Love Actually always comes to mind when I think about my old friend Terri. She was one of the first friends I made in Alberta after I moved to Grande Prairie from Ottawa.
Terri and I met when I was training for my first 10K run at the Leisure Centre. I stuck to running. She did not but we still remained those type of friends who can pick right up where they left off despite time and distance. Now I haven’t seen her in years so I was thrilled when she reached out to say she had moved to Calgary.
Getting back to Love Actually, Terri has watched it more than 100 times. I don’t know what it is about this fact but it always makes me smile.
I digress … since Terri is more of a cyclist than me I suggested we take advantage of the Bow Valley Pathway (Hwy 1A) eastern closure from Banff to the south Highway 93 (Castle Junction) junction, and cycle into Johnston Canyon.
I had a wonderful time cycling the Highwood Pass when it was closed to vehicles. I knew this would be just as fun (and a lot less steep and shorter). Besides I have been cycling for months. I am a pro!
Terri has a bike rack that fits two bikes on her Honda so she offered to drive. After what seemed like forever, we managed to get the two bikes secured tightly into the rack.
I mused later that the most stressful/difficult part of the day was fitting the two bikes into the rack while Terri grumbled about the hills and the distance. (Sometimes the smallest things give me the most grief.)
We arrived at the small parking lot off the Trans Canada Highway to find a gate across the road and a Parks Canada person turning away motorists. After snagging the last parking spot, we set off for our ride into Johnston Canyon along the Bow Valley Parkway.
We took our time on the asphalt soaking in the views of the mountains and breathing in the exhaust-free air. I stopped at every view point and interest point to read about the history of the wildlife and the area.
It’s been a few years since I drove down this road. Again it was a great experience to drive down the road without the worry of traffic. Although a few Parks Canada vehicles passed us on our ride into the canyon.
Because it was a weekday we didn’t see many cyclists on the Bow Valley Parkway. Straight away we saw a group of three cyclists walking towards us. One woman had a flat. Unfortunately we were unable to help them.
Neither one of us had any repair tools so I hoped we didn’t get a flat. But if we did, it would be okay because I had just renewed by AMA membership.
I carried bear spray in my hydration pack. There was no evidence of any wildlife save for a few woodpeckers. However there were Parks Canada signs indicating that elk were rutting in the area.
We walked up to Upper Falls after arriving at Johnston Canyon. Bikes were locked to trees and sign posts because the bike rack was full. We didn’t see many cyclists on the road so it was surprising to see so many bikes.
What an experience it is to take in Johnston Canyon without dozens and dozens of people jostling for room to take photos or whatever. We stopped at the Upper Falls but I would have loved to continue on to the Ink Pots.
The ride came in at about 35 kilometres with about 300-metre gain. So much fun. I would love to do this again this year and cycle to Lake Louise and back.
Have you ever been to Johnston Canyon? Have you ever cycled into a hike? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.