Day One was just 43 miles from Banff to Chester Lake Trailhead, thanks mainly to a late start and some problems with the bikes and trailers.
Day Two was much better, as we covered 66 miles on the way to Elkford, but still behind the unofficial schedule we had set ourselves.
Day Three was a bigger day for Ollie and I, as we covered 78 miles, although some of this was on paved roads. Marco was off on a little side trip adventure - check out his blog to find out more.
Day Four was a really wet and cold day which took us over the border and into Montana. We spent the night in Eureka, where we met back up with Marco.
Day Five was a tough day with two big long climbs, and even our first sighting of snow on the trail, meaning that we only covered 68 miles.
Day Six was our longest day of the trip; we covered 90+ miles on the way from Upper Whitefish Lake to Swan Lake, where we spent an entertaining evening with some locals in the pub!
Day Seven was my worst day of the trip so far. I woke up with no energy and knew from the first few miles that it was going to be a huge struggle to get through the day. We had to climb a massive hill, Richmond Peak, near the end of the day too and with over 15 miles of climbing, it even had Marco feeling exhausted. At the top, we had to get through about 4 miles of nasty singletrack, with plenty of stopping to carry the bikes and trailers over fallen logs or rocks. We arrived into Seeley Lake after dark to find that there was nowhere open for food. I was dead on my feet and scoffed down the pasta and sauce that Ollie and Marco put together, before collapsing into the tent. 88 miles covered, and one of the hardest days of my life, both mentally and physically.
Day Eight did not start well. I hadn’t had too much sleep and could not drag myself out of bed. I was almost ready to tell the boys to carry on without me. But hunger got the better of me and we headed out for breakfast. Somehow, I got through the 28 miles in the morning to Ovando, where we had the best sandwiches ever. I then decided that I would cut the afternoon ride short, and took the highway into Lincoln, where I got some extra rest before the lads arrived. Total distance covered 53 miles.
Which brings us to today. The extra rest obviously helped as we had an excellent day, crossing the Great Divide three times on the way from Lincoln to Helena. About half of the 65 miles today were uphill, but the legs felt so much better than the previous two days.
So that’s 587 miles in 9 days - not a bad start, but as everyone we meet tells us, “you still have quite a ways to go!”
And now, it’s time for bed, more blogs and photos to come soon. Night!