West Coast Birthday Bonanza - Day 1, Stony Plain AB to Field BC

Well it's been so long since I put anything in this Blog, there was a certain amount of head scratching being done to even get the thing open, let alone be 'creative'.  Might even have to wait until later to get some of todays photo's added.  Last year before the Alaska trip, I was so much more organised, well that and home a lot more.  Now I work away, arriving home last night trying to wind down, unpack, have dinner, repack, load the bike - of course it was relaxing........  Somehow everything got sorted out and by about 10am this morning, we were on the bikes heading out of the ole homestead for the highway and this years 'extravaganza'.

Last year on route to Alaska, we sampled some of what British Columbia (BC) had to offer and promised, like 'Arnie', "we'd be back".  Well as I am shortly to become officially 'old', Wendy planned a bike trip over my birthday, taking us through BC to Vancouver Island for a few days.  Then return home over the Rockies again via Whistler.  The whole trip should take about 10 days and will be about 2100 miles long.  Today saw us make the first leg of the journey from Stony Plain AB, to Field BC.  Much of the route was over known ground, but we are now on uncharted territory, so from here on in, it should be quite exciting.

The bikes all loaded, we headed off on the first leg of the journey to Rocky Mountain House, AB.  As I said before, we have ridden this leg before on the way to Banff, so no real surprises on the way.  There was a pretty steady NNW wind blowing and it had been difficult knowing quite what to wear under the bike suits.  In the end we got it pretty much right.  The suits are windproof, so the wind was no real bother.  The day started very similar to an autumn day in the UK, about 12'C, and heavy grey skies.  There was no rain, but judging by the skies it was only a matter of time.

From Stony, we headed steadily south over a rolling prairie landscape.  When the road allowed it, there was a pretty uninterrupted panoramic view of the prairie for as far as the eye could see.  Mile after mile of gently rolling countryside seemed to go on forever.  Herds of cattle and horses were about all we saw.  The roads are almost 'bullet straight', going as far as the eye could see.  I think the early road engineers must have had Roman ancestry!  The only kink in the road, were the occasional bend put in as a 'correction'.  We started to see some wildlife on the edges of the road and by the time we came into Rocky Mountain House, we had seen several Deer nervously grazing on the verges.

We arrived on the outskirts of the small town and had too make a left turn int town for lunch and a fuel top up for 'Sydders'.  Poor chap only has a small tank, so needs to make 'pit stops' way more frequently that 'Gertie'.  At this point 'Elaine' (the Brit female voice on my GPS) started to get very pissed off with me!  I had the temerity to change course and she kept reminding me that is was, 'off route' and she was, 'recalculating'.  Well, too hell with her I thought, who the hell is piloting this thing anyway.  It being lunchtime, we headed into 'Tims' for coffee, sandwich and a doughnut.  Fully fed and watered, we now saw to 'Sydders' needs, then we were off again.

Still on the roads we knew, we were heading toward the Icefields Parkway and Lake Louise.  Approaching Rocky Mountain House, the scenery began to change as we rode toward the foothills of the might Canadian Rocky Mountains.  The vast wide open prairie, was now giving way to more undulating ground.  The wide open spaces were shrinking, as more and more trees took over the landscape.  After the recent rain, there was a faint smell of pine in the air.  The never ending fields, were now limited to meadows.  Then as we crested yet another rise, way out to our right, the first glimpse the majestic Rocky Mountains, the back bone of North America heading further north to Alaska.  After Rocky Mountain House, we saw more and more of the mountains and we started to climb into the still snow covered peaks.

As we climbed, so the temperature inevitably dropped and we were down to about 10'C!  Also looming ahead were low clouds, dropping the bases into the valleys.  There were the occasional patches of blue sky, but in the direction we were travelling, only rain.  Ahh well, that's something you live with if you ride bikes, just make sure you have the right gear and don't get cold.  As we were riding toward the gates of the Banff National Park, in a particularly heavy downpour, I noticed some shapes on the wide verge about half a mile ahead.  It was difficult to make out a lot of detail as my visor was rain covered, but I was sure they were moving.  As we got closer, I saw two vehicles pulled over on the side of the road adjacent to where my 'shapes' were.  In a Park, that generally means animals and in this instance it meant a family of Black Bears, a mother and three cubs!  I slowed as we approached them, but was loathed to stop.  Mum and the cubs looked quite happy grazing on the side of the road, but I didn't want to push our luck.  We rode by slowly taking in this lovely picture, then headed on to Lake Louise.

In Lake Louise, we filled up both bikes and set off on the short trip to Field and our night stop.  There was lots of road works on the road out of Lake Louise, but the journey to the little town of Field was a short one.  This unassuming little BC town, sits the other side of a mountain pass, over which the Canadian Pacific railroad company drove a railway line.  In its hay day, passenger trains twisted and turned their way over the mountain.  Those days have long gone for passenger trains, but huge freight trains still make the journey over the pass, coming from or going to the West coast and Vancouver.  Field is a pretty little town with a strong Italian heritage from those early railway days.  What made it a special stop for us was the Kicking Horse Lodge and the Truffle Pigs Bistro!

Who ever would have thought that such a gastronomic delight could be found in such a small town with nothing of real note to bring you here.  The food was outstanding!  We started with West Coast Mussels, followed by the chefs version of Beef and Pork Bourgignon which was amazing.  All washed down with a very pleasant Canadian 'red' from the local Okanagan area.  Now all I have to worry about, is how I squeeze myself back into riding gear again in the morning..............

Tomorrow, we are headed for Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley and perhaps some wine tasting.  According to Wendy, it is all, 'squiggilly, wiggily' roads............  I think that means good bike road - I'll let you know tomorrow.  Nite nite fan, hope you enjoyed this Letter From Canada.  Tune in again tomorrow, I'd love to see you again.