Speaking to first time bikepacker James Pearson

 With bikepacking and adventure riding becoming increasingly popular, we thought we’d ask a recent convert what it was that attracted them away from the trail centres…

Hi there, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is James Pearson, I’m (whisper it) 40 years old, and live in rural part of Norfolk, just south of Norwich.

What’s your cycling experience so far?

I’ve enjoyed bikes from a young age, having had a plethora of examples through my childhood; dabbling with BMX’s, and of course in the early 90s a very fluorescent green, yellow & orange mountain bike and a steel (natch) Raleigh 10 speed Racer to name but a few.

The last two years have seen me riding more seriously, usually road bike sportives in the summer and then XC mountain biking in the winter. To keep my fitness levels up I also commute 20 miles,  3-4 days a week and aim to get a decent ride in at the weekend, and doing the Strava Gran Fondo is a must!

Why do you want to try bike packing?

Well, I love biking and I enjoy camping, it seems a natural next step to combine them, right!?

What are you most looking forward to?

Wild camping, the freedom of being surrounded by nothingness (unplugging from the norm, I work in IT!) and exploring new places.

What do you see as the biggest challenge?

Keeping warm in harsh conditions and having (carrying!) enough food for my massive appetite!

Tell us about your bike:

I have a choice of two suitable bikes, either a Whyte MTB hardtail with larger nobblier tyres for the rougher stuff.

Alternatively I have a lovely bright red Genesis Datum Adventure/Gravel/CX bike that will be quicker on the roads, but happy enough for some light off-road duties as long as it is not too wet!

What other kit choices have you made?

I’ve made a really big list, mostly consisting of Alpkit gear. My first purchase arrived today and its a very large Podsacs saddle bag that will hold plenty. I’m also looking to order a top tube bag and handlebar bag… and then all the gear to fit inside!

Where next for you, either concrete plans or dreaming?

After seeing it on here my first first bikepacking trip is going to be the Barebones Cafe Racer event in January. The conditions of a Welsh Winter bivi could be a real baptism of fire (rain/sleet?!) I really want to do some Bothy Touring in Wales and Scotland too. Of the various established routes I also really want to do the Coast 2 Coast ride. Lets see how I fare in Wales first!

 

The Rovaniemei 66: racing Fatbikes in the Arctic Circle!

 Rovaniemi in Finland is most famous for being the “Official home of Santa” . It is also steadily gaining a reputation as one of the premier locations for fat bike racing. Thanks to polar guide Alex Casanovas, each February this small town on the edge of the Arctic circle, hosts a Winter Ultra race series.

A winter wonderland awaits on the Rovaniemi 66

The inaugural Rovaniemi 150 (km) was organised so European riders could qualify for the legendary Iditasport race in a European event. Much more convenient than travelling to the USA for a qualifier. Alex has subsequently expanded the choices with 66km and 300km races for those finding 150km a little too far, or not far enough!

The Rovaniemi 66 provides an excellent introduction to fatbike racing, particularly for those of us for whom proper winter conditions are almost a memory. The route itself illustrates how far removed the Finnish environment is from anything you might experience in the UK. Most of the ride takes place on frozen rivers or lakes!

Would you like Ice with that?

While Alex “clears” the path for the race, the 66 could probably be followed without too much difficulty by non racers.

Aside from about 700m of off piste as you leave the forest to ride the length of Sinettäjärvi Lake, the trail is as easy to ride as any snowy trail can be.

You like maps? You’ll get maps.

The route starts close to the Town Centre where you take the almost surreal step of riding under the bridge. For the rest of the race there are only three road crossings.

Give Me Shelter

You pass the marvellous shelter at Porohovi after 10km. I recommend riding another 40km and stopping on the return leg though!

The race is held in February. Expect sunrise at around 8:00 and sunset at 16:30. Lights are recommended at all times. Not just because of the short day. Frozen waterways, are very popular with snowmobile riders who travel significantly faster than a fat bike!

For more information on the event, please visit the official website at: www.rovaniemi150.com/66

How about this for a winners trophy?

Check the route on komoot

First look at Wild cycling by Chris Sidwells: UK gravel and adventure route book

 

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Wild Cycling by Chris Sidwells

I got word yesterday that there was a new guide book that would appeal to me, Wild Cycling by Chris Sidwells. Not only that, but it was on offer, and who doesn’t love a bargain? Heading over to Amazon I saw that it was available for a mere £4 versus its RRP of £12.99! Seeing as £4 doesn’t get you a magazine these days I ordered it without further ado.

As it only dropped through the letterbox today, this will just be a quick look at what it offers.

A quick flick through the images shows a clear theme, these are rides for cyclocross/gravel/adventure road bikes. The Wild in the title refers to how out there the rides are, rather than their technical difficulty.

There are 50 rides listed which are grouped in regions, South & East, South & West, Wales, Midlands, North, North-East, North-West, and finally Scotland. With between 5 and 10 rides per region you shouldn’t have to travel too far to experience a route.

Each ride has an intro alongside a general location map and details to help you find the start. There are also simple maps showing the suggested direction of travel and features you might encounter and an elevation chart that will either inspire or cause anxiety! I’ll report back when I’ve had a chance to read the book, and hopefully try out one of the routes!

 Order form Amazon 

Epic ride guide: The Bearbones 200 Bikepacking race

 The Bear Bones 200 is not so much a route as a concept. Since it’s inception in 2011, the BB 200 has used five different routes, what they’ve all had in common was being a single loop of just over 200KM and starting in Llanbrymair in Powys.

Expect a lot of this on the BB200 

The brainchild of Stu Wright (the man behind Forest Freeride and the Bear Bones bikepacking forum) the BB200 has a simple premise, complete the course in under 24hrs to earn a black badge with blue and green badges as consolation for taking progressively longer time to finish. So it’s simple, ride around at an 8.5kph average and collect your badge with a smile on your face, right? Wrong!

The first clue you might be underestimating the challenge is in the event details, as a sleeping bag and bivi bag are mandatory equipment and the FAQs state that not all the terrain will be able to be ridden……

So what can you expect then? There’s always a warm welcome at the start from Stu and Dee and a cuppa to prepare you for the off. Once on the route you can expect to experience every kind of terrain that Mid-Wales and the Cambrian Mountains can offer, and it’s surprising just how welcome a brief respite from pushing (up and down sometimes!) a quick stretch of fire road or tarmac can be! Outside of the Scottish Highlands Mid-Wales can stake a claim as one of the most remote feeling places in UK. It’s not uncommon that the majority of people you meet on the route are your fellow riders.

BB200 Finisher badges

While 2014 has passed Bear Bones 200 Folklore as being difficult, even by the event’s standards, Stu can usually be relied upon to create a route that just stays on the right side of enjoyable. It might be that it takes a few hours to register, but whatever people say on the day, the BB200 continues to sell out each year!

So why do it? It’s a significant step up from a 24hr XC race as the course is a single loop so there’s no passing a pit and grabbing more supplies, you also don’t get the chance to “learn your lines” as you might on a closed course event. As hinted at earlier, the Cambrian Mountains make for a stunning setting that really feels like an adventure to ride through, especially with 4-5000 metres of height gain over 200km! The internet is full of tales of amazing rides, the problem being that The Real World© makes jetting off to South America for a month, if you want to challenge yourself and just have a weekend to do it in, the Bear Bones 200 won’t leave you feeling short changed!

Review: Exposure Flash & Flare bike lights

 

Flash & Flare with mounts and charger

The Flash and Flare have been a staple of the Exposure range for some years now. In fact, I can’t quite remember when I bought my set, sometime in late 2012 or early 2013 and they weren’t a new release then! So this is a review of an item tested over at least four years! I was for a while an advocate of those bargain Cree LED lights that are all over eBay, you know, a claimed 7000 lumens and with a worrying name with fire in it. It was a 120km winter ride and a failing cheapo light that led me to try Exposure and see whether the higher RRP was justified over an eBay special.

The ride was an 80 mile loop taking in Tunstall and the bridleways of the Sandlings on the Suffolk Coast, and being November lights were an essential. I was equipped with my Chinese specials and James had a Flash & Flare and a Joystick, at the time a whopping 4-500 lumens?

It was here I had my rude awakening. Firstly eBay lumens are often wildly over estimated, if you are lucky they are based on the theoretical maximum an LED might manage in a lab in ideal conditions, at worst they are a blatant lie. Secondly, there is a difference in quality  versus quantity. My eBay specials might actually have been brighter the light pattern just scattered every where. The truth was, despite modest lumens the Exposure lights just did a better a job of lighting the way, kind of the whole point really!

So back to the flash and flare. I opted for the rechargeable set, more expensive initially, but having rechargeable batteries means there is no need to “save” the batteries and the type used aren’t all that common to buy spares. There is also that whole environment thing too. In the box is a quick start guide, both lights, a pair of batteries and the plug/charger unit. In 2013 this cost in excess of £60 and I’m pleased to report that at the last check the same set will now only cost £50 albeit on clearance. This seems to be because the proprietary charger plug has now been replaced with a USB cable. No great loss as I expect most households/workplaces will have a number of USB chargers to hand. Additionally Exposure also offer the functionally similar Trace and TraceR  feature built in batteries and micro-USB charging ports.

In use the lights can be a bit fiddly to operate, but you soon learn the knack of twisting the light head to operate them and alternate between flash and static beam. For such small lights they pack an amazing punch. While primarily for being seen you could almost use the flare to light your way. To aid your being noticed the twisting section is translucent so allows for some sideways illumination as well. The flare can spin in its mount but the flare slots into a notch in its mount and stays put. Despite use on some very rough trails neither light has ever been ejected. Run-times are similarly impressive, even now after 4 years of use the batteries still give a useful light over a winter dusk until dawn night ride.

Along the way they have however needed some TLC,  such as a light scrub of the terminals and a dab of grease to keep corrosion at bay and stretching the spring that supports the battery. I believe it was the flash that also required a new o-ring, but all in all not much effort for the hours of use they have provided, unlike the eBay specials that have long since been consigned to the bin. The image below shows mine after four years of use. The Flash is a bit grubby but you can see where a succession of bike-packing seat packs have worn flats onto the alloy body of the Flare!

Four years later….

In summary then, highly recommended if you need reliable, bright and resilient I’m here lights and you don’t mind investing for the future. Should these ever let me down then I’ll be sure to replace them with a Trace/TracerR combo or whatever Exposure are producing then!

After the divide: Coping with riding after the Tour Divide

 

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It’s been a long while since I’ve blogged, but having recently finished The London-Edinburgh-London Audax I thought it was time to recount on what I’ve been up to and how my cycling habits have changed.

Turn back the clock a year or so and I’d just about got over my Tour Divide comedown, re-acclimatised with normality, had a thousand photos and crazy stories to tell and… nothing. I tried typing up my ideas but had trouble motivating myself and recounting the whole experience just made me long to be out there doing it all again.

How can any cycling event ever compete with the feeling of the Tour Divide?

Simply put, the Tour Divide was simply fantastic, nothing to worry about apart from getting on my bike and riding as far as I could each day and therein lies the rub… arriving back in Suffolk to traipse the same old trails when you’ve been riding a fresh century each day is a bit of a disappointment.

Still, there was the Winter XC Series to look forwards too, right? Really, 4 hours of lapping the same 4-5 miles of forest. No thanks.

Looking through the calendar of local events in the area didn’t inspire me either, after several years of doing the same old ‘race round a country estate or commercial forest for 24 hours’ MTB endurance thing, I’ve grown totally bored of it.

So, how do I get motivated to do some longer rides, see new places and reignite that spark? Turn to skinnier tyres!

I started to look into the secretive world of the Audax. The appeal was obvious, long rides, cheap entry fees and no doing short laps over and over…

The all important Brevet card

My Pinnacle Arkose by now has transformed from a reluctant purchase into the bike I enjoy riding most. I don’t feel like I’m ruining it like I do my “nice” road bike and it makes my Salsa Fargo very sluggish. Paired with two wheelsets, one with WTB Nano 40cs and the other with Panracer Gravel King 32c slicks, it’s 90% as good as anything you’ll need here in Suffolk.

And with a pair of Crudracer Mk3 mudguards fitted I pressed the Arkose into service in January at my first ever Audax, The New Year QE2 100k starting from Swaffham in Norfolk.

For those unfamiliar with Audax events the long of short of it is that you ride a set route within a predifined time limit and use a Brevet card to record evidence that you have visited a series of controls. What could be better, a bike ride where you collect stickers!?

Langham Dome, a restored WW2 Anti-Aircraft gunner training site

Since then I’ve ridden the Norfolk Special 200, the National 400 and the biggie, London-Edinburgh-London a 1440k ride with a 117 hr limit, that deserves a blog all of its own…

Review: Rapha Brevet Bib-Shorts

 It’s Summer 2015 and I finished the Bontrager 24/12 24hr (now Pivot 24/12) Solo in ninth-place. The second half of the race had been *awful* with constant rain and the resulting mud. I was thrilled to finish, get a top ten and, in my new DHB Aeron Bibs, finally end a long ride without any issues….down there.

Fast forward a year and I’ve got the nod to do the Tour Divide. Amongst the advice I received was “Take two pairs of shorts, of differing brands so if you get a sore spot a change won’t rub in the same place” and “Get some Rapha shorts”.

I’ll admit that as a predominantly off-road rider Rapha didn’t feature heavily on my radar, and also because of how much their products cost. If my DHBs are fine for 24hrs, how can spending 3x their cost be worth it? The same person that told me to buy Rapha also said they’d been put off by the price but the strength of the recommendation was such they relented, I was about to do the same! The Rapha Brevet range had recently been released and promised comfort for the longest rides. As I seemed to be spending a fortune getting to Banff, splashing out on an item I’d wear 18hrs a day for 3 weeks didn’t seem so extravagant.

On the divide I wore the Rapha Brevet shorts from Banff for about 500 miles through Alberta, BC and Montana over the course of a few days, despite the distance, terrain and horrific weather I was still perfectly comfortable. I switched into my trusty DHB shorts and set off from Wise River to Lima, 140 miles away. After 100 miles I was in agony and barely able to remain seated. This severely slowed my pace and I rolled into Lima just as all the resupply options closed, not a boost for morale! I decided to throw caution and hygiene to the wind and put the Brevet shorts back on and see if things improved. To cut a long story short, they did. It was like the previous day’s torture never happened. From there forwards I was converted.

Back into the world of normal reviews I should add that the Rapha Brevet shorts I own are the original version and there is now a revised Mk2 short, I’d hope they were just as good. Rationalising a £180 pair of shorts will be difficult for many, but when you’ve literally spent thousands to get yourself to the Grand Depart It can make sense. If you’re stuck in the middle of the Great Basin in Wyoming having saved money on shorts but not getting to the end would be a false economy. I expect another few days of DHB induced agony and I doubt I’d have made it to Antelope Wells.

The material for the main body of the shorts is incredibly stretchy, they have a difficult to explain way of feeling supportive but not restrictive. The pad is obviously the cornerstone of the comfort and it manages to be comfortable without being excessively thick. It is also perforated to enable quick drying after an overnight wash, something that I did a lot of having consigned my DHBs to Room 101. Design wise they are simple black shorts but the black logos and stripe are retro-reflective. The mesh bib straps don’t cut into your shoulders or interfere with your HRM strap. Despite covering 2500 miles in 3 weeks and being washed in motel sinks (with the free soap!) the shorts are still presentable with no loose seams or excessive pilling.

In summary then, look beyond the gritty monochrome images of suffering on Rapha.cc and treat yourself to a pair. When someone says “How much?” just remember my anecdote from paragraph 3!

 

I can't quite put my finger on it...

I managed to squeeze a 300km Audax in the last weekend of Summer before heading back to work. As I rolled in late at night all I had done to keep warm was put on a windproof.

Over the course of the next week's commuting it was like the Summer was flicked off like a switch and it had got COLD. Ok, not arctic but Summer gloves no longer cut it.

After the demise of my Polaris windproof gloves I was left with Summer vented gloves or chunky winter ones. Looking for a happy medium I heard about the Galibier.cc Roubaix gloves which seemed to fit the bill and only £16 delivered.

Roubaix of course means fleece-backed lycra and the white stripes are in silicone rubber else there'd be a shortage of grip. The other feature that sold them to me is the longer cuff, gaps between jackets and gloves are a pet hate of mine! 

They got their first run out today and of course there was an upturn in the temperature but first impressions are good and the silicone pattern provides plenty of grip on the brake levers.

I'll report back once they've seen a bit more action!

Jumping on the gravel bandwagon!

 

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I’ll be the first to admit I love a good niche. Fatbikes, yep had a few. Plus bikes, yep, had one. Alt-bars, yeah, use those, and so on. Gravel bikes (All-road, Adventure-road, etc) are currently all the rage, so there was little chance I was going to let this one go by…

I’d managed to resist buying a Gravel bike, mainly as the focus of a my attention (and wallet!) for the last 12 months had been the Tour Divide. My first Gravel event was the inaugural Dirty Reiver: DR200 #notarace which was a good opportunity to try out my Tour Divide bike on a decent length ride in some hills. The next time around I swore I’d be on a 700 x 40c rather than 700 x 65c bike!

An opportunity arose when James of this very parish decided to treat himself to a new Specialized Sequoia which at the time was putting the various media channels into a frenzy which meant his trusty Arkose 4 was up for grabs.

I’ll be the first to admit I had trouble getting excited about the Arkose, the general picture painted online was of it being competent, steady, reliable, you know, just a bit… boring. Still, it seemed a good deal and the 105 Hydro groupset might lend itself to a transplant onto a more exciting frame later on.

Our first ride out together was 100k around Cambridgeshire on a mixed-route devised by James and I was hooked.

Off to The Reiver

James had seen my pretty pictures from the DR200 and we’re always looking for an excuse to pack the van and go somewhere new so we decided that the Gravel Rocks DR200 training weekend would be worth an outing.

Having been held in October 2016 it’s too long ago to go into detail but it was a fun packed weekend, the opportunity to ride with Mike Hall, and listen to his excellent talk being all the more poignant now. The scenery and terrain in Kielder Forest having as close an “out there” TD feel as I was going to get in a brief weekend away from Suffolk!

The DR200 itself, in the subsequent April was a hard, but rewarding outing. Yeah, it’s #notarace but nobody was really hanging about. I must admit to not having put in as much training as I had for the previous year so I was happy being within 20 minutes of my 2016 time. Riding the Arkose on 40c Nanos vs my TD set-up I should have been quicker but hey, that’s the price of taking it easy!

Ride guide: The Peddars Way

 Living in East Anglia you have to accept the trails you’ve got, there are no Alpine-style passes to revel in so you’d better like forests and farmland bridleways! This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you can cover a lot of miles in a day and get to see a lot. The counties of Suffolk and Norfolk have a lot of rights of way that run along farm access roads. If you wanted to glamorise these trails, you’d say they’re the UK’s answer to America’s gravel roads. Perfect for a little gravel grinding!

James and I hatched a plan to take in the Icknield way, Peddars Way and Harling drove. This would give us a 100+ mile ride and opportunities to cut short if necessary.

After a week of unending rain, the weather on the day was perfect, I was going to be riding my Surly Krampus for the first ever time so I was praying for dry conditions as everyone says Knards are hopeless in the gloop.

James would be on pretty much the polar opposite bike; a Pinnacle Arkose Gravel bike/Adventure Road/Gnarmac/Insert cliche here. It would be interesting to see how the bikes compared along the way.

Our ride started near Newmarket and took us along the Icknield way through the Kings Forest to the start of the Peddars way near Knettishall.

The Icknield way is said to be one of the oldest established routes in England, pre-dating the arrival of the Romans, it’s name is thought to be derived from The Iceni, the dominant East Anglian tribe led by Boadicea.

The settling in period for the Krampus was over in a flash. With 13/12psi Rear and Front respectively in the Knard/Hugo combo and 710 bars in 90mm stem everything fell perfectly into place. The Krampus was a leap of faith, would 29+ wheels be a happy medium between full-fat and regular wheels or would it just be too lardy?

Our first stop was at Castle Acre for a cuppa at the Church Gate Cafe (sadly this cafe has now closed, but there is still the Ostrich Inn a few doors down) and a chance to discuss how 29×3 had faired compared to 700×40.

Church Gate Tea rooms, Castle Acre

The chat was short-lived as we were plagued by wasps, but the consensus was that there was no surprise who was faster on tarmac but that the Krampus excelled on stuttery trails and sandy tracks. When pulling away the plus wheels do initially feel reluctant but as long as you can keep momentum its barely noticeable on the move.

Rolling into Holme-next-the-sea after 70 miles of riding is a bit of anti-climax, the Peddars Way fizzles out along a residential road, a quick dog leg, through a golf course before you finally see the vast expanse of beach and the sea. No time to take in the view, this was just the half way point and Summer’s long evenings were a thing of the past.

Beach reached.

70 miles back can feel a bit daunting but the Krampus still had that “new-bike” aurora that gives you more energy than you’d normally have. Having only ever ridden this route once before, it too still had novelty value and I vowed to make sure we stopped to have a look at what we were riding past on the return.

Cluniac Priory, Castle Acre

 

Despite being called Castle Acre the priory is probably the most obvious of the village’s ruins. Both were the work of William de Warenne and his son who were granted the land by William the Conquerer (two weeks ago I was riding in Falaise, his birthplace!). The castle itself was built on the remains of a Roman encampment.

We made good progress to Swaffham were the past meets the present with a bump. Giant wind turbines have taken the place of windmills in taking advantage of the area’s natural draughts! It’s also home to a conveniently sited McDonalds!

Swaffham at sunset

On leaving the Golden Arches it became necessary to light up so that’s it for photos. We planned to deviate from our original route at Shadwell crossing and leave the Peddars Way for the Harling Drove and return via Santon Downham and Cavenham Heath.

Harling drove, as the name implies was once a major route for cattle being taken to pasture or market. It makes for a easily navigable gravel route. The downside is that it can be popular with fly-tippers and others who wish to carry out their activities away from prying eyes. As it was we only came across one illicit barbecue and there had been no fresh deposits of old plaster, ceiling tiles or half empty paint pots. There was the beginning of some light rain and the Knards started becoming just a bit squirmy…

Crossing Cavenham Heath this squirminess, along with general fatigue got the better of me and I managed to dump myself into a muddy puddle. While I wasn’t far off a sense of humour failure the surroundings made up for it. The heath is an oasis of natural habitat in which plantations of commercial forest and arable farming, so common in the Brecks, are absent. Apart from some suitably rustic sheep and the trail we followed you can be hard pressed to find evidence of humans for as far as you can see.

Arriving at the road that passes under the A14 I knew that it was just a quick tarmac burst before reaching the van and heading home. James and I had both planned for an easier option than the events we had planned but had still challenged ourselves and learnt that there is no single “right bike” for the route. I felt a little regret in not going to Wales but similarly I rode relatively close to home and took in plenty of sights, sounds and smells that were new to me. Already plans are afoot to see if the “out and back” nature of the ride can be modified into more of a loop to increase the amount of fresh ground covered.

Map & GPS

My Tour Divide 2016 (Yeah, I know what a slacker...)

Oh man, the Tour Divide. What a ride, a dream come true, taking part in the legend and all that. I had great plans to write up my experiences and a couple of technical cock-ups put paid to a detailed account. 12 months on I still have my notes here sat gathering dust so I'll commit them to a blog, they'll be disjointed but what the heck.

T-7 Friday 3rd June 2016
Flew West-Jet into Calgary, the original plane was grounded so I arrived via stand-ins Omni, could have put me onto a Dakota with a folding chair and I'd have been happy. I'm off to Canada baby! :)

Airport to Motel transfer

It was to be the last flight for my trusty Salsa Fargo cardboard box as I dumped it without ceremony in a Calgary Motel dumpster. Popped into MEC to buy bearspray and endured the obligatory training and signed the waiver. Can't remember if it was to say that I wouldn't spray humans with it or I wouldn't sue if I got eaten by a bear.

Bears weigh heavy on my mind as I pop into Tim Horton's for a coffee and snack...a bear claw.

A bear claw, to feed my body and my paranoia

T-6 Saturday 4th June 2016
Ah, a 5.30 am start and time to put the bike together and breakfast at 7am. Iced water in my bottles and off we go up the 1A towards Banff.
Leaving Calgary is a right faff, the bike paths don't follow the 1A so I say sod it and join the freeway and hug the shoulder. It's now Smokey Bears I expect to run into as surely I shouldn't be riding my bike up here....

Road's calmed down a bit

To relieve the boredom of the freeway I divert into the the Glenbow Lake park and crucnch some gravel to Cochrane via Glen Eagles (Yes, with it's own golf course). The Garmin craps out in Cochrane after I've ridden about 26 miles, Lord no, please don't let this be the theme for the next three weeks!

Stopped at one of the oldest churches in Canada for a bit of shade and to take a few snaps. Getting a real Little House on the Prairie vibe.

It's 80 miles from Calgary to Banff and the emptiness of Canada is soon driven home, past Cochrane I find one Gas Station to buy snacks before arriving in Canmore. It's also a quick lesson in North American cuisine, bigger is better and there's no such thing as too much of a good thing.

90% Mystery meat sandwich

I decided that Canmore would be my base before the TD kick-off, if for no other reason that it was waaaay cheaper than staying in Banff. I find myself a reasonably cheap cabin to lodge in and enjoy the strolls into town playing gopher spotting.

As common as pigeons on a UK high street

Everyone loves ice cream

As suggested by Gabes I seek out some Poutine. Chips, gravy, cheese and bacon, what's not to like?!

T-5 Sunday 5th June 2016

Starbucks has become my Canmore eatery of choice. The staff seem baffled by my request for a pain au chocolat and insist it's a chocolate croissant. Whatev's, the wifi is much better here than in McDonalds.

Poutine from Wendy's-very authentic I expect

T-4 6th June 2016

I move from downtown Canmore into Harvie Heights, even by cabin standards it's rustic. Still it's got a big TV and a variety of terrible TV channels to keep me amused.

As the weather looked good I decided that I ought to hit some gentle trails, enough to be fun but not so much that I break myself or the bike before the Grand Depart.

The ride up to Goat Creek was dusty as hell, I ask a chap for directions and it turns out he's from Halesworth, crazy huh. We ride into Banff together and I tell him about how Suffolk has evolved since he emigrated.

T-3/T-2 7th and 8th June 2016
Mainly mooched about town and enjoyed the river walk in Canmore.

So goodbye Canmore, next stop Banff and TD butterflies!