Here there be monsters

Started to do some route planning.
Day One. Invermere to Lake Louise. 147 km. Along this route I will hit two climbs.

1) Sinclair pass - 4,875 feet. This 11 km climb's steepest sections are 10% probably averages out around 8. I will hit this climb approx 1 hour in, and should take me an hour.

2) Vermillion pass - 1651 m (5,382 ft)). This I will hit approx five hours into my first day and again take me about an hour. In 2003 an intense fire swept through this section of the national park. Five years out, it still looks like another planet. (I'll cross the continental divide here)

Day Two.

Lake Louise to Columbia Ice Fields (125 km) (where I'll cross back over the continental divide). Columbia Ice Fields are the largest Icefields in Canada. I've been told that there is a NASTY climb up to the Ice Fields but don't have statistics. Probably the one to Bow Summit which hits (6,787' ft).

Day Three

Columbia Ice Fields to Jasper (107 km). As the worst of the climbs should be over, I'll probably spend the morning exploring the Ice Fields before continuing North. This should hopefully be a relatively easy day.

Day Four to ???
Jasper to Prince Rupert, BC (1093 km) along the Yellowhead Highway. Here there will be wind.

View Larger Map

On this map A=Invermere (start) B=Lake Louise C= Jasper D= Prince Rupert. I can't get Columbia Ice Fields to show up, but its approx half way betwee B and C, where all the white is :)

Yesteday I biked! Training day 8! One thing I have learned from living in a small town is that when you see a deer, it doesn't mean that you've 'seen the deer', it means that you've missed the five other deer that are about to nonchalantly step out in front of your car (the other night, I had to wait idling while two deer finished grazing in my parking space). It's even worse on the bike. Not only are the deer not afraid of a bike, they seem downright curious - almost as bad as cows. Have you ever had to road bike through a herd of cows? Don't.