2006 400K Golden Triangle

May 27, 2006

It was 12:45 am when the alarm went off. My father and I loaded up the car and made the 3-hour drive to Banff so that I could start the Golden Triangle 400K brevet at 5 am.

It was a chilly 2°C, and somewhat misty as we unloaded the car and chatted with Wim, from Fort St. John, and Ken, from Calgary, who were also starting at that time. After setting everything up and taking a few photos, we were on our way at 5:20 am.

click to supersize What Lake Minnewanka looks like without the clouds

The first part of the ride was the Lake Minnewanka loop - a quiet, pretty little road that leads to Lake Minnewanka, and back to Banff. Wim and Ken dropped me within the first 5 kms on that road, but I suspected that would happen.
click to supersize Machka on the Lake Min loop
The rain began during this loop and the clouds hung low over the lake obscuring the view of the mountains. I was on the lookout for animals and I saw a deer, which jumped out in front of Wim, and a mountain goat, high on a hill next to the road.
click to supersize Machka at the end of the Lake Min loop
After the Lake Minnewanka loop, we headed for Highway 1A, the Bow Valley Parkway, another quiet, pretty road which runs parallel to the TransCanada highway almost all the way from Banff to Lake Louise. Along this road, I saw several deer, a large coyote, 3 large male elk standing right next to the road who had to stop eating to watch me go by, and then a female elk a little further on. It continued to rain, and the temperature was still about 2°C.
click to supersize What Castle Mountain looks like without the clouds
I had decided to try a new clothing layering technique which might prove to be lighter and more versatile on long rides. On top I wore a long-sleeved polypro, a long-sleeved marino wool, a light windbreaker jacket, a light windbreaker vest, and my rain jacket. This clothing choice worked well all the way to Johnson’s Canyon, about 17 kms along the Bow Valley Parkway, but from there to Lake Louise, another 30 kms or so down the road, I froze. There were times I was shaking so much it was hard to control the bicycle.
click to supersize Spiral Tunnel - a spiral railway track

I stopped briefly at Johnson’s Canyon, but got moving again when I started to feel chilled. I stopped briefly at Castle Junction where very fortunately the person running the store arrived to open it and let me in for a few minutes. And then I stopped briefly at a gas station in Lake Louise, where someone emerged from a nice warm vehicle and made the comment to me that it was a lovely temperature for cycling! It was about 3°C.

Fortunately the rain stopped at Lake Louise and the temperature did begin to increase which made cycling much more pleasant. From Lake Louise, I headed into British Columbia to Field, stopping briefly to take a photo of the Spiral Tunnel near the top of Kicking Horse Pass, and then again in Field for something to eat. There were a million tourists at the Spiral Tunnel stop, but no one down in Field, which was just fine with me!
click to supersize Welcome to Golden
Then I continued on to Golden. I had been warned that there was construction about 20 kms east of Golden - they are twinning the TransCanada highway there and they were often doing blasting, which could result in a delay of about an hour. I had picked up a few things to eat in Field and thought that if this was going to be the case, I’d just spend my hour having a picnic by the side of the road. However, when I got there, the delay was quite short. As I usually do in construction situations, I rode right to the front of the line to let the flagperson know I was there, and then when the cars were allowed to go, she sent me off in front. It wasn’t long before I realized that no one could pass me in that stretch, so I led the whole group of cars through the construction zone at my own pace!!
click to supersize Snowcapped Mountains

The rest of the road into Golden desperately needs work, and I was very thankful for the way the construction was dividing up the vehicles so that a group of them would go past me, and then there would be no traffic for the next 10 minutes or so. The road is narrow with broken shoulders and debris all over the place from the rocks that fall off the cliff walls. In fact, a rock fell a few feet in front of me in one place - yet another reason to be wearing a helmet!
click to supersize Columbia River

I was relieved to arrive in Golden where I had a sandwich and removed some of my layers. Apparently it reached 20°C, but even so I still kept my rain jacket and tights over the polypro and wool because I was still somewhat chilled from the morning.
click to supersize View of Highway

The road from Golden to Radium is an absolutely beautiful road. The scenery is breath-taking! The road follows the wide Columbia River which has wetlands areas full of various waterfowl - ducks, geese, etc. On the far side of the river there are tall hills covered in pine and deciduous trees.
click to supersize Columbia River and Mountains
On the road side of the river are small farms backed by more tall hills covered in pine and deciduous trees, and behind them majestic mountains capped with snow.
click to supersize View of Highway
click to supersize Wim at Radium
click to supersize Wim

With about 30 kms to go to Radium, Maurice, a cyclist who opted for the 7 am start time, caught up to me and we rode together to Radium. It was nice to have the company for a little while, and made that part of the ride go by quite quickly.
click to supersize Welcome to Radium
click to supersize Maurice at Radium
My father, who had spent the day driving around various portions of the route taking photos and doing a little sightseeing, met me in Radium to keep an eye on me for the rest of the route. The rest of the route was 135 kms on a very quiet road surrounded by nothing but mountain wilderness, and I was a bit apprehensive about being out there all alone at night.
click to supersize Machka arrives in Radium

Maurice and I stopped at Radium for a bite to eat, and then set off to tackle the Radium hill. Radium is known for its hotsprings, and the road up the Radium hill goes up steeply through a very interesting rock formation next to the hotsprings, and then continues to the top of the mountain. It is 13 kms long and although most of it is about an 8% grade, it has portions which are 11%. Maurice vanished in the distance up the hill, but I surprised myself by cycling all the way up - no walking!! It was my goal, all the way through the ride, to make it to the top of the Radium hill while it was still light … and I made it!
click to supersize Maurice and Machka leave Radium
Oh, just at the base of the hill are the National Park gates. You don’t have to buy a park pass if you are just passing through, but if you are camping or staying in a hotel or whatever over night, you do. Try convincing the person in the little booth at 8:30 pm that you, a cyclist, are just passing through the park and will be out by dawn!! She let us go, but somehow I had the feeling that she thought we were pulling her leg!
click to supersize Leaving Radium

Then I began the longest portion of the route … or what felt like the longest. That road seemed to take forever! Once darkness fell, it was pitch black out there - the moon is in the new moon phase, so I didn’t even have its glow to help me along. I could only see the 30 feet or so directly in front of me where my lights shone. I also couldn’t see my computer to tell me how fast was going or how far I had gone. Thankfully, my father would call out distances now and then when I passed him or he passed me, otherwise it felt like I was just continually cycling in the same spot.
click to supersize Sinclair Canyon near Radium

Vermilion Crossing, the last control, came sooner than I thought - in fact, I nearly went right past it because I didn’t think it was the right place. I downed a can of Ensure washed it back with coke from my support vehicle. And then set off on what I thought (based on riding this road twice before) was supposed to be about a 20 km gradual steady climb followed by a 5 km descent. In reality, it was about 30 kms to the top of the pass consisting of a series of gradual and steep climbs with short descents or flat bits in between. I couldn’t take advantage of the descents because I couldn’t see the road very well, and after Vermilion Crossing a cold, fairly strong headwind started blowing. I was beginning to think that I’d be on that road forever! Stuck for the rest of my life climbing and climbing against the wind!!
click to supersize Machka climbing Radium hill

After an eternity, I finally reached the top and in my excitement of that accomplishment, I made a mistake. Instead of putting on a few extra layers of clothing, I didn’t stop but just started down the hill. 5 kms at about 40 km/h into a cold headwind with the temperature probably somewhere around 2°C. When I reached the bottom of the hill my hands were numb, and I nearly fell off my bicycle trying to stop and dismount to get something warm to put on. But I was so thrilled to finally be off that road!!
click to supersize Vermilion Crossing
And then it was 29 kms to Banff along the TransCanada. About halfway along it started raining and snowing again. Gradually my lights faded and died on me, but at the same time, the sky was lightening with a pre-dawn glow. And I rolled into Banff at 4:45 am successfully accomplishing another goal - finishing this 400K in less than 24 hours!
click to supersize Grades on the Vermilion Crossing Road
Stats:

Total time: 23:25

Ride time: 21:15


A big THANK YOU to my father for sticking with me during the night - it was very comforting to know I wasn’t out in the middle of nowhere all alone, and it was nice to have support and company during the last third of the ride.




NOTE: Many of the photos on this page were acquired from various tourist information or town sites. Some were taken by father and I plan to add more of my own when I get them developed.