Day 1 - Afternoon Bike Ride
We rode to Upper Bankhead Park for lunch. We soon became aware that M&Ms and peanuts are the staples of professional Backroader’s midday nourishment. Every morning we filled plastic bags and stuffed them in pockets and backpacks for snacks along the trails to augment a hastily made sandwich. Calorie replenishment was not very particular nor was it crafted by a seasoned culinary expert during lunch. Fine eating was actually the responsibility of the evening chefs as we wined and dined in the finest restaurants the Rockies could offer after a long day on the road and trails.
On the afternoon ride someone saw bear cubs on the side of the road as we rolled along Lake Minnewanka flats. I missed it completely. I guess I was thinking more about the steep road gaining 1000 feet that lay before us. The nuts and candies treats in our pockets were earning their place as we burned calories. Our reward for the climb were the overlooks of two great water ways and lakes with light rapids I could imagine were flowing toward some ocean thousands of miles away.
I was quite happy that Barbara Ann’s back was finally feeling better and she was able to join us on the afternoon roll on her eBike. Those that know her, know she’s a sweetheart and the most unassuming, non-aggressive person they have met. After an extensive 5 minutes of training on the ebike, she fell right into fourth position behind me, sister Laurie Jo and husband Paul who was the leader of our pack. After a couple of miles we started the slow steady assent, three of us regular bike riders were feeling our calves starting to burn. Barbara Ann, just kept pace on the eBike, the tail end of the pack. Hill climber extraordinaire Paul started to pull away from our group. Laurie Jo called out to Paul, “hey wait for us.” He didn’t hear the call and stretched the gap. I tried calling out next but to no avail. Out of the blue, Barbara Ann said in a calm voice, “I’ll get him” and like the Batmobile in turbo boost, like the second coming of the Bionic Woman, she pops her eBike into 3 bars and gracefully soars past Laurie and me as if we were standing still, with in seconds she was overtaking Paul. Those of us who know this woman, could not stop laughing at the agressive move made, confidence overflowing, an arrogant smile formed on her lips. This was awesome. This was part one of Barbara Ann’s coming out party as we would witness in a few more days on the Kicking Horse River.
Trail Notes: I believe we road 21 miles in the morning and another 10 miles in the afternoon with a 1630 elevation gain.
