We caught our breath and headed for the hotel overlooking Lake Louise, it had taken 2.5 hours! Despite the challenge of cycling, we were pleased we had. The car parks were full and the lake was heaving with tourists.
The history of the cycle track dates back to the late 19th century. Travellers would take a month to sail to the east coast of Canada, many days travelling across the country by train before arriving at Lake Louise. The final step was the tram ride up to the Lake – we had retraced the steps of many travellers before us.
Lake Louise is the highest settlement in Canada, about 1800m above sea level. By the time we arrived at the lake, we were 2k above sea level. No wonder we were hot, sticky and a little bit smelly. Despite this, we approached the concierge with confidence and were directed to the hotel’s cycle parking. More uphill as we negotiated ramps in the spiral car park. Then there was a mad dash to buy deodorant to make ourselves more socially acceptable!
We were served by Dan, a Canadian with an Irish father and mother from Manchester, who’s very excited by his first trip to the UK in November.
Afternoon tea overlooking the lake was civilised, however whipped cream in place of clotted cream was disappointing.
John and Matt were particularly taken with the self serve dessert buffet..
The ride back took a fraction of the time, downhill all the way, woohoo! John and Matt were off like demented things while Kim was on the brakes all the way – there were some steep drops down the side.
We dropped the bikes off and Kim had strong words with the owner, re-defining flat cycling for him! He awarded her ‘Hero of the Day’ and gave her a prize to shut her up and get her out of the shop….
braysabroad 