The Continental Divide  is a more popular mountain bike trail but I preferred to use my road bike so I decided to track this route as close as possible whilst staying on the road and also I am not carrying cooking equipment so I had to stay close to civilization, as far as possible.

The aim is to go via as many national parks in the US as possible. I flew into Calgary and had to overhaul my bicycle. Fortunately, the mechanic at the The Bike shop Central in Calgary was very helpful to fix my chain, cassette, brakes etc. 

The first day I followed the route map suggested by Komoot. It felt a bit odd as it had been more than a year since I sat on my road bike. The prevailing heat wave did not help either. Ghost station camping was an ideal first stop with food supply and showers on-site. 

The next day I was disappointed that the Tim Hortons suggested by Google maps was missing. However, I managed to have my coffee after a further 40kms of cycling, a bit of a grumpy ride to be honest. I was so annoyed that I took the time to report the error to Google. The final 26kms for the day was on a bicycle lane leading up to Banff which was fabulous. 

Banff was overrun with tourists, more of the stopover kind, which made it very busy at all times. After Banff the real wilderness started. The towering peaks which would have been snow-capped in winter perhaps, but during my visit it was mostly patches of snow on the peaks. There ware streams of ice-melt water everywhere though. 

After Lake Louise, for 250km there was no network coverage. A welcome respite indeed. I stayed in Hi Hostels at some places, which were rustic but cozy. Touring cyclists were a common sight between Banff and Jasper. I broke down the Banff-Jasper stretch into several smaller chunks as this was my first week, which turned out to be a good decision, as the rides were more enjoyable. 

When I arrived at the Icefields Campground I took a mini break to visit the Athabasca glacier. The Icefield centre had a coffee shop, restaurant overlooking the glacier which was just a stone’s throwaway from the glacier. A beautiful place to sped a couple of days.

The last day was a 102km ride to Jasper which was mostly downhill and quite enjoyable indeed. Whislters campground at Jasper, which was just 4 kms outside of town is a beautiful spot with modern wash rooms (5*) and plenty of shade. On top of this, a coffee truck arrives here at 7am! What more could I want. On the third day here, I went on a day ride to Maligne lake which was 48kms away from Jasper with a bit of a climb. It was a pleasant ride but the temperature was 36 degree C!

From Jasper, I will take the bus back to Calgary from where my journey south will resume…

The last few weeks prior to this trip I had a brief resurgence of some symptoms related to my previous accident which worried me. Ironically, I feel a lot better since the beginning of this trip. Considering the amount of physical effort I put in my body feels 10 times better ever since I started this trip which is a bit strange. I do get some feet burning sensations and stiff back but it is nowhere near what I experienced when I was at work. I feel like my ankles are getting the right exercise they needed.

Route tips: For future cyclists, the stretch between Lake Louise and Jasper is quite barren with no network, with very limited places to eat or find groceries. Only three places to be specific, River crossing, Columbia Icefield discovery centre and Sunwapta falls. There are a few campgrounds that are walk-ins. The visitor guide from Parks Canada is quite useful as it gives up-to-date information. There was no walk-in campgrounds at Banff but Whistlers Campground at Jasper has plenty of sites that are walk-in, plus it is a fabulous campground with excellent services, highly recommended.

Route: Banff – Ghost Station Campground (57km) – Banff (85) – Lake Louise (57) Mosquito Creek HI Hostel (27) – Rampart Creek Hi Hostel (66) – Columbia Icefield Campground (37) – Jasper (102) + Jasper to Maligne Lake day ride (96km)