I'm not sure when this idea was born but I've been intrigued by the idea of doing this epic road ride on closed-to-traffic roads in Canada's first National Park for a while. I talked with Sarah about her experience riding it last year and signed up. Eventually I talked with Cindy and that led to discussion of whether we should put an IBM team together. Cindy and I both work for the Big Blue and Cindy, being the shy wallflower that she is, ran with the idea and got 13 IBMers and clients together for the event. I got to tinker with some design and get some jerseys put together for us for the big day. And, with a new CX bike in the fleet, I was ready to roll!
What a great day. After some photos and the national anthem in the chilly morning air, we were off. The route took us from downtown up to Two Jack Lake and then back around to catch the 1A and take it to the Lake Louise exit before turning back the same way and return to town. I started out with Cindy but soon saw Sarah on the road and stuck with her and her friends for the rest of the ride. Cindy wound up racing the event with her husband and I was looking for a social friendly ride.It was a perfect day for the longest ride I've ever done. Perfect weather and great company, including the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep we shared the route with near the end. Three park rangers were on hand to instruct us. If, as we passed through the herd, we noticed a sheep wanting to cross the road, we were to stop and dismount. Sure, but ... what to do when one jumps into the road from outside the barrier right in front of your bike? Wow, those suckers are BIG when you're face to face with one on your bike. I saw him thinking about the leap, slowed the bike, but thought it risky to fully stop as he was going to have some momentum, right? I wound up nearly stopping but steering a little away from him. He was wary of me and did a little two-step while eye-balling me. I wish I had a video replay cause I don't fully remember how it all went down -- it only lasted a second -- but eventually he looked to be ready for me to continue and I eased the pedals around and slowly moved through. Thanks for not ramming me off my bike Mr. Bighorn!
Soon after that we were through the finish line, hungry for some grub! The food line up was a mile, and probably an hour, long. So we hit the beer line, got some liquid carbs, and called it a day. If there's room for improvement with the event next year it's for them to figure out how to feed 1500 riders and their families a lot faster. People need food after riding 144kms!All in all it was a fantastic experience that I'll remember for a really long time! There's a roadie in me you know!
