Just Pedal: A Woman, a Bike, and the Great Divide, Episode 1 (Canada)

this is the story of riding my bike from Jasper Alberta Canada to analou Wells New Mexico along the Great Divide in this episode I start the trip riding from Jasper along the ice Fields Parkway to Bam then follow the Great Divide mountain bike route to the United States border day one I woke up with nerves today I managed to choke down a breakfast burrito from Starbucks then headed out on Jasper's Town Trail which later met up with the Rapa single track I got my first taste of climbs on the ice Fields Parkway where the route followed a river for most of the day I stopped at the sunwapta Falls Lodge for lunch then continued on the ice Fields Parkway until the Jonas Creek Campground [Music] starting the big adventure going the opposite direction out of Jasper and I'm going to catch this town Trail over here which will take me to the ice Fields Parkway so nervous but kind of excited now have to say all right this is Jasper Tony and I met the summer of coming here we rode on this train not that train but passenger train anyway it's significant it feels really cool to be [Music] here [Music] hey guys aren't you pretty yeah you mind if I come [Music] through you mind if I come through I cannot believe that just [Music] happened [Music] here's a look around the Jonas Creek Campground uh they have a bike specific area which is awesome this over here is a shelter that has a wood stove in it and uh they provide free wood wood over here in case you need it so it's a great place to warm up if I need to a cost of this Campground was only $5 and this is awesome food storage lockers so I don't have to put up a bare line tonight and then walking over here is my Campground or campsite and you can see they have bike uh things for locking up your bike which is amazing and yeah my first campsite actually has you won't be able to see it but there's a waterfall right there pretty awesome and there's a river right over [Music] there good morning it's day two and here is my breakfast situation um it rained overnight so I stay mostly dry my sleeping bag got slightly wet on the side so I've got it hanging right here and this Lodge has a fire and I've got a roaring fire going here so I think I'm actually going to be able to get my tarp pretty much dried out and my tent dried out um but this is crazy look at all this stuff this is all my stuff laid out from that needs to be put away got my sleeping mat over here my bike and all my breakfast stuff but all of this fits on one bike it's crazy today was a long hard day the first 16 miles included an epic climb to the ice Fields Discovery Center it felt like a trainer Road V2 Max workout on steroids I just picked a Target rode to it rested then moved on I stopped at the Discovery Center to warm up it was 38° F at the top and enjoyed some Starbucks and free Wi-Fi then I continued down the mountain on a narrow road that I shared with buses and long RVs an icy headwind made me need to Pedal even while descending I stopped again at The Crossings grocery where I picked up food for dinner and tried some poutine the last 10 miles were all uphill I went so slow and was dying for rest but I made [Music] it leaving Jonah's Campground and heading toward waterfall Lakes [Music] Campground [Music] this is freaking [Music] amazing [Music] [Music] I was happy last night to have running water at the campground to wash my clothes and myself today's ride started with a slow climb cending into a sharp hard climb once that was over though much of the day was downhill I had a late breakfast with a fellow bike packer in Lake Louise then left the ice Fields Parkway continuing on Highway 1A this road was much quieter with less tourist traffic it was wood lined and paralleled a river in a rail road after the highway I rode local bike paths into B leaving lower waterfall Lakes Campground and heading towards bam it's going to be a big day there's a big climb at the beginning but it should be quote unquote downhill the rest of the way to B we'll [Music] see this Summit yes or no you never know so this is what I just climbed this morning and I still have a little ways to go but holy look at that hopefully much [Music] longer [Music] hi leaving Ice's [Music] Parkway 2 3 [Music] I was taking pictures of the wild flowers on the side of the road I hav even notice this big mountain in front of me you see so many mountains now there's a cool [Music] bird [Music] Cs and [Music] me buik trail that goes into B happy to be off the road has these gates to keep keep the animals out oh this one has a different Side downtown bamp this is culture shock big [Music] time under a blank blanket of mist I crossed the Bow River out of bamp and onto the spray River Trail it was incredible how quickly I went from bustling City to isolated Wilderness at first there were a lot of steep descents down to a river crossing and Punchy climbs back up later I crossed the reservoir and onto a wide Road it was just one long slow climb into a headwind I stopped at a lodge for lunch at Mile 33 then continued on to the Bolton creep Campground which informed me unfortunately that they were full the skies opened up and poured on me as I continued on to Mont Sarai Campground luckily the rain subsided as I arrived I found a lovely site and I met a wonderful couple from Saskatchewan there luck changes quickly on the Divide okay okay here we go I am starting officially on the route for The Great Divide mountain bike route this is all part of the B Springs Hotel crazy starts out I guess on the spray River Trail I've got my bear Bell on it's kind of [Music] cool could you tell I was coming you [Music] too [Music] [Music] that was [Music] fun that's where I came from and there's where I'm going so lot rougher of a start than I ever thought uh that's where I just came from and that is where I'm going aside from some power lines and a little wood walkway just a little short way back um there's really no signs of humans or human activity or anything I'm just like completely alone out here it's very rugged and uh yeah interesting way to start day one on the Divide Out of the Woods for just a minute and it feels good I love me some back country and some mountain biking been on a fully loaded gravel bike where you don't know where you're gonna be sleeping this night it's kind of nice to be on real Road not going to lie but isn't this beautiful at the lake the mountains beautiful road yeah [Music] today's route was really beautiful with good trials and fewer hia bikes climbing over the Mist in the morning I was treated to stunning views of the mountaintops there was a lot of fresh bear scat around so I had my bear Bell on and I sang loudly as I rode I met a fellow divide Rider coming north she had a look of panic in her eyes when I tried to talk to her she just said I'm hungry and I just want to be done I tried to say encouraging things I hope she did okay with a big climb but it's on a cool Road look at that probably can't tell any the go [Music] we're on elk pass right now I think I still have to get to the top but I've come a long way already look at the view [Music] I'm walking on sunsh I'm walking on sun and got to feel good look at the beautiful horses they don't care about me the a cabin that anyone can [Music] use very rustic but would have been cool to stay here even as a little [Music] stove [Music] I enjoyed an incredibly satisfying Burger salad fries and cheesecake from a surprisingly upscale restaurant next door to my motel in elkford then I went to get groceries my favorite find was cereal and dried milk which I plan to pack in baggies so I could just add water today I'm riding to Fernie British Columbia it blows my mind that most Racers on the tour divide make this trip from bam to Fernie in one day after a few Mis turns I was on gorgeous Mountainside single track there was a big hi a bike to start than lots of flowy ups and downs I even saw some recreational Mountain bikers on the trail I rode by a natural Sulfur Springs then up into a meadow with expansive views and tons of wild flowers the route dropped into Sparwood staying on single track right into the business district I stopped at a Tim Horton for second breakfast then rode onto the Bluffs again to enjoy Miles and Miles more of single track finally I descended into Fernie just as it started to rain leaving Alfred my bear Bell and singing must have been doing their job because I didn't see any bears today or yesterday also while single track is extremely fun it was wreaking havoc a bit on my front bag which would bounce and occasionally Buzz against my front tire forming a hole this is super cool just had some fresh raspberries uh talking to a woman who lost 140 cows and I'm seeing cow pies and Footprints all over I kind of think they came this way or we're here yeah there's more cowo I hope she finds [Music] them pretty pretty [Music] pretty [Music] [Music] tonight I stayed at a hostel with pods that you sleep in this was mine my bike was stowed in a locked unit below the hostel today I'm headed back to the United States I celebrated My Last Day in Canada with breakfast at Tim Horton's then started riding out of town first on tarmac and then on a gravel road that followed a river in Elco I missed the opening of an ice cream shop by an hour but I did meet a nice man of Danish Heritage who told me that instead of saying goodbye to Travelers they would use a Danish word that means success success he called out to me as I started pedaling I continued through a lake country area on Dusty chunky gravel before popping out to the final tarmac road that brought me to the Border ferie I so Grizzly there is a grizzly in the road hey bear hey bear hey bear bear can I get by hey bear hey buddy can I get [Applause] bye it's a cow oh my [Music] God sometimes you just turn into this gorgeous [Music] view and just like that Canada was behind me I knew it would take a long time to process all that I had seen and experienced already the mountains the glaciers the remoteness and of course the climbs next up is a ride to Eureka Montana where I'll stop to rest and refuel after today's ride in the next episode I'll ride through most of Montana visiting towns like oando Helena and but I'll spend a night at the Llama Ranch and ride the famous Fleer [Music] Ridge

Channel: Katrina Hase

Views: 87,259

Keywords: Jasper, banff, icefields parkway, great divide, GDMBR, tour divide, bike touring, female cyclist, solo bikepacking, bikepacking, jonas campground, waterfowl lakes, camping, offroad, bike adventure

Id: h5jUZ5kE3eQ

Length: 25min 52sec (1552 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 13 2023