I arrived in Calgary with a week to spare before the Tour Divide kicks off. I wanted to leave a decent buffer in case my bike was delayed & arrived on a different plane or worst case scenario was lost or damaged and I had to sort a replacement!
Luckily these fears were unfounded and despite a last minute plane change rider and bike arrived in Calgary just a couple of hours behind schedule.
Once is checked into the hotel my mission was to pop over to MEC (Mountain Equipment co-op) and collect some bear spray and a water bladder I realised I'd forgotten to pack. MEC is a pretty amazing store that seems to have everything without all the filler that God Outdoors seems to stock, it's all good quality kit.
I had to sign a waiver before I could buy the bear spray and receive a quick lesson in how to deploy it. A sobering moment!
It's about 80 miles from Calgary to Banff and I planned to ride it. Running parallel to the Trans-Canadian Highway is the quieter 1A but it still leaves Calgary as a four lane road, I felt like I was riding along the M25 but after Cochrane it calms right down.
Canadian drivers seem to be much more chilled out than their UK counterparts. Drivers will pass with plenty of room and as the hard shoulder is as wide as a whole UK lane! As the ride progressed the snow-capped mountains drew ever closer. A few of the 'towns' marked on the map were little more than a collection of houses so I decided to stop in Canmore. Banff has reputation for being touristy so Canmore would have enough to keep me occupied without excessive 'tourist tax'
