Rocky Mountain High -- Calgary Low?

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  Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Hi Folks! Time is rolling on and we've cut our mileage down so that we don't have twitchy legs on the days coming home. We took a tour bus from Jasper to Banff on the 22nd to see the Icefields Parkway from a tourist's eye. After being on the bikes for so long we found that we couldn't quite get the views from the bus that we were used to, but it was good because we had a tour guide giving us a running commentary as we went. They stopped at Peyto Lake, where we hadn't been, and it was gorgeous. The hostel at Castle Mountain (where we wanted to be dropped off) was full so we carried on to Banff, but the hostel there was full too. We cycled around looking for a bed, and 6 miles later we found Heidi's B&B. We were treated really well - muffins and tea on arrival and then a big continental breakfast in our room in the morning. We were going to go up Sulphur Mountain, for a good view over Banff, but it was too cloudy. Heidi gave us tickets for the Hot Springs so we soaked in the warmth of the pool (39c). Then the rain came but we managed to hide from the worst of it. Next day we did the scenic route around Banff, Minnewanka Lake and Two Jacks Lake before we headed to Canmore. Stayed in the 'Alpine Club Of Canada' hostel for the next 2 nights. Feeling fit Eoin decided that we should go a hike up Grotto Mountain at the back of the hostel. It was sooo steep! 3 hours later we were sitting on a ridge taking in a completely different 360 view of the Rockies. We weren't at the top, but we felt we'd gone far enough in our sandals. Coming back down was a killer on the knees, quads and hips. It certainly tired us out. Before leaving the next day, we cycled downtown and wandered along the main street stopping at the bike shop. Coming out we bumped into an Irishman (Kevin, and his family) that we met in Banff 3 days earlier. He's a cyclist too and in training for a 6 day event in August. (He's madder than us!) We had a good blether and a cuppa with them. Heading to Cochrane was further than we thought (60 miles), with thighs screaming from the climb. It was really strange leaving the Rockies behind and riding along open, rolling hills. Arriving in Cochrane we found that all the Motels were full-up but we were given a phone number for a B&B. It was called Rocky Mountain View and it lived up to it's name. We had gorgeous views from our bedroom window. Our landlady 'Tina' was fantastic too. Very kind, giving us cups of tea, washing our clothes and cream for Rosie's bites. Shared the breakfast table with Roman and Mary who we got on with really well. Mary even helped Rosie find a nice outfit for a family wedding in August. 4,000 miles on, we're now in Calgary taking things easy until we go home. We've got very mixed emotions now that we're in the final stages of our adventure. Where has the time gone to? Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

PS Thank you Mary, Eoin loves the dress.

PPS Happy Birthday James, hope you have a good one.

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