tussle with gravity. The blacktop rolled on by, and soon we were at 96 km - job done! Erm...no. The internet had lied. Google Maps had lied. And we’d been suckered in. The pass begins at around 97 km, although for several km before this, the road climbs more steeply and the valley is wide open to the blasting wind, insidiously sapping your strength and softening you up for the kick in the face to follow. There’s no mistaking the start of the climb when you see it at the end of the valley though – it’s a proper ‘Oh F*ck! hill’.

I'd been sticking close to Neil since lunch, but I knew that on the hill his fitness and lighter physique would carry him away like a leaf on the wind, while I gasped, sputtered, panted and dragged my fat backside up the mountain and the same wind that blew Neil up to the pub poked me in the eye and pushed me back down. Sure enough, I would have waved goodbye to him on the first climb if it had been possible to let go of the handlebars wthout falling off, and after 500 m I was ready for a lie down in the rest area, where the support team waited with water. Only the thought of Hamish and John overtaking me prevented me from getting off my bike for a little while...like, until tomorrow. By now the temperature was 30C and riding was reduced to a few tens of metres in the saddle, then a few stood up in a high gear, then back to the granny ring. Sweat was pouring off me - I think I drank 7 litres of Powerade that day.

I'd been told by two ladies who I met atop the Highwood Pass that the Sunwapta was no harder a ride than that pass - more misinformation! The total climb is maybe similar, but whereas the Highwood rises steadily for nearly 1,000 m across 62 km, the Sunwapta climbs very gently for 92 km, then begins to ramp up, and just gets ever steeper. Lou took these pictures of me on the hill - and that's not even the steepest part.

The problem with swallowing all this misinformation was that after the initial steep section, you get to a turnoff, where the road ahead bends left, through a cutting, then you see it turn another corner high above you, and disappear. I took my second stop at this point, and reckoned that if the pass was 12 km and the steepest part was at the end, then I’d maybe done 1 km, and would be riding in the car pretty soon.

Fortunately, the steepest part of the pass is actually in that first 2.5 km. The cutting that carries the road round the bend shields you from the wind, and the verge is maybe 3-4 m wide, so you can even zig-zag if necessary (John assures me that this was indeed necessary). You turn the corner expecting to climb again, only to find that you’ve made it – the next 5 km comprise a superb downhill followed by a gentle climb through Graveyard Flats and a last 6% section to the hotel. The downhill was fast (maybe 65 kph) and contained bonus items – tourons and Bighorn Sheep wandering about in the steep, narrow road. I’m not sure which were less aware of their surroundings, but at least the sheep had a good reason to stand in the road with their mouths open.

So finally we arrived at the hotel. A small child punched me in the nuts with an apple, John arrived like a conquering champion, and we all sat around looking at the glacier until Hamish opened his mobile wine cellar. We were joined at this stage by Hamish and Caroline’s son Ben, and his fiancé Lindsey, who had ridden from Jasper that morning, leaving a long time after us, and arriving just behind us – these guys are both seriously fit triathletes.

A quick mention should be made of the hotel and restaurant, by way of advice for anyone reading this and thinking of doing the ride. The hotel is ideal for cycle touring – good storage facilities and big rooms. The restaurant is not good and I would recommend taking a BBQ and cooking your own dinner by the car. The saving grace of the restaurant was that they had an excellent super-friendly waiter who was very helpful, and the corkage on the wine wasn’t so prohibitive that it would justify buying poor wine at inflated prices from the restaurant owners.

View picture library from Day 1


Day 2: Columbia Icefield to Bow Lake 97 km

The next morning dawned clear and blue again, with wisps of cloud soon vanishing from the summits of Mounts Andromeda and Athabasca. We were all up early and ready to ride, after a sizeable breakfast. Actually, we weren’t all quite so sharp that morning – Caroline was regretting her whisky consumption, and spent a while contemplating the scenery. With John feeling the pain from yesterday, and having nothing to prove (it was his third time on this route), the riders for the morning became Lou, Hamish, Neil, Ben, Lindsey and myself. Lou was to ride the first 15 km or so, over the pass and down the Big Bend. Ben and Linsdey would ride with the main party to Bow Summit, about 90 km away, then turn and ride back 40 km to a hostel.

The conditions were perfect. No wind; smooth asphalt (briefly), barely any traffic, and the scenery that rolled by was amazing and totally distracting. We soon covered the 15 km to Big Bend and ripped down it to the valley floor below. The road was clear of gravel, but on the last bend before the start of the Big Bend there is a tourist pull-out, which is dangerously placed, as people lurch in and out of it without warning, their eyes fixed on the wonders of valley below, and not on the road. I’m sure that if large trucks were allowed on the Parkway then a string of accidents and dead tourons would have closed that viewpoint long ago.
Beyond the Big Bend Lou, Hamish and I regrouped and took some photos. Lou was really enjoying the ride, and decided to continue 35 km to Saskatchewan Crossing. She rode it really well. Early on this stage you pass the Weeping Wall, a world-famous ice climbing venue that I have yet to pluck up the courage to drive to – the climbing doesn’t bother me anywhere near as much as the likely road conditions. Cool air was difting from the forest, blankets of flowers lined the road, and blue mountain walls towered beyond the closest cliffs; this was the section of the ride that I enjoyed the most.

The road descends gradually to Saskatchewan Crossing, passing numerous mountains, side valleys and glaciers. After being spoilt by the scenery and easy riding, the crossing itself is a real shock. There’s a gas station and a massive tat shop, thronged with fat caravan-towing people desperately trying to throw their money away on something -anything - to take home. Maybe they are all just buying tacky gifts for people they don’t like – in which case they must have a lot of dodgy relatives! The parking lot is a zoo and not somewhere to linger unless you like petrol fumes, pounding music and discarded trash. You’re better off filling up in Jasper and waiting until you reach Lake Louise. Fortunately there’s a great little picnic spot just 400 m south of the gas station, with spectacular views of the Saskatchewan and Howse Rivers, and a toilet block (no water though). We spent an enjoyable while here, fortifying ourselves for the next stage – a 40 km steady climb to Bow Summit.

The road drops steeply down to the North Saskatchewan River from this point, and you’re very aware of the height that you now need to regain in the afternoon sun. There’s an immediate steep section to get out of the valley bottom, and then a continuous gentle uphill for 25 km to the start of the main Bow Summit approach. During the afternoon, Lindsey started to feel a bit low – probably too much sun- and this meant that she and Ben slowed to the point where I could actually keep up with them. It’s probably the one and only time I’ll be able to write that! It was during this section that I came closest to a wipe-out – a caravan (trailer) came past me at 100+ kph, driving right on the edge of the lane, with its entrance steps left down. I felt the rush of wind as they passed a couple of inches from my legs.
The main hill to Bow Summit goes on forever. I didn’t measure it but it must have been 5-7 km in length, at a steady gradient all the way. Poor Lindsey was battling the sun, the hill, and a horsefly that just would not leave her alone. She pushed through it though. We had another near miss on the hill, with a Japanese tourist in a rental car assuming that they could somehow drive through the bikes instead of slowing down and using the overtaking lane, so long as they kept up their speed and used the horn.
The top of Bow Summit was a welcome place to arrive, as it signaled the summit of the last long hill on the ride. Tomorrow would be mostly downhill. It was still hot (29C) and we were glad to roll the last few km to our hotel, the Numti Jah Lodge, although Hamish and I did find energy to stop and have a good shout at a coach driver who had nearly hit him on the road a few minutes earlier – again, thinking that there was no need to change lanes when overtaking. The tour guide’s excuse was priceless: ‘he is an old man, he does not see so well’. Oh, that’s OK then folks.
Numti Jah is set in a fantastic location on Bow Lake, with views of the Crowfoot and Bow Glaciers. Once the coach parties departed, and only their scattered trash remained (why do they come here?) it was a beautiful, serene spot to explore. We took a lot of photographs and enjoyed a glass or two of beer, wine, and kia before dinner. (Hamish’s cellar was in fact running a little dry by the end of the evening, so my advice would be to triple your estimated wine requirement before leaving Calgary). Dinner was pretty reasonable at $67 fixed price for three courses, and the food and service were great. The lodge was built in the early 20th Century, and the downstairs is all pine log walls and stuffed animals, like a fancy Alpine climbing hut with dead stuff staring at you. Upstairs is less sumptuous, and the walls and plumbing could do with renovation, but the view of the glacier from the window made much of this forgivable. It was a great place to stay, and only John was bothered by the thin walls and wooden floor; the rest of us slept through the early morning commotions of our amorous neighbours. I recommend alcohol and BioEars when staying here!
Day 3: Bow Lake to Banff 93 km
The final day dawned perfect again, although in Calgary they’d had killer weather. All we had seen of it were some weird pink towers of cloud late the night before. From the Numti Jah it’s pretty much downhill all the way home, although there are a few small, steep hills to remind you of where you are. The morning riding was lovely, and fairly peaceful until we neared Lake Louise. I rested for a while in a roadside carpet of flowers until we all regrouped, and then we rolled onto Highway 1A – the Bow Valley Parkway – for the final 50 km leg. In the morning John had ridden a stretch, but Caroline took over at the Icefields Parkway pass check, joining Hamish, Neil and myself. Hamish and Caroline sported his ’n’ hers cycling tops from some distant cycling destination….again.
The Bow Valley Parkway was a fantastic run. The views of the Sawback Range and into the Valley of The Ten Peaks were superb and all the better seen from a bike. The road was downhill overall, with a couple of steep little hills. Three sections of divided highway were amongst the most pleasant sections of the ride, as the road only splits when it hits interesting terrain. Johnston Canyon was a bit of a zoo, with RVs lining the road, and unpredictable drivers all over the place. Other than that the riding was quiet and made for a fitting final day. We lunched at Castle Junction, but the addition of a tablecloth, whilst aesthetically pleasing, allowed a horsefly to feast unmolested down below. When I finally noticed it, I had five bites and blood running down my leg. It died slowly.
From Castle Junction we picked up speed and in no time we were at the Trans Canada. Perhaps we should have stopped there, but it felt like we had not quite made it, so we joined the Trans Canada. In the space of five minutes’ riding, we had two very near misses; the first when a motorcycle tried to undertake down the verge at perhaps 140 kph, and the second when a tourist tried to turn off the road through us. It was a relief to escape alive. It's a shame the Town of Banff, Banff Park and the Highway Dept can't collaborate to improve this situation – there is a perfectly good access road that links the Parkway to the Vermillion Lakes turn-off but they have run a wildlife fence between the highway and the lakes, with no access gate for cyclists, a link which could make the Banff-Lake Louise ride a great summer rental draw for tourists.
Finally we were rolling down the Vermillion Lakes road, and the trip was over. We posed for a couple of quick pictures in front of Mt. Rundle, then a massive thunderstorm hit, and we ran for Calgary, the post-ride party, and the airport to pick up our friends who were arriving from the UK that evening. Awesome!