Argh, is anyone else planning to race next year and getting really itchy feet right now?  It doesn't help that I live just 20km away from Banff - the start of the TD is RIGHT THERE.  Surely no-one at work will notice if I disappear for a few weeks?  And my family probably won't mind... I'll just start loading up my bike and sneak out the door this evening perhaps.

Looks like there's a new wildfire in.. Banff?! No idea if it's anywhere near the route.

It's way up near the northern boundary of the National Park, nowhere near the start of the route - one fire they don't have to worry about!

You could also try warmshowers.com - basically couch surfing for cycle tourists.

Woohoo, go Kristian! Awesome to hear that call in after the last one.

Seems early for a sneak attack, but who knows?

It looks like Alex really was stopped in Butte; his Spot has started updating again and he's on the move.  Really curious to see where Jefe will be when his Spot updates next!

And good work to all battling through the cold and rain, you're amazing!

I'm pretty sure that anyone who turns up to the start with any kind of bike or gear can't be said to be a purist.  You need to fashion all equipment from natural items found as you start your journey down the trail.  Naked. 

We had planned to ride from Canmore to Banff Tuesday of the TD. Presumeably on this route, is there any alternative?? Thanks

I don't know about official alternatives, but there's the Rundle Riverside singletrack - it is on the east side of Mount Rundle (Goat Creek is on the west).  There's a few kilometres of that trail with quite a lot of deadfall at the moment though, I did it on foot last weekend, and it would be annoying to haul a bike through that section.  Or there's a paved multi-use trail that roughly parallels the highway between Banff and Canmore.  You can see them both on Google Maps (or OSM! )

I just saw notification from Parks Canada stating that the Spray River Bridge on the Goat Creek Trail is officially a closed area until the bridge replacement is complete (that's the bridge 12km from the start in Banff that was half washed away in the floods last year).

Details:
"Construction is underway to replace the Spray River Bridge on the Goat Creek Trail (12km from Spray West Trailhead in Banff).  An area closure is in effect for the construction zone surrounding the bridge area. The Spray River/Goat Creek trail is inaccessible from Banff to Canmore due to washed out bridge.  Fording of river is not recommended. Spray River West and East trails will remain open, however users must be cautious of trucks hauling rock.... Construction is slated to occur for June and July...       The Spray River Bridge area is closed to the public, under section 36(1) of the National Parks General Regulations. Violators may face a maximum fine of $5000."

Would love to see how you've got everything all wired up! You've got the same gear as me - but right now mine is still sitting on a shelf, along with some switches and heat shrink tubing I ordered, waiting for me to get motivated with a soldering iron.  (Still too much mud and slush outside to be super excited about properly testing it right now, but in a couple of weeks....)

Bow Valley Trail (the 1A) has less of a shoulder and less traffic than the TransCanada.  But you can easily ride either of them to get to Banff, bikes are allowed on both (and definitely rideable - check out google maps streetview if you want to get a feel for the road).  I live in Canmore, and we host a lot of cycle tourists heading through as they're cycling across Canada, and people use both roads to get here.  Some prefer the shorter distance on the TransCanada, and find the shoulder is plenty wide, and don't mind the traffic.  Others are more inclined to stick to smaller roads where possible - either the 1A, or smaller backroads.  Definitely one of those personal preference things.

Hi all,

I'm Megan - an Australian who now calls the Canadian Rockies home.  I like bikes.  And tents.  And being outdoors as much as possible.

I went on a 5 month cycle touring trip with my partner back in 2009, through Japan and then Europe.  Most nights we wild camped in random patches of forest, and although we were carrying way too much gear on our trusty Long Haul Truckers, our favourite parts of the trip were invariably the sections where the going got a little rough, steep, and verging on impossible (the Rallarvegen in Norway was pretty fun, pictured below).



These days most of my bike hours are spent riding single track in summer (although I get a little winter riding in too).  The only overnight bike trips I've done recently have been with husband and toddler in tow (one of our trips is written up in Trip Reports here).



So far we've just been managing off-road touring by strapping everything to our bikes, but I've finally got some proper bags from Porcelain Rocket (thanks Scott!), and have got my Karate Monkey all kitted out, ready to step in as my go-to commuting, touring and multi-day adventure bike.

So I'm looking forward to an awesome 2014 full of bikepacking adventures (plus some racing... and then maybe the Tour Divide in 2015? We'll see!)

Hi Peter,

If you haven't seen them yet, both of these threads spend some time discussing cost:
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,948.0.html
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,539.0.html

I can't give any helpful figures from personal experience at this point, but I'm aiming for a 2015 TDR too, so I might see you out there

From the last snow-free (well, relatively snow-free) bikepack of the season, a couple of weeks ago at Lake Minnewanka, Banff National Park.  Toddler fast asleep in the Singletrailer as we rode out in the morning, my husband is towing him.  I was still just using my Giant 29er dualie, but as of last weekend I've got my shiny new Surly Karate Monkey set up as a touring bike, so it will hopefully be seeing some action soon.

For the record, this bridge: is the only issue for the section near Banff now.  It's possible to cross, and may even be fixed by next June.