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Week 1
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Start :
Canmore, Alberta, Canada
Finish :
Whitefish, Montana, USA
Dates :
August 16th - 23rd, 2022
Riding days :
7
Distance :
375 miles
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You start The Great Divide in the heart of the
Canadian Rockies: Canmore.
The surroundings of this town are
magnificent and have a lot to offer. You should plan to
arrive a few days earlier to acclimatize. Test your bike
along the banks of the Bow River or take a tour to the
Icefields Parkway,
one of Canada's national treasures.
Breathing in the clean mountain air makes you eager to
jump on your bike and hit the trail. The trail of The
Great Divide. You leave Canmore on old fire roads. The
luxurious hotels, fancy outdoor shops and tourist
bureaus are soon replaced by the dense forests and
crystal clear lakes of the
Banff National Park.
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You leave civilization behind.
There are no tourists on the Great Divide, just you and
the mountains for the next seven weeks. The signs
acknowledge that you are entering the wilderness – you
have entered grizzly bear territory and are no longer at
the top of the food chain! Fortunately, it’s more common
to share the road with a bighorn sheep than to meet a
cougar or a bear. The adventure has begun…
Gravel roads lead you through Kananaskis Country and
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park where white snow peaks
reflect on the mirrored surface of crystal clear blue
and turquoise lakes. It’s just day "one", but you are
already in the heart of the Rocky Mountains.
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A steep climb in the forest
cleared for powerlines takes you over
Elk Pass.
This is the first time, but definitely not the last
time, that you will cross the Continental Divide. The
pass also marks the border between the two Canadian
provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.
Dirt roads and pavement alternate when you cycle through
the mining towns of
Elkford and
Sparwood.
Coalmining is one of British Columbia’s primary
industries which is clearly visible in the last town.
Sparwood promotes itself extensively as the home of the
Terex Titan, at one time the largest truck in the world,
and this can hardly been missed when you cycle through
town.
Read more in the BROCHURE..
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