It’s hard to explain how excited I was to be done with the mountains yesterday. Downhill is fun. Leaving Banff involved a lot of downhill, on a great little trail running to Canmore, 20km down the road. There was steady bike traffic on this trail, groups out for training rides, solo riders, and more. For the final 5k, someone training for the MS Bike Tour joined me for a chat. I was able to make good time here, as well as on the next section through to Exshaw. And then I arrived at Scott Lake Hill. Even though it was just 5k and 200m, it felt like hell, because I was not ready for it mentally.

Apart from that the ride was uneventful. Google tried to send me down a dirt road coming in to Calgary, but I took an alternate. No real surprise there, Google maps loves dirt roads. Finally, I hit the trail that took me the rest of way in to town, arriving late in the afternoon at my friend Kaj’s place. Tonight’s only goal is to catch up with many of the folks I know in Calgary, get some laundry done, and keep enjoying Alberta Beef. Tomorrow’s destination is unclear, but I will probably go ~150km out of the city, hopefully all downhill!

Today’s distance: 132.1 km

Cumulative distance: 1115.0 km

Today’s climb: 713 m