Day 12 A Day of Rest in the Valley of a Thousand Peaks

We are fortunate to be riding here in the Valley of a Thousand Peaks where everything is dwarfed by the majesty of the mountains.

 

As always, we are accompanied by our tour driver/procurement specialist, unofficial bike mechanic/ all around good guy, Connor.

 

One view of Kicking Horse Mountain Ski Area.  I want to go there, not with a bike, but with skis.

More of the Thousand Peaks that surround us.

 

Men's washroom humor, Canadian style

 

They have red necks in British Columbia too, apparently.

 

 

The Kicking Horse River runs through Golden.  On the right is downtown Golden and a walking bridge ahead, all in the shadow of snow capped peaks.

 

Tomorrow we ride over Kicking Horse Pass to Lake Louise and Banff. The picture below may be a better shot of the ski area at Kicking Horse than the previous one.  REALLY want to ski there!

 

Back at the campsite I am repairing my flat tire from yesterday's ride.  I pumped up the tube in water to find the microscopic hole and used a patch kit.  I had never patched a tube this way before, but most of the other riders had, and they kindly assisted my efforts.

 

Almost every cyclist worked on his/her bike today, getting it ready for tomorrow's challenging ride.  At a minimum, most cleaned and oiled their chains.  Some riders do that maintenance after every long ride, and most rides on this tour are long. Some of our cyclists discovered that their chains had worn out and needed to be replaced.  Part of the game here.....

 

All that activity was a full "rest" day.  We will be back in our saddles tomorrow and heading toward Alberta and more breathtaking scenery.  Come back to read about Day 13!

 

UPDATE:  These photos were captured by another rider.  

The interior of the covered bridge across the Kicking Horse River.  This bridge is the longest freestanding timber framed bridge in Canada. 

 

 

Another spectacular mountain view.

 

 

Curious bear not more than 20 feet from cars.  Just as in Smoky Mountain National Park here in Tennessee, there were many cars stopped to observe the bear.  This fellow was very large, and as such, a bit of a special photo opportunity.