First of all -- I can't complain about the experience. Biking from Banff to Lake Louise is as beautiful as I'd imagined. A lot of it was just trees and road -- but every now and then, we would see a breathtaking view -- looking down at the Banff Springs Hotel from Tunnel Mountain -- the Lake Minnewanka dam -- Castle Mountain (geez that thing is huge!) -- and views of the Bow River.

The race itself:

First ~25 km (to Rest Stop 1): Very hilly and busy -- took a while for the pack to thin out. And yet, when I finished 25km, honestly it felt like a breeze. Clearly my bike endurance has improved nicely this year. Best part -- wife & kiddos were sitting outside our hotel and ringing the cowbell as I went by -- best little cheering section in town!

Next ~30 km (to Rest Stop 2). Much flatter -- slight uphill, with occasional up-and-downs. Again, pretty straightforward -- my legs were just starting to get a bit sore.

Next ~30km (to the turnaround and Rest Stop 3): NOT FUN. This is where I started to break into virgin territory in terms of distance -- and it was still slight uphill the entire way. OW OW OW. By this time, the faster cyclists were making their way back -- very jealous of how they were zipping down the hill.

Next ~30 km (to Rest Stop 4: Finally, some downhill! Of course, by this time my legs were pretty toast -- so I wasn't setting speed records -- but the downhills provided ample opportunity to coast (and I took advantage!)

Last ~30 km: Would you believe it took me this long to see any wildlife? Saw a bighorn sheep around 120km, and then an entire flock of ~20 around 130km. The last 30km involved a little bit of cursing on my part -- I'm convinced I finished the last 10 km on curse power alone.

I should also mention -- I did manage to get a peep show on this last segment -- one of the other cyclists pulled to the side of the road to change her shirt. I knew the ride would be scenic, but that was a bit unexpected... :-)

Finally crossed the finish line (again, with the best little cheering section in town!) and proceeded to eat everything in sight.

A couple of longer training rides would have helped -- had I kept to my original plan of a 100km training ride, that would have limited the pain.

Nutrition -- I probably didn't hydrate as much as I should have. I had a total of 3 Gatorade bottles during the ride, but was quite thirsty by the end.

If you'd asked me at the finish line if I would do it again, I would have kicked you in the shins (which, given my jelly legs, wouldn't really have hurt...)Now, with a full tummy, I'm feeling a bit more positive about it. But damn it was a hard ride.

Walked around, ate fruit, put a cold wet towel on my head. And then walked with the family over to McDonald's. :-)




Weight.-- the perennial problem!


Great race organization. Perfect course. Had a good time. Highly recommended!