800km in..and we are at the start!!

By Richelle Olsen - She Science Ambassador

Last time we checked in we were cautiously looking forward to the Rogers Pass climb and its rather scary tunnels. Suffice to say, the climb was what Shane described as "LAME", with an incline averaging only about 2% for 70kms! And the tunnels were all super well lit, and as a result of some roadworks and an accident behind us, we didn't encounter any vehicles at all through any of them...winning!!! But the views were awesome!!!

So after such an apparently lame climb, we pushed on to Golden, our biggest day yet, at 115km for the day...massive, I haven't done that kinda distance in years!! It was too long for Shane who decided to walk the last 6kms....nothing at all to do with blowing out the wall of his tyre or anything!!?? Just lucky it happened so close to town!

Our digs for the night was a lovely Warm Showers host, Tanya, who offered free camping at the rear of her hostel, with shower and kitchen access. We hadn't seen almost any bike tourers till that point, but there were 7 of us camping there that night!!

So new tyre on board....we pushed on and a few days later finally left the Trans Canada, such a relief, ahhh the quiet....temporary though, as we hit Lake Louise....gorgeous but wow thousands of people!!! Pics were taken and we escaped!!

And then before we knew it....we were in Banff!!!!!! Wow can you believe it...we had made our start point!! 800kms cycled! Whoa that's massive! Super proud of ourselves!!

Soo it's time to start the Great Dividing MTB Route....and that's what we did yesterday, the first 20km of the 4,400km trail!!!

Yep it was freezing and pouring rain, but wow was it amazing to get on the trail...the peace and quiet! The trail is already way tougher than the road but it will be worth it!

We have stopped for a day in Canmore to recover the legs and I haven't been feeling well...and to dry off our gear!! Back on the trail tomorrow!!! 3-4 days in the bush woo hoo!!

Yep it was freezing and pouring rain, but wow was it amazing to get on the trail...the peace and quiet! The trail is already way tougher than the road but it will be worth it!

We have stopped for a day in Canmore to recover the legs and I haven't been feeling well, and we needed to dry our gear! Back on the trail tomorrow!!! 3-4 days in the bush woo hoo!!