Steven's Cousin Sasha

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Sasha's Cousin Steven and Team

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

He's #10 if you didn't notice the resemblance

Sasha's Cousin Steven

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Quarterback of the Football Team here with parents Kip and Paula

Sleep Triumphs After a Long Day at the Zoo

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

My Trans Rockies Story

My Race

Stage 1; Panorama to K2 Ranch
Distance; 55 km (34 mi)
Elevation; 2200 m (7217 ft)

I lined up with trepidation after finding that the tough but steady climb from last years start had been swapped with a decision for the race to go right up the snow cat trail. It was clear that this would sort out the hammerheads from the mere mortals before the single track appeared – and so it did. Carrie rode strong and I just rode conservatively, believing that this was not to be the short day advertised in last years race. When we got to the single track, it was great, for about 200 meters…and then it turned into a torturous hike-a-bike with isolated rideble stretches. Carrie had a sore ankle that didn’t make the ratio of bike carrying and pushing any more pleasant. We groveled through and finished in well over 5 hours, and more than a half hour down on the two lead teams in our 80+ mixed division, and also a few minutes behind the third place team, thus knocking us off the podium. We arrived at bike camp and my reward for the day was to find that my full glass jar of grape jam had exploded in my camp bag, and that jelly and glass was distributed through all my possessions. So while everyone else hit the showers and the bike wash, I spent a goodly amount of time doing laundry. I had just enough energy to hear the description of the next day – touted as the most climbing and possibly toughest stage.

Stage 2; K2 Ranch to Nipika Resort
Distance; 74 km (46 mi)
Elevation; 3000 m (9842 ft)

Because we weren’t in the top three of our category we started in the second gate (but near the front). The reason this mattered was that there was going to be about 15km of flat open dirt and even paved terrain before we got to the first of three big climbs for the day. Carrie’s race experience meant that we moved up during the few km of double track at the start of the race. She rode super strong and got us well into the top quarter of teams. Once we hit the flats, we chilled and let some fast flat rolling groups by. When the climging started, Carrie was definitely strong and started drifting up the climb ahead of me while I just tooled along, not feeling great but not feeling horrid. Once again we had a heap of hike-a-bike and it was kicking my arse worse than the prior day. We saw our buddies Mark and Craig at checkpoint 2 and they headed out just before us on the second big climb of the day – which looking up was just a string of hike-a-bikers putting one foot in front of the next, trying not to kick rocks off on the sleep slope. We joined in, but soon found the line stopped and shouts going up and down the mountain as to whether anyone could see any trail markers. Evidently everyone ahead had missed the turn (as had we) because we were so focused on the next step rather than looking to the right for some ribbons in the woods. Adventure racers Mark and Craig were the first to break ranks and start heading off to the right on the precept that they would intercept the actual race route. They were right, and soon everyone started to follow. Alas, some of the strongest riders were now the furthest behind – including all the top pro teams. This made life interesting as they now had to blow by us to make up time. As for Carrie and I, we just kept it steady and were rewarded with easier/fast riding during the last 10km of the day. Carrie paid for all her super strong riding through the day with a near bonk with just a kilometer to go. We had no idea how we finished overall for our category having taken nearly eight hours to complete the stage. As it would turn out, we’d win the stage by sixteen seconds. Alas, while our podium places were recognized, all the times were neutralized because of the route confusion, so all the time we made up was nullified and we were relegated back to our original time deficit of the first day. L


Stage 3; Nipika Resort to Nipika Resort
Distance; 44.2 km (27 mi)
Elevation; 1514 m (4967 ft)

This short staged was billed as a time trial – a first for one of these seven day stage race formats. Riders would be sent off every 20 seconds in order of their times (faster riders first). The top third of the field would go in the afternoon, and since we weren’t in that group based on the first days results, we were relegated to near the top of the second group, starting behind a dozen or so teams. I’ve got to give it to Carrie – she started smoothly hammering right out of the start blocks and we picked off team after team in front of us. I was just hanging on to our teams “diesel engine.” Also, Carrie gave me some great advice about how to more aggressively tackle steep technical downhill. She said its not enough to just get my butt back off the seat….but that my belly button had to actually touch the back of the seat – implying that my butt would nearly drag on the rear tire. Added to this was the observation was that from this position one would never go over the bars and if one had to bail, you could just release the bike in front of you and more or less just shuffle yourself out of harms way. This worked like a charm and I was able to descend steep slippery slopes like never before. Damned fun. Also fun was riding along the several hundred foot drop-offs above the river. Not bad as long as one didn’t look down. Just as we were nearing the two thirds point in the figure 8 course, I felt the back of my bike get laterally soft. Anytime I pushed hard, my read tire rubbed – which was demoralizing. I signaled for Carrie to wait up but when I/we looked there was nothing obvious loose or out of adjustment. The problem persisted and I made a bit stop at the mechanics in the middle of the course, costing us time. All I could communicate was that the bike felt loose and the wheel dragged if I put much pressure on the pedals. Not good. But after Carrie offered to ride the bike for me, I just put my lame ass back on and slogged around the final 15km – which beat me up from trying to compensate for flex in the back end. While only one team passed us, we clearly stopped making time as Carrie had to wait often for me after certain stretches in which the looseness was most pronounced. Alas, shortly after the finish line, someone pointed out that the problem had nothing to do with the suspension system (whew as that would be major). Double alas, the problem was even more major as the carbon fiber chainstay was broken clean through and was un-repairable. Unless I borrowed or bought a bike, my race would be over. I chose the later as the mechanics had a Rocky Mountain in my size right on site. Of course that meant I’d be on a bike I’d never ridden before the next day, but at least we could continue….and we didn’t loose too much time on the time trial.

Stage 4; Nipika Resort to Whiteswan Lake
Distance; 109.7 km (68 mi)
Elevation; 2567 m (8421 ft)

This was built as a long day with a lot of climbing and not too much hike a bike. Carrie started strong again this day and we were further up in the group than we’d been on previous days. We caught glimpses of Morgan and Mathias (who’d been relegated the previous day for getting off-course) and Craig and Mark (the later of whom was having a rough day). I felt “steady as she goes” and the clock just ticked away with us finding us over the top of the two big climbs of the day. We were well ahead of the team directly ahead of us so that made us feel good as we started the long gentle descent to the finish line. The only technical hurdles left were some drainage ditches on the wide open fireroad. We were only 2km from the final check point of the day when Carrie had zoomed by me. My new bike was working well on the technical stuff – better than anything I’d ridden before as I was enjoying a full 4 inches of front and rear travel in my suspension. And I was, for the first time in the race, relaxing and looking around at the spectacular scenery. Which is probably why I completely botched one of the not particularly challenging drainage ditches, and was immediately over my handle bars, out of position to take a rolling tumble, and instead landed cleanly on my right shoulder, busting my clavicle into three piece (a classic butterfly fracture. Carrie was just out of sight and didn’t know, and then happened to bust her crank on a ditch just up the road and couldn’t ride back. There was no doubt in my mind that my race was over as any movement of my shoulder was excruciating. I was very lucky that almost immediately after the fall came a team with first aid skills and then a full on EMT/fireman who even had a mini space blanket to help keep me from going into shock from the cold. It also kept the ants off (because of course on top of busting my bones, I had to land on an ant hill). Folks flagged down a motor bike that had a GPS radio and they wired the coordinated for a helicopter evac, and then zoom, 40 minutes from impact, I was out of there and on the way to a local Canadian hospital. Because this might require surgery and I was an American, they were worried about law suits so it became clear to me that I needed to be braced up and hop a puddle jumper to Vancouver and then the next commercial flight back to SF. By 9.30 the next morn I was in a SF hospital getting xrays and a CT scan. Good news – despite the breaks being bad, the alignment is good, so hopefully no surgery and I’ll be out of this brace in 3-4 weeks.

Carrie did finish the stage when miraculously someone came by the control station with a replacement part for what she broke. And she did get new partners to ride with. How? One of the leaders of the 100+ race crashed badly just back up the road from me was out, leaving his partner in the same position as Carrie. And on the very same day, the lead team in our group cracked so badly that their woman teammate dropped out of the race, leaving her partner in need of some other folks to ride with. Because of the remoteness of the race, you aren’t allowed to ride alone. Also, my understanding is that on the second to last day of the race, the overall pro leading team from Italy also broke their bike and asked if they could use my bike to finish out stage 7. I believe they did, and despite having their own tough day on the final still won the Trans Rockies overall.

I’m glad for everyone who raced – both those that finished and those that dropped out but were super in providing support to everyone else along the way. Hats off to Carrie and everyone who helped make this possible. I learned heaps even if I ended up getting airlifted out due to a lapse of taking a moment to smell the roses.

Before the Carnage

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

New Partners After Losing Teammates

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Mooses of the Trans Rockies

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Jezz "the Man" Looking Strong

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

A Great Narration of the Trans Rockies by SF Adventure Racers Craig and Mark

TransRockies 2008 Mountain Bike Stage Race

It is quite difficult to find the words to describe the Transrockies experience so many come to mind. Beauty, Joy, Misery, Agony, Suffering, Sore, Sick, Wet, Dirty, Elated, Dejected and on and on.

To put this race in terms that might resonate with some of you. 7 Stages, 58,000 feet climbing, 342 miles of technical off road riding. Imagine the camping situation of Wildflower, but you have to break camp before you race the long course at 8 am every day - now do that 7 days in a row with 20x the elevation gain. 300 teams of 2 riders from dozens of different countries.

Other than the notions that this was going to be 'hard', I didn't have many expectations for the race. I wanted to ride to the limits of my ability and face challenging terrain. Little did I know that those boundaries would be stretched farther than I thought possible.

Stage 1; Panorama to K2 Ranch
Distance; 55 km (34 mi)
Elevation; 2200 m (7217 ft)


Mark and I lined up with much enthusiasm for Stage 1 after the long trip to Panorama and the many bike building, bag sorting chores the night before. The sun was shinning and riders from dozens of nations waited anxiously to get going. The gun went off for the parade lap and we set off to gradually, patiently pick our way through the teams ahead of us. Knowing a massive climb leading to singletrack was ahead, we set the goal of moving up as much as possible without breaking my legs in the process. We did well to clear the 'riff raff' during the hour + of climbing that ensued. I was struggling on the climb as was to be expected, but felt OK once we started traversing the singletrack ridge. Our fine weather quickly deteriorated as we crossed steep shale fields. Within minutes we were riding in hail and snow! At the sunny start line, we had elected to travel a bit light on gear (just jackets). As if that wasn't bad enough, Mark sliced a 2.5 hole in his tire requiring a careful, fingers crossed repair job in the snow! We took about 20 minutes to get back sorted out before we continued traversing and descending the mountain. We road well throughout the stage, but realized if this was a 'easy stage' we were in for one hell of a week. We arrived at K2 Ranch to get our first look at tent city. Each evening tents would be erected and available on a first come first serve basis, along with showers and bike washing. We settled in to what would become our daily choirs, tent arrangement, unpacking, bike wash, bike repair, shower followed by evening dinner and next days stage review.


Stage 2; K2 Ranch to Nipika Resort
Distance; 74 km (46 mi)
Elevation; 3000 m (9842 ft)


Waking up crusty and damp in a tent at 6 am knowing that we were soon to be climbing nearly 10k feet was quite difficult. Still in the 'excited to be here' phase, we packed our bags and headed to the start line. Due to our mechanical on stage 1, we were in start group 2 which put us behind 1/3 of the pack at the gun. With a longish jeep road to road section ahead of us, Mark and I drilled it from the gun working our way through the pack like a road race. We managed to bridge to the lead group just in time to start climbing. I was a bit cooked from the chase so I had to insist on a casual pace even though Mark's legs were telling him otherwise. We proceed to climb and/or traverse forever. After aid station 1 we started to see people pushing there bikes up the trail and eventually we were relegated to the same strategy. I started to suffer as the trail got steeper and steeper as unlike Mark as an adventure racer, I haven't spent much time pushing my bike. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse we reached a plateau and saw an ant line of riders with bikes on their shoulders hiking up the steepest rock field you can imagine. We resigned ourselves to getting it done and took our place in line. After about 30 minutes, we started to hear people call down the hill asking if anyone could see a trail marker. Apparently the entire top 1/3 of the race is off course! We discovered with the help of other racers that we had climbed passed the turn off and were torturing ourselves for no good reason (the pros had probably gone an entire hour up the hike-a-bike hill!). We bushwacked through the woods to rediscover the trail amongst the chaos of 100s of confused racers. We then hit some gnarly steep singletrack which I enjoyed which lead to an even gnarlier section of sloppy, wet, creek crossing singletrack. We emerged from the woods to learn the extent of the race chaos....we discovered that we were in the top 30 teams. We decided to keep hitting it in the hopes that we could make up some time from the day before. The pro teams eventually caught us on the run into Nipika. It was actually quite surreal getting passed by the pro who looked effortless as they danced by us. We felt we road a great stage and would easily make up the deficit we created on stage 1. Unfortunately we would later learn that this stage would not count on the General Classification b/c of all the lost riders. While I appreciated the situation, I was a little disappointed as we road very efficiently and had in this tough stage (not too mention that we wasted time lost as well!). Nipika was to be our home for two nights. It is a great eco-lodge built entirely of products found on the property.

Stage 3; Nipika Resort to Nipika Resort
Distance; 44.2 km (27 mi)
Elevation; 1514 m (4967 ft)


Stage 3 was a first for TR: a time trial. Rider were set off at 30 second increments on a shorter course (I should note that this short course still contained more climbing than almost all of our normal training rides). Mark and I both felt good on this stage so we really pushed our limits. We managed to catch all the riders ahead of us which gave us a clear look at the amazing singletrack course. We road the ridgeline of a gorgeous river most of the day descending and climbing through the rocks and trees. I think we were both enjoying ourselves despite the quick pace. We've learned that Mark and I are one of the better singletracking teams in our division so this course suited us well. One of the most memorable moments of the day was coming upon a motocross rider on a steep singletrack descent. We were totally committed to a shoot, when we discovered the Moto rider, we yelled, he crashed and we rifled by him. We finished the day in 9th in our division which was very satisfying. Our morning start afforded us a leisurely afternoon in Nipika and some well earned 'ease' in our daily schedule. Later in the day we learned that our friend Greg had broken his frame. Ever the solution oriented thinker, Greg bought a new Rocky Mountain bicycle to continue the race the next day (more on that later).

Stage 4; Nipika Resort to Whiteswan Lake
Distance; 109.7 km (68 mi)
Elevation; 2567 m (8421 ft)


Stage 4 was the longest stage in KM so we knew we were in for a rough one after our efforts in the TT. We had another very fast start which left Mark feeling a little winded, while I on the other hand was feeling quite spunky. Today's stage was a bit less steep which suited me well and I quite enjoyed the long climbs and river crossings. The team aspect of TransRockies adds and interesting dynamic to each day as it is as important for your partner to feel good as it is for you. While I was struggling to stay with Mark on the first days he was now struggling to stay with me. As good teammates and friends, we just did our best to keep moving and cover this long stage. We cleared the toughest climbs and started a long single/double track descent. At one of the last checkpoints we heard of a bad crash a couple of KM behind us. A little investigation (and the arrival of his teammate, Carrie) led us to learn it was our friend Greg and most likely a broken collarbone. We were totally bummed, but knew he was being as well taken care of as possible (he ended up with a helicopter ride home). We push on through the stage and hit a long road section to the finish. I was pulling hard, but honestly as cracked as Mark was with the long hours of riding. We pulled into a beautiful field and headed for tent city. We discovered a creek behind some trees and decided to soak our weary bodies, before tackling the chores of the day. Whiteswan lake brought a welcome addition to tent city....a local MTB club cooking burgers. Now we could have dinner #1 at 3 pm in prep for dinner #2 at 6 pm! We continued to meet riders from all of the world and developed a crew of bay area riders that we spent most of our time with.


Stage 5; Whiteswan Lake to Elkford
Distance; 88.5 km (56 mi)
Elevation; 2147 m (7043 ft)


We knew from the course overview the night before that Stage 5 would be rough. Almost the same amount of climbing as the day before in 12 less miles. We've learned at this point that what that really means is 'get ready for a big hike-a-bike section. Mark was still feeling a bit dodgy but as always he remained up for the challenge. We hit the course and again for unknown reasons, my legs we magic (despite having picked up a sore throat). I found myself riding many of the sections people were walking which felt great. I think Mark recognized that I was probably going to pay a heavy price for this exuberance, but he let me go anyway. Sure enough we hit the final aid station and got reports of a heavy duty hike-a-bike section in front of us. We shouldered our bikes and got started with the frustrating task at hand. After a LONG time, we finally crested the pass only to be greeted by the 'rock garden'. The rock garden is essentially a descent that is 100% on 6-12 inch rock. There is no possible way to ride other than picking your way on top of 1000s of rocks. While not my idea of a good time, I relished the technical challenge of the section and pointed my Niner downhill. The combination of gravity, big wheel and a little prayer helped me navigate the 5k of rocks. Mark, with a look of shear terror, decided this wasn't his cup of tea and proceed to dismount and run/walk the section. If poor Mark hadn't been tortured enough already after the rock garden we had 10k of technical dirt/rock descending to do. I'm glad I was ahead of Mark as I'm sure he was cursing my name for a good 20 minutes as he picked his way through. We finally hit a fire road into town and knocked out the remaining 10k. It was so hot today that we were both totally fried. Arriving in our first official town, the finish line spread was filled with treats that we hadn't seen all week (gold fish, chips, lemonade, muffins). It was a little bit of a shock to the system to see buildings etc, but the comfort of tent city was just around the corner. As a big bonus we learned we were next to the town pool and we were given free access for a bit of a swim (after finding the requisite mtn. stream to soak in first). We ate dinner in a hockey rink and we greeted by the town mayor. Mark discovered while inspecting my bike that my bottom bracket had frozen and looked at me questioningly as to how I made it all day with cranks that barely turned (I told you I had good legs). I dropped the bike off at the bike shop that traveled with the race to have a new BB install over night.

Stage 6; Elkford to Blairmore
Distance; 102.4 km (64 mi)
Elevation; 2998 m (9835 ft)


Suffice it to say that another long stage was not what the doctor ordered for our weary crew. My sore throat had gotten so bad that I could barely talk to Mark. For some reason my legs were still good, but the voice was gone. I felt bad because I couldn't communicate well with Mark to offer any words of encouragement along the way. It was another hot and long day on the race course. We did our best to keep moving efficiently, but I think we both new this was going to be a rough one. We were greeted with some spectacular views and some amazing river crossing which took the sting off a little bit. We crested one of the longer climbs and started a very fast ridgeline descent. The film helicopter was off to our right with a camera man leaning out of the cockpit. I felt like I was in an MTB video as the copter paralleled our fast descent down the ridge. We hit the final aid station and knew we had another 2000ft of climbing and purportedly hike-a-bike ahead of us. I was feeling pretty good in the legs, but I knew Mark was hating this stage. We continued on as Mark comically stated he needed to soak his feet in the river (I had to admit I had a little of the Canadian hot foot myself!). We found some water for Mark to soak it, but it didn't change the fact that we had a bunch of annoying hike-a-bike to get on with. We slowly made our way through and crossed the finishline with our weakest performance of the week. Despite all the good singletrack in the race, most of our conversations with fellow races was about the unnecessary hike-a-bike sections that seemed to always be present. Its a shame b/c I think the organizers wanted it to be the toughest bike race in the world which took away from the racing aspect and made some stages more like survival stages. Fortunately Blairmore had two things going for it that day. A great soaking river and a pizzeria. Mark made a b-line for the pizzeria after the race and ordered us a cheese pizza. We did a 15 minute soak in the river, then sat on main street eating a pizza! Somehow that Pizza started to change things for the better for Mark.


Stage 7; Blairmore to Fernie
Distance; 78.8 km (49 mi)
Elevation; 2101 m (6893 ft)

Knowing we were on our last stage (and having the boost of yesterday's pizza party), I think both Mark and I was in good spirits despite the growing all over body fatigue (and my cold which had now progressed to a cough). We hit the start line determined to race again. The race started with a climb up a ski resort hill which we fought valiantly up to maintain our position going into the singletrack. We hit a bunch of traffic, but patiently worked our way through the slower singletrackers ahead of us until we had clear trail. We worked well together making sure we were pushing each other as hard as we could in each section. The day had some mentally draining climbs in the middle. At one point I think we were both head down and silent begging for the second aid station to appear. We knew once we hit that section we were blessed with a downhill ride (for the most part) to the finish. We went ballistic down the fire road to find the singletrack and kept the gas on through the first of many sections of 'Fernie' singletrack. For me, hitting the singletrack is like putting gas in the tank so I was ready to rip. We emerged onto another fire road with a group of riders and took a right turn up a hill. Now it is worth noting that when you study the course profile you tend to forget about certain things --- like this damn hill. We started on this hot climb thinking we were almost done not knowing that TR had one more tough as hell climb for us. Probably inconsequential compared to early climbs this one just seemed particularly nasty. We finally made it to the top where local told us that we only had 6k to go and it was all singletrack. Boy they weren't kidding, we hit one of the best, technical singletrack descents I've ridden. It took everything I had to navigate the turns, trees, roots and drop offs they were throwing at me. I finally washed out and crashed lightly which gave Mark a good laugh since I'd stayed upright all week previously. We made it through the track and rolled into downtown Fernie to a heros welcome. We had just finished the TransRockies! We had a good stage and placed 16 in our category and moved up 6 spots on the GC to finish 24th overall. We enjoyed snacks, drinks and a basket of fries Mark bought before landing a ride with all our gear to our hotel. Again, we found a great river for a soak then enjoyed a late afternoon of Olympics viewing on our first beds in a week!


It was an incredible experience with many highs and lows. I enjoyed the race format and organization, but felt they should have made better choices on the route to avoid some of the hike-a-bike. I'd recommend the race format, but would advice looking into TransAlsp or BC bike race as you stay in hotel and you actually ride the course!

Craig

PICS:

http://www.me.com/gallery/#100024

http://www.flickr.com/photos/91469892@N00/sets/72157606824302599/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dolface/sets/72157606800987689/

Carrie & Greg Race Start

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Trans Rockies Survivors

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Craig, Carrie and Mark Mid Week

Busted Collar Bone Stage 4

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Busted Collar Bone Stage 4

Sorry, I've been out of range. But the short of it is that I busted my collar bone after doing an end-over. More details soon. Am back in the U.S. recovering

Best Mates Scott and Neal

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Scott Sets Grant Up to Fake a Bear Attack

Jezz Loses and Finds a Leg on a Prior Race

Scott and Carrie Yucking it Up

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Injuries on the Downhill Course Before the Race Even Starts!

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Before the Hurt Begins

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Morgan Showing How its Done on the Single Track

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Out for a Warm-Up Ride from Panorama Village on the Day Before Registration

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Good group from Germany, Quebec, Aussie, UK, and of course.... the Bay Area

Carrie Looking Buff for the Camera and Quebec Guide

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

The Realization: 18K Meters of Climbing not 9.7K

Scott, Andy, and George Discuss the Climbing for the Trans Rockies

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Last years race had 9700 meters of climbing. For this year, they had not released the course and the new figures. I feel there must be a misprint because the new total as shown books in at 18K plus. Yikes! Perhaps its a misprint. They wouldn't really increase the climbing by 80%, or would they?

No Twitter for Hitler

Twitter Beaten to the Punch

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

And here I thought Jack had an original idea when he invented Twitter less than two years ago.

The Hardcore Folks Arrive

Went out for a warm-up ride today with a collection of early arrivals. One from Oakland, then Germany, Quebec, two Aussies, and three Brits. Everyone with a preety good idea of the ordeal ahead. A good collection of amputees as well which always makes for a good kick in the pants when you think you're tackling something tough. I love seeing folks double down when there's adversity. And have met two folks who've just lost their ride partners to accidents. So maybe they'll hook up now.

Oh, and there are lots of good recommendations on the bike culture, including one for BikeSnobNYC:

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/

2008 Trans Rockies Stages

1 August 10 Panorama K2 Ranch 52.3 km 2478 m
2 August 11 K2 Ranch Nipika Resort 73.7 km 3813 m
3 August 12 Nipika Resort Nipika Resort 44.2 km 1514 m
4 August 13 Nipika Resort Whiteswan Lake 109.7 km 2567 m
5 August 14 Whiteswan Lake Elkford 88.5 km 2147 m
6 August 15 Elkford Crowsnest Pass 102.4 km 2998 m
7 August 16 Crowsnest Pass Fernie 78.8 km 2101 m

Trans Rockies: 553 km 9788 m vertical

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Deer at the Door Step in Panorama Village

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Carrie Arrives for a Warm-Up Ride in Banff

Slem After a Latte on Lake Louise

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Anyone Seen A Glacier Around Here?

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

The Fairmont on the Far End of Lake Louise

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Glaciers Above Lake Louise in Alberta

En Route to the Glaciers Above Lake Louise

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Sunset at the Lake Louise Glaciers

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd

Hay Bales Around the Calgary Airport

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Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd