Crossing the border into Alberta on Tuesday (7th July) meant that we had crossed from Kootenay National Park into Banff National Park. The video below was taken as Morant’s Curve. Our timing was impeccable! About a minute after we stopped be could hear a train in the distance. These trains are massive! It took 2,5 minutes for the train to pass us. I could not have asked for a nicer backdrop to this video.

From here we headed to Lake Louise. It’s really beautiful around here. Grant and I took a hike around the lake and decided to test out the water. I can confirm that glacier water is incredibly cold. How people have ice baths I don’t know!

We had been camping since we left Princeton which generally wasn’t too bad. This evening was a little cold though, probably because we were the most north that we had been. The disadvantage was therefore being slightly cold that night. However, on the upside we managed to have a campfire. It was the first campsite where campfires were allowed (there have been a huge number of forest fires around Canada and therefore a campfire ban). We headed to the only stop within about an hours drive for dinner and to pick up a lighter or matches to start the fire. The shop had run out of both. My heart sank. About a minute later a ladies walked over to Grant and I and said we could have her lighter. It was such a sweet gesture and of course she had no idea what this actually meant to me. Having a campfire on this trip is one of my bucket list items. Thanks to this kind lady I was able to fulfil this item. Thank you!

The next day was all about the Columbia Icefields. Walking on a glacier was another bucket list item. When I was in New Zealand in 2012 with my mom we went to see Fox Glacier. Unfortunately we arrived at the glacier too late in the evening for me to walk on it. I promised myself that I would make that happen when I got the opportunity to. I’m so happy that Grant helped make this dream come true for me. It was so great to share the experience with him.

The other thing to see at the Icefields is the Skywalk. It’s a 6km bus ride from the parking area and so worth the view. They have an audio tour that tells you all about the glaciers and the local wildlife. I also discover that cougars are massive (I always thought they were quite small) and saw the size of a Grizzly’s paw. It’s just a ‘tad’ bigger than my hand.

I was on such a high when we left the Icefields. At this stage I had seen so much more than I had expected to. Not only had we seen all the things I have discussed, we had also seen deer, a mountain goat and a young black bear crossing the road. That was amazing! I think I captured the latter on my GoPro. I still need to check. Unfortunately with all the excitement happening I did a very silly thing. Pulling into a look out point I nicked the rear bumper of a parked car with my pannier. I instantly felt sick! All I could think was how much is this going to set me back. After about a 20 minute wait for the driver a young couple emerged. The guy looked at the damage and said don’t worry about it. Those were the best words I could hear at that point and it helped calm my slightly shattered nerves. After about 10 minutes of beating myself up I decided to let it go. All the time I was spending beating myself up was not being spent concentrating on where I was and what I was doing. Wednesday night (8th July) we camped in a campsite just outside of Banff. Banff is gorgeous! It has a similar feel to Nelson but on a much larger scale. Incidentally, the restaurant we had dinner at sold the hemp ale from Nelson that we both enjoyed so much, so needless to say it was the drink of choice that evening.

We decided to wake up early On Thursday morning so that we could do a hike through Jackson’s Creek and still get to Calgary by 12:00 to meet Grant’s cousins. The early rise was so worth it! There were so many gorgeous waterfalls along the walk. I’ve included a video of one of them for your enjoyment.

The drive from Banff to Calgary was generally uneventful. It’s a long straight ride on the motorway. Only two things stood out for me. Firstly, the landscape gets a lot flatter the closer you get to Calgary. The second thing was nearly being sideswiped by a car on the motorway. Luckily I saw the car starting to move and I accelerated around him. Strangely I was a lot calmer about this incident than my mishap the previous day. Anyway, no harm was done and I’m sure the driver will look properly next time before he changes lane.

There is no other way to describe British Columbia, Canada, but magnificent!

I summarised my time in Vancouver in my previous post so I’ll start from the day we left Vancouver, which was Saturday, 4th July.

Our first job was to pick Grant’s bike up from the motorbike garage where it was being serviced. In the spirit of trying new things, I asked Grant to ride Trinity. It’s not often I’ll get the chance to be a passenger on my own bike. It’s really comfortable on the back but I realised that a rear pannier is a must with a passenger. This is good to know!

After picking up Grant’s bike, it was time to collect our things and say good bye to his folks. I am so happy that I had the opportunity to get to know such a wonderful family and some of the people in their lives. Darlene, Ted, Jeff, Nicole, baby Aria, Natalie, Josh, Avery, Danielle, Angelo, Connie, and of course Grant, thank you for making my time in Vancouver so memorable!

Before we left Vancouver there was one place I had to visit, a motorbike shop aptly named ‘The Shop’. A fellow motorcycle enthusiast who lives in New York, Chris (@GodSpeedCo) recommended that I pop by and see these guys. I’m glad we did. They have a great little shop and their love for what they do is so apparent. I can see why Chris said this is the heart of everything motorbike in Vancouver.

Now we could hit the road.

When Grant and I were discussing where to go in Canada I had the following requests. I wanted to see mountains (that’s easy in Canada); walk on a glacier in Jasper National Park; do line dancing at the Calgary Stampede; and see Banff National Park. I wanted Grant to see places he hadn’t before (he’s from Vancouver and also did a cross Canada motorbike tour a few years ago so he knows the area fairly well), so I left the route entirely in his hands. He’s done a spectacular job!

Our route from Vancouver took us only 5km from the U.S. border before heading east. It made me very happy thinking that my U.S. friends and family would be celebrating Independent Day (independence from the British Empire which started in 1776) and they were so close by.

Our first stop was Bridal Vale Falls. After a short (rather steep) walk this is what we discovered. How stunning!

Just outside of a town called Hope, we stopped at the Othello Tunnels, an old disused railway line that was built through the mountain in the early 1900s. The railway line was an engineering masterpiece even by today’s standards cutting though the steep gorges with a raging river below. To not scare passengers, services along the line where run at night. The line eventually closed in the 1950’s as it was too expensive to repair each time there was a landslide. Today it’s a 100 kilometre walking/cycling trail. What a great way to preserve the trail. below is the area around the trail.

We spent the evening (4th July) with Grant’s younger sister Nicole in a town called Princeton. It’s a cute little town with a high street that looks like it comes straight out of an old cowboy movie. As it turns out, we were woken up in the morning by Nicole’s husband, Mark and company, herding a cow and calf into a pen. The calf had such a little feisty personality. I fell in love with it instantly! It gave the three guys and a dog the runaround for about 20 minutes before they got it into the pen. It was so funny to watch (from the other side of the fence of course).

Following a leisurely breakfast on Sunday morning we hit the road. My heart completely melted when I went to say goodbye to baby Aria, who just turned 1, and she cuddled into my shoulder and wouldn’t let go. It was too precious! Hopefully I’ll get another cuddle in London sometime (that’s a hint for a visit Nicole).

Sunday’s (5th July) ride was lovely and reminded me so much of driving through the Ceres Valley in the Western Cape, South Africa. Along the side of the road, at the base of the valley, are dozens of old world fruit stalls that are too cute.

Eventually we started to go through the mountain passes and we ended our ride in the City of Nelson.

Nelson is fantastic! If you’re in British Columbia you have to visit it. In the 1970’s the town had a surge of young educated America’s settle in the city to avoid fighting in the Vietnam war. They certainly did a great job at creating, what I would define as a town, with an amazing vibe. I had a spinach salad and a hemp ale in a pub called Jackson’s Hole Grill and both were outstanding. Everything about this town to be honest is outstanding. I have included a few photos to give you a feel of it.

Monday’s (6th July) ride took us from Nelson to Radium. The trip required a ferry crossing over Kootenay Lake but first a stunning drive along the West Arm of Kootenay Lake. It was my first ferry crossing with Trinity and what a pleasure it was.

The closer we got to Radium, the more beautiful the scenery became. As we were camping, the Radium Hot Springs seemed like a great way to soothe our (or at least my) aching muscles while also cleaning up. There were two pools at the facility, one was 30 degrees (Celcius) and other was 39 degrees. The difference in temperature was staggering and was a slightly harsh introduction to the temperatures awaiting me While travelling through the U.S. I have feeling I’ll be going through a lot of water!

Tuesday’s (7th July) ride through the Kootenay National Park was spectacular! Within the first hour of the trip the mountains were becoming more dramatic with the rivers filled with glacier water. Many of these rivers run along the road’s edge, which makes for a magical ride. The water is a milky turquoise colour which seduces you to jump in. Of course, it’s pretty cold so possibly not a great idea.

We made a number of stops, one of which was at the Paint Pots. The start of the walk was nothing exciting but a short walk up the hill revealed the marvel of this sight. The mineral rich soil varies from yellow through orange to a nearly rusty red/brown, which is expelled from mounds which resemble a mini volcano. Much like a Caldera (a volcano filled with water), the mounds had also filled with water which was bright green in colour. It was really quite beautiful!

Our next stop took my breath away for a number of reasons. The stop was Marble Falls. The falls and the gorge that the water cuts through is magnificent!

One of the items in my bucket list was to see at least one waterfall. I had now ticked off this item. I have included a video of the falls for you to enjoy.

To add to the pleasure of this stop, I saw my first chipmunk. They are so cute!

From here we headed towards Calgary and the Alberta border. The border is formed by the Continental Divide, which means that rainwater that falls on the British Columbia side of the mountain drains into the Pacific ocean and water that falls on the Alberta side of the mountian drains into the Atlantic ocean. This is shown below.

Wow, this is an amazing city!

I arrived in Vancouver on Tuesday around 5pm, which was about two hours after I had intended. Part of the delay was due to a little divert I made to Lake Whatcom and part was due to traffic delays outside of Vancouver. The latter was not fun at all in 30 degree heat and heavy biking gear (I better get used to it though – it’s only going to get hotter on this trip).

My AirBnB host in Seattle, Carol had recommendation that I stop in Bellingham on my drive to Vancouver. Lake Whatcom is just outside of the town. When I saw it on the map I knew that’s where I wanted to be and I was right. It is beautiful!

I stopped and had lunch at a little diner and started talking to the guy sitting behind me. What a nice guy! It seems like most of the local folk are very friendly as I had a lady ask me in the parking lot where I was off to. Trinity definitely attracts a lot of attention, possibly because there aren’t that many BMW’s in the U.S. or possibly it just sparks people’s sense of adventure. Whatever the reason, I enjoy seeing people’s faces light up when I tell them what I’m doing. That makes me happy!

Vancouver is absolutely stunning! It oozes life and has the most amazing mountainous backdrop. I’m staying with Grant’s (a friend and colleague) parents in an apartment (condo) next to English bay which is in central Vancouver. The view from the apartment is jaw dropping! I’ve been watching the sun rise and set each day, which is really quite special. You’ll see why from the photo below.

Wednesday (1 July) was Canada Day. The Day is celebrated because on July 1st, 1867, the British North American Act created the Canadian federal government, which stated that Canada would become an independent territory of England. Any celebration of Freedom is wonderful in my books so I’m glad to have been a part of it.

I spent the day with Grant’s mom (Darlene), step dad (Ted) and cousin (Avery) up on Grouse Mountain, which is about a 20 min drive out of the city. The views over the city from there are amazing. You can also see the snow covered Mt Baker in the distance, which is 100 miles away in Washington State (USA).

Grouse Mountain is well catered for tourists. In the few hours that we were up there we watch a spectacular wildlife movie (a Disney production called Wings of Life); watched a lumberjack show (these guys are amazing but totally nuts); watched a birds of prey flight show; I saw two grizzly bears; and had some lunch. It’s certainly the first time I have had macaroni and cheese as a side dish to a burger. And of course a pint. I’ve discovered that there are a lot of micro breweries around Vancouver. I understand this is a trend that started in Portland, Oregon (USA) and has moved up the west coast. Nice!

Yesterday morning was dedicated to getting Grant’s motorbike on the road. We had to go and get his insurance sorted out and take his bike in for a service and tyre change. Luckily that all went smoothly and I even got to lift someone on Trinity. Another first for me!

The drive back from his dad’s place into town was wonderful for many reasons. The scenery was lovely but mostly I had so many ‘reminders’ triggering memories throughout my life. Many of these were street names, namely Balmoral Drive; Erskine Street; Patricia Drive; Lynnwood Drive, which all have meaning to me for different reasons, but watching Grant riding in front of me reminded me so much of being a teenager and spending time with my best friend at school, Dylan. We were inseparable and in many ways Grant reminds me of Dylan. It was certainly a ride down memory lane.

Once the bike was sorted out we headed off to Granville Island. It’s a Council owned island and provided a mixture of industry and community facilities. It has great facilities for kids and an amazing food market. The place we went to for lunch was fab and I tried my first Caesar (it’s basically a Canadian Bloody Mary). We then had some ice-cream with a lovely view over the apartment blocks across the water. A very good day indeed made very special by Grant’s wonderful family!