What a trip! It ended up being more difficult than I expected because of the terrible mosquitoes between Prince Rupert and Jasper. I must be getting old and soft because I spent a higher proportion of nights in motels than any previous tour. Here's how I spent nights on the tour (not counting nights in motels with my wife before and after the tour).

Camping 23 nights

Motels 10 nights

Hostels 4 nights

The weather was about as expected. I waited out the rain one day during the trip. The weather was gloomy and disappointing near Prince Rupert and on most of the Icefields Parkway. I wish I had better weather in those places to better see the outstanding scenery.

Daily costs on this bike tour were MUCH higher than any of my previous 23 tours. Canada seemed more expensive than the U.S. even before the U.S. dollar fell so much in value. Prices seemed 50% higher in Canada. This tour cost much more than expected because of the high prices and because I spent so many nights in motels.

The total biking distance of this 38-day tour was 3084 kilometers, 1916 miles. The average daily distance of 81 kilometers or 50.4 miles is a respectable distance for me  at age 46. My only zero mile rest days were the day I rode the 15-hour ferry followed by a day in rainy Prince Rupert. I had 6 flat tires during the trip but no other major mechanical problems until the frame cracked.

Icefields Parkway in the Canadian Rocky mountains is probably the most scenic route I have ever toured. Continuous spectacular scenery for 5 days.

I wanted this tour to be a warm-up to a future big tour in Alaska. But my experience with mosquitoes was so unpleasant that I'm in no longer in a hurry to go to Alaska.

Thanks again to my wife Karolyn for driving 500 miles to pick me up at Lake Chelan.

Wayne Estes

Oakland, Oregon, USA

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