July 20th 2023 – Calgary, AB

Soon after leaving the park, we reached the Canadian border. It was a small and quiet crossing with opening hours from 10 am to 6 pm. We were greeted by a polite but very stern female officer. On request she stamped our passports and we were through.

From the border to Lethbridge we got a small taste of what The Great Plains has to offer. Long straight boring roads surrounded by agricultural land as far as the eye can see. We’ll try to keep this kind of riding and scenery to a minimum.

Early in the afternoon we arrived at Ivan’s (@Mapaddict) place in Lethbridge. We were greeted by him, his wife Natalie and their granddaughter Katherine who stayed with them. They had prepared a room for us in the basement. We were touched by the effort they had put into making us feel welcome. It was an easy decision to make when Ivan asked if we wanted to stay for 2 nights. We would love to spend more time with him and get to know him better.

The following morning Katrine and I went for a run in the coulees along the river. After a quick shower and a hearty breakfast we got in the truck with Ivan and Katherine (the granddaughter). Ivan wanted to show us Waterton Lakes National Park. It was a nice drive. We passed through the Blood reservation and did a small detour through Stand Off. We learned a lot about The Blood Tripe and their challenges from Ivan.

We spent a couple of hours in Waterton Lakes. It’s a beautiful park – and much less crowded than Glacier just south of the border.

Back at the house we had just finished dinner when Bill and Mez showed up. They had been traveling through Canada from east to west for almost 2 months while trying to follow the TCAT as much as possible. It had been a struggle. They needed to revise their itinerary. Ivan helped them with that and offered them a couch for the night.

This confirmed what I had already learned about Ivan: He is an intelligent, gregarious man with great wit and a big heart. I hope our paths will cross again.

Katrine and I traveled west from Lethbridge and soon picked up The Cowboy Trail. We stopped for lunch in Longview and also picked up some of the beef jerky the town is renowned for.

With both man and machine fully fueled we set off along The Kananaskis Trail. What a treat! Nice ride and majestic views. We even saw a grizzly eating berries at the side of the road.

After a long but very nice day riding we arrived in Calgary at Mike’s (@superfunkomatic) place.

About a week back, I had noticed that the tires on Katrines bike – especially the front –  were wearing down at an alarming rate. I reached out to Mike and he had offered to help me out. I ordered a set of tires delivered to his house. They had now arrived.

Besides offering us a place to have the tires delivered, he also offered that I could use his garage and that we could stay for a couple of days.

We are now “camped” in a guesthouse in the garden. This morning Mike helped me change the tires. Now both Katrine and I are running Shinko 705.

In the afternoon Bill and Mez dropped by. Bill wanted the rear tire we took off Katrines bike. He was convinced that he could squeeze another couple of thousands kilometers out of it. As it turned out Mike had a used front tire lying around to go with the rear. Free tires made Bill a happy man.

Last night Katrine and I invited Mike, his wife Fiona and son Nico out for dinner to say thank you for everything.

Today Mike showed us around Calgary – in car, on foot and MTB.

I picked up a new pair of warm weather riding gloves at the very impressive local dealer.
Besides all the walking and cycling with Mike, Katrine and I started the day with a long run.
We have tired legs tonight.