Bikepacking in Southern AB/BC Rockies

[Dave Walter]

Just got back from a very strenuous Bikepacking trip in the southern Alberta/BC Rocky Mountains with a buddy. We started from the Montana/BC border crossing at Roosville and headed up along a portion of the Canadian section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. We went up and down several long and steep mountain passes on a combination of single and double track trails and on back country forestry roads. We carried all gear with us on the bikes and camped in tents along the route. All of the trip was through prime grizzly bear territory but we didn't see any (maybe the bear bells and loud conversation worked to give them warning that we were there). Finished up in Fernie BC. Shuttles were run by my wife who stayed in Banff during the trip in our 19' with our daughter. They enjoyed spending time rock climbing with our oldest son who lives and works in Banff. Here are a couple of pics.














Was our first Bikepacking trip and we have ideas for making things a bit simpler for the next trip.

Edit1: Looks like links not working. Will try to fix.
Edit2: Think its fixed.

[KarenH]

Wow, so impressive! It sounds like a trip of a lifetime with more to come. Congratulations. Well done.

Edited: Just checked out that bike route and was totally awed by it. You maybe only have about 2500 miles to go to complete the route!

BTW, I've done a whopping ten miles of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail (hiking) and only have 1190 to go. Not gonna happen.

[cpaharley2008]

at least this did not happen to you....

[padlin]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

at least this did not happen to you....

Jim, This should be in your Too Old thread, the image is Too Small for me to make out...

[cpaharley2008]

use your magnifying glass like everyone else over 60......

[cpaharley2008]

try this

[AK snowbiker]

Originally Posted by ice-breaker

Just got back from a very strenuous Bikepacking trip in the southern Alberta/BC Rocky Mountains with a buddy. We started from the Montana/BC border crossing at Roosville and headed up along a portion of the Canadian section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. We went up and down several long and steep mountain passes on a combination of single and double track trails and on back country forestry roads. We carried all gear with us on the bikes and camped in tents along the route. All of the trip was through prime grizzly bear territory but we didn't see any (maybe the bear bells and loud conversation worked to give them warning that we were there). Finished up in Fernie BC. Shuttles were run by my wife who stayed in Banff during the trip in our 19' with our daughter. They enjoyed spending time rock climbing with our oldest son who lives and works in Banff. Here are a couple of pics.














Was our first Bikepacking trip and we have ideas for making things a bit simpler for the next trip.

Edit1: Looks like links not working. Will try to fix.
Edit2: Think its fixed.

Dave, good for you that is a beautiful ride. We used to do a lot of riding in that area, my wife used to race in the Transrockies.

I am tentatively planning to ride the Tour Divide in 2017, (one of my bucket list trips). Right now I am in the process of deciding what bike to build.
1). Specialized AWOL
2). Salsa Fargo
3). Specialized Diverge
4). Salsa Cutthroat

Since I’m old school, I will probably build an AWOL with a dyno hub, (since steel is real) with a 2 X 10 drive train. Peace, Scott

Scott and Lori
I like bikes!

[Steve Clark]

Good idea on the bike packing trip, with your Escape and family at base camp. I'm planning on much of the same.....a bit of something for everybody!

[cpaharley2008]

1). Specialized AWOL
2). Salsa Fargo
3). Specialized Diverge
4). Salsa Cutthroat

at first I thought these were dance lessons being discussed

[maurerl]

I'd love to see the pictures, and obviously others are seeing them -- but all I see is the blank expanse of where the pic would be, like a placeholder -- and, yes, I AM logged in! Any ideas why I can't see the pics?

[maurerl]

Originally Posted by Old Skool

1). Specialized AWOL
2). Salsa Fargo
3). Specialized Diverge
4). Salsa Cutthroat

5) Surly Ogre?

Excerpt from my trip log last September: Bannack State Park, Montana

Pretty soon, though, the first of the next group of campers arrived -- 28 cyclists and their support crew, travelling the Great Divide Bicycle Route. The GDBR is a long-distance cycle route assembled and mapped by the American Cycling Association (ACA), from Banff, Alberta to the Mexican border at Antelope Wells, New Mexico. This particular group today was a commercial tour following the ACA route, but a rather more ambitious one than most people attempt: 49 days, average 65 miles and 4,500' elevation gain per day for the entire trip. And 90% forest trails or gravel roads, following as much as possible the spine of the Rockies. That's pretty hardcore cycle touring!

The park ranger and the campsite host both told me they get lots of cyclists staying here who are doing the route, almost entirely solo and fully self-supported. Both mentioned their surprise at how many of them were single women (well, at least solo female cyclists) in their 60's and even 70's!

I chatted a bit with a few of the riders -- a doctor from Canberra, two "mates" from the "posh side" and the "other side" of the UK (I forgot to ask what these were!) and a municipal firefighter from Fairbanks. They also told me their group also included riders from Spain, Germany, New Jersey, and Portland Oregon.

[maurerl]

Just looked at some of these "adventure" bikes. Another example of how some old ideas about bikes are becoming new again.

The bicycle that started my adventure cycling passion, about 40 years ago, was the Raleigh Portage (the real English steel lugged-frame Raleigh)



with 650B wheels and 2.25 tires, Brooks saddle, a style of bike that virtually disappeared in the intervening decades and is now being "resurrected".

Interestingly, this picture shows one with mustache bars, which didn't come on the original Portage (it had the straight mountain bike bars when it came out).

My arthritic wrists have gotten so bad that a number of years ago I switched my current bikes from drop to mustache bars (yes it made a huge difference), and am just in the process of again swapping bars, this time to the European style trekking bars, aka "butterfly", for a more upright riding position.

[Dave Walter]

After spending only a brief time on the Tour Divide route and experiencing a few of the long gruelling climbs those riders face on a daily basis, I have gained a lot of respect for anyone who does that trip. On our trip, we met a number of cyclists who were doing the Tour Divide, from an older couple and a solo rider in their 60's to a rabbit like young guy who went by in a flash. To many, this route is a bucket list challenge for which they spend many hours planning and many more doing. The winner of this years Tour Divide rode 2800 miles in just less than 14 days, over super rugged country. To me that is an amazing accomplishment.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by maurerl

I'd love to see the pictures, and obviously others are seeing them -- but all I see is the blank expanse of where the pic would be, like a placeholder -- and, yes, I AM logged in! Any ideas why I can't see the pics?

I don't see them either, using Windows 10 and trying in both Chrome and Edge browsers. The browsers recognize that they are image links, but are unable to display the content. I even tried it on my Android phone - using the browser, not the app. The links are to googleusercontent.com, so the source is presumably to Dave's Google cloud service.

Ah... Google. I'm always logged into my Google account, for GMail and Drive. So I logged out of my Google account on my PC, and reloaded the page. Now what I see are broken link symbols, which is quite different from the non-displayable image. I suspect that this is a Google permission setup issue.

[AK snowbiker]

Originally Posted by maurerl

Just looked at some of these "adventure" bikes. Another example of how some old ideas about bikes are becoming new again.

The bicycle that started my adventure cycling passion, about 40 years ago, was the Raleigh Portage (the real English steel lugged-frame Raleigh)



with 650B wheels and 2.25 tires, Brooks saddle, a style of bike that virtually disappeared in the intervening decades and is now being "resurrected".

Interestingly, this picture shows one with mustache bars, which didn't come on the original Portage (it had the straight mountain bike bars when it came out).

My arthritic wrists have gotten so bad that a number of years ago I switched my current bikes from drop to mustache bars (yes it made a huge difference), and am just in the process of again swapping bars, this time to the European style trekking bars, aka "butterfly", for a more upright riding position.

Ah, the Brooks B 17 saddle, handcrafted by pale Englishmen with bad teeth in dark, dank rooms. I own four of them as of now, I even have one on my $,$$$.00 carbon fiber bike.

That's why I'm leaning towards the AWOL or Fargo for a more upright position on the long days. Scott

Scott and Lori
I like bikes!

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

I don't see them either, using Windows 10 and trying in both Chrome and Edge browsers.

Try a Mac and Firefox.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Try a Mac and Firefox.

Thanks, but what about a Linux machine and any browser, or a Win7 PC and IE, or one of a thousand combinations that I'm not going to waste my time trying... anything for displaying photos which doesn't follow internet standards is pointless, because there are lots of open and compliant methods available. There's a Mac three metres from me, and I'm not going to bother picking it up, plugging it in, logging in, and loading the forum page; the Android phone was already running and within arm's reach.

[Dave Walter]

Not sure why Google is causing problems. I will try to upload directly to this site. Looks like can only do one photo at a time.

[Dave Walter]

Gearing up at start of ride.

[Dave Walter]

Handlebar view.