Ride to the snow

Yesterday, I went for a road ride with the guys (Jim, Sean L, Radya, and Sean W showed up). I started from home, rode down Nose creek pathway to the river, and up at Edworthy park to Westhills, where I met Jim, Sean L, and Radya. We rode west and met Sean W in the parking lot of what Sean L called the "Turkish bomb making factory". Not much wind yet, but no sun either - in fact it looked pretty grim, like we might get snowed on at any time.

Heading west wasn't too bad, but Radya's lungs were giving her problems on the climbs, so we regrouped once we got onto Springbank road. Jim, Sean W, and I decided to ride out to Bragg at our own pace, leaving Sean L and Radya to carry on at their pace. The three of us rode well on the hills on Springbank road, and Sean W took a big pull just before we got to Bragg Creek. We stopped to refuel at the store, and Sean W turned back while Jim and I headed out to Elbow falls.

There was a lot more snow in Bragg Creek than there was in Calgary - still a foot or so in places. we came across a group of bikes using a pile of snow for a bike stand - the front wheels were just stuck in the snow far enough to hold the bikes up.

We could feel a few gusts of headwind as we headed west on 66, but we managed to keep a good pace, and passed lots of other cyclists heading out to enjoy the sun - by this time the clouds had almost gone away, leaving us with warm sunshine. The wind coming off of the surrounding snow kept things pretty cool, though. We got to the gate at Elbow Falls, only to discover the road completely covered (except for a couple of wheel tracks from a truck that had gone through - presumably a parks truck and not just a typical Alberta yahoo). We stopped to eat and shed a layer or two, then we started back. My odometer read 100.07km to the gate.

On the way back, we realized how much wind we had been fighting - we were just flying along, way faster than we could go the other way. It felt really good to cruise along in my 50x13 on the flats, and even the slightest downhill put me on the 50x12. Turning onto the backroad into Bragg, we caught a guy on a tri-bike, who stuck with us on the winding descent (but drafting here was dangerous - there was a lot of water running across the road from the melting snow, and my glasses got sprayed a few times). Past Bragg, we took turns blasting along, but I was getting tired after 130km in the saddle, and the tri-guy was really powering along on the flats, so I dropped off his wheel about 500m before the roundabout. After the roundabout, we started up the hill on 22 North, and we caught and passed the tri-guy again. There were three other tri-bike riders we passed on the hill too - I guess those tri-bikes don't climb well or something.

Back on Springbank road, Jim and I alternated leads on the hills and descents, then Jim turned south to head back to Westhills, while I continued on to Old Banff Coach Road. I was almost bonking by this point, so I stopped on the grassy shoulder for some food and a short rest before getting back on and heading out to Highway 1. I turned into Valley Ridge and got onto the bike path there, following bike paths and streets back home.

Total riding distance for the day: 182km. Much easier than the Salty Dog, too.