After my long ride the day before I wake up sore and slow to get going (I can just hear everyone saying that’s normal for me).  I am no rush though as I only have to ride 300 klms to get to Calgary where I have booked an Airbnb.  With the temp being so cold and the weather unpredictable I am not game to try and camp.

I wash the bugs off Stan and then ride around to McDonald’s where I have a coffee and bacon/egg bagel for breakfast – hard to imagine that my diet has sunk even lower although the bagel was far better than the muffin version!

The days ride gets underway at 9:00 am and it is mundane as it is just flat and straight.  I make good time and pull up outside my accommodation;

From the outside the place looks ok until I go to the front door and see that most of the boards on the veranda are rotted and have large holes everywhere.  I knock on the door and get no answer so I phone the number that was provided in the booking email.

I end up getting the hosts daughter who tells me to go straight in and upstairs where I will find my bedroom on the left – just move the box of clothes out of the way she tells me.

I go in and see that the house is dirty with crap strewn everywhere.  I go to my room and find a mattress on the floor and bedding that is as old as I am and most likely never been washed.  I call the girl back and tell her I am not happy and I get directed to another room downstairs – I check this one out and it is fine.

While I am there an Indian guy turns up to collect his bags – he tells me he is from Punjab and what a delight it was to stay here (he tells me he had the room I rejected).  I am thinking that his expectations are far less than mine.

I get settled in and later go out and get dinner.  I come back and about to go to bed when there is a knock on the door.  It turns out to be my Indian host.  She asks if I am right for something to eat and I tell her that I have seen her kitchen/refrigerator and there is no way in hell that I could eat anything she made me (in a polite way of course).

I fix my bed up using my gear and made sure I was separated from the mattress with my drop sheet.  It must have worked as I survived without being eaten by fleas and tics.

Next morning I get up and it is drizzling rain.  I had checked the weather forecast the night before and knew that it was going to be a wet days riding for me.  I had decided to tough it out given that the forecast was the same for the next 3 days.  I pack trying to keep everything waterproof using garbage bags;

I ride just around the block and fuel up – the rain gets heavier so I wait for about 10 mins before deciding it is not going to stop so off I go.  I ride around the outskirts of the city and get on the highway to Banff.  Lucky for me the rain stopped after about 30 mins;

I dry out and think that I have got through the rain and will have a great days riding ahead of me.  I get to the Park toll gate and pay for a day pass which only costs $10 – all day passes are valid until 4:00 pm the next day.  I have a chat with the attendant and she tells me to expect storms further up which does not excite me one bit.  I should also point out that I was aware that a ‘summer snow’ warning had been issued for the area in relation to the peaks.

I leave the toll gate and soon pull over to put even more clothes on over my thermals.  Although the temp is cold the rain is holding off and I am really enjoying the view;

I am about half way between Banff and Lake Louise when I see dark clouds rolling in ahead of me.  I can actually see where its raining and I ride straight into it.  It pours down so hard I am reduced to going at 60 kph and can hardly see a thing.

The air temp drops to 5’c and I am starting to get really worried that it is going to snow.  I know I can’t turn around so I just plow on – after about 30 mins I get through the storm and pull over as I have no feeling in my hands.  Lucky for me it was a great spot for a few photos;

After about 15 mins I can move my fingers again so off I go.  The weather improves and again I think I am through the worst of it;

I have now just about dried out when you guessed it – another storm hit.  Thank goodness this one was not as severe but it did enough to make me wet/cold again.  I keep riding and again the weather turns for the better;

I get to Jasper and only have another 80 klms to go to where I am staying at Hinton.  I think I am home and hosed until another downpour which makes me soaked yet again (4th time).  By now I have lost my sense of humour;

As I roll into Hinton I can see that another big storm is about to hit.  Enough is enough so I hastily pull over and park Stan under a Starbucks veranda out of the rain.  I go in and have a coffee and wait until the storm passes over – I thought I could miss at least one for the day!

Its only another 10 mins and I find my Airbnb just on the other side of town.  It turns out to be a 70 acre block of land that has cabins and bunkhouses.  I have a very basic but great little room and access to a common area that has a fireplace, kitchen, bathroom etc;

I was very fortunate to find this one given that everything anywhere near Jasper is hugely expensive and it is now peak season for hikers/outdoors.  There is no way I would consider trying to tent camp after what I experienced unless you are an Eskimo.

I quickly unload Stan and then have the hottest shower of my life.  I think it was only a couple of blogs ago that I said I couldn’t get any colder or wetter but boy was I wrong!

The ride from Calgary to Hinton was 551 klms and takes you through some of the most amazing scenery that I have ever seen.  I certainly was not disappointed – you could stop every 10 mins and take a better photo than the last one.  You could easily spend a couple of weeks checking everything out – this ride was really just to have a quick look for when I come back with Helen.  I will remember though how lucky I was that I got through given the conditions and next time I will be in a camper with a bloody heater!

Next morning I am up early and head down to the ‘Beaver Boardwalk’ which is located not far from the town centre.  The boardwalk is free and was built by the locals so that you can walk around the natural habitat of beavers – my mate Bram insisted that I must go and see it as it was a highlight of his recent holiday.

I jump on Stan and the air temp is 2’c.  If this is meant to be summer in Canada then I would hate to be here in winter.  The boardwalk is well sign posted and easy to find;

I make my way down to the boardwalk and take a stroll around.  I have to watch where I am going as some of the more exposed sections have frost which makes them very slippery;

There is about 3 klms of actual boardwalk and trails but the beaver section is in a relatively smaller area where you can walk around their ponds;

I was very fortunate to run into a keen wildlife photographer (Allan) who was out taking bird photos.  He is originally from the UK and had to move to Canada many years ago for his work – he has since retired and spends his time travelling everywhere taking photos.  Allan showed me some photos on his camera that he recently took in Alaska of a Grizzly sitting in a stream eating Salmon!

Allan gave me a lesson on the local beaver population and what to look for.  He took me to an area where they had just begun to build a new dam – while we were talking I nearly fell over as this guy went past;

Now I should have taken a magnificent photo as he was right next to me but in the excitement I nearly dropped my camera (with me attached) in the drink and by the time I recovered it I had accidentally changed the setting.  It was a total fluke that I got this one before he disappeared.

I was pretty stoked to see one in the wild and if I had missed out in the morning I was going to come back in the evening – Allan tells me from 5:30 pm onward is the best time of the day.  

Shortly after the beaver I spotted a rat type animal that was on the bank and washing itself in the water – I pointed it out to Allan and he nearly repeated what I did.  What I saw (and Allan photographed) was a mink which by all accounts is far rarer to see than a beaver.  I laughed as to me it was just a ‘flash’ looking rat.

I wrapped up my visit with nature after a good couple of hours.  I then went back into town and had some breakfast.  Back at the hostel I spent a couple of hours on Stan as it looked as if he had a dump truck tip over him as a result of all of the rain.  After finishing Stan it was work on the blog whilst relaxing in front of the fire. 

Next morning I am up and eager to get going as I have a 800 klm ride to Saskatoon.  Again its drizzling rain and freezing cold so I pack Stan up under the cover of the veranda and wait for a while.

There is no change in the weather so I head off.  The rain is not really an issue as its only very light but the extreme cold is.  I battle for about 130 klms before pulling into a diner.  I have to put my hands under the hot water tap in the rest room to try and thaw them out.  After a quick coffee I am back into it – I actually think its worse when you stop and get going again.

I ride another 170 klms and that gets me to Edmonton where I fuel up.  This section had me riding through fog and misty rain but it was slowly clearing.  As I fueled Stan up a Harley pulled up and the rider came over for a chat.  He was a local and could not believe where I was going.  What was really interesting was that he told me that about how easy it is to get caught out riding through Jasper – he had experienced his brake lines freezing and severe hail (I am thinking how lucky I was).

Back on Stan and I finish the remaining 560 klms and pull up outside my Airbnb in Saskatoon.  As I got closer to Saskatoon the weather improved greatly and even reached a top of 18’c.  I go in and thankfully it is perfect.  Totally renovated house that has been specifically designed for the job.  My faith is restored!

Next stop is Winnipeg.

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