Scott Junker Rides the Great Divide
Journal # 1
Greetings All-
Well, I made it to Banff, Alberta Canada. I took an early flight from LA and landed in Calgary at around noon, from there I grabbed a transfer/ tourismo to Banff, what a beautiful drive and I got a hint at some of the scenery to come. As some of you may be aware I am going solo, that's right, alone. My travel partner has fallen off the face of the earth and cannot be located but I have invested too much time, effort, thought and money to back out just for a little setback like losing half of the party. My plans haven't really changed as a result but I may be finding alternate routes around some of the more remote sections of the trail. As for riding and sleeping in strange places alone I'll either be jumping at every little noise and fry my nerves or I'll just become jaded and ignore the Grizzly crashing through the underbrush.
On another note, Banff is a neat little town but is super touristy and ~3/4 of the businesses here sell junk to accomodate them. I'm staying in the Samesun Backacker Lodge, an awesome little place to sleep with guests from every corner of the globe.
I have stocked up on food (whole wheat bread and peanut butter) at the grocery store and plan to make Roosville, Montana, USA in two or three days depending on the weather and whether my legs can take it. The bike and trailer made the flight without incident and have been re-assembled and tested. I wasn't really all that concerned having had plenty of practice on other peoples bikes (thanks Sundance).
Not having a travel partner means that I'll be pulling all of the gear myself rather than dividing up the group use items but I'll also be able to travel at my own pace, it remains to be seen if I'll travel faster or slower than a pair would. I don't know how to get to Roosville (Austen had that section of map) but "Go South" seems simple enough and I picked up a free map from an auto rental agency at the airport so I should be just fine. With the desertion of my travel buddy I have abandoned all plans of riding to Mexico dry. Guiness and steak for supper tonight, bike ride tomorrow morning.
I'll write again from somewhere else.
Cheers,
Scott Junker
Still in Banff
I’m still in Banff. I could invent a new excuse to stay here every day for a year, the last two days were spent trying to find useable route to the border crossing (the original plan has been altered to go around a ‘closed for bears’ area) and a pretty girl with a compelling smile, and I was convinced to come climb a mountain with a bunch of locals. I am no longer at the hostel and am staying in the employee housing for the Banff Springs Hotel (big famous rock building). The town is super touristy and I’m ready to leave so I’ll be clearing out tomorrow morning.
No other big news.
Will write more later,
Scott
Overview of Scott Junker's Adventure
Other Events from Sundance Cycles
Serotta Demo Bikes Visited Sundance
The two Serotta Demo rides this past weekend were excellent. Many pictures from these rides will be displayed soon. Read the great review and see more images from the Serotta Demo day and Sundance Cycles, LLC Saturday Ride.
The 2006 Serotta demo fleet represented a wide cross-section of Serotta's product offerings. From the new, all-carbon MeiVici to the updated and refreshed Fierte line. Serotta
Shimano 06 Dura Ace 7801-SL Wheel Set - Shimano recently invited a select few “vip” retailers to Solvang for a three-day focus group to test their new 2006 Dura Ace SL wheels. More about Aj's adventure
AMGEN Tour of California Photos
Classic Climbs of the Giro - Article by Steve Dozier appeared in Roadie International
Trek Travel Party
Sorry you missed it. Check out the photos and information about Trek Travel.
