2017 Northern Rockies Tour Is On

Planning is now seriously underway for this year’s tour.  Jack, Phil and I considered 2 options.  One was north-to-south along the Oregon and northern California coastline.  What won out, though, is a north-to-south route through the northern Rocky Mountains, starting in Jasper Alberta.  Should be fantastic.

The route will follow the Adventure Cycling Association’s Great Parks North route.  Starting in Jasper National Park, we’ll basically criss-cross the continental divide a couple of times, wavering between Alberta and British Columbia.  Crossing into the US, we’ll then ride through the Rockies of western Montana through Glacier National Park.

The plan is to do about 800 miles in 15 days of riding.  Around 30,000 feet of climbing will be involved.  That’s actually a fairly modest goal on paper, but we shall of course have to see what the road brings.  The idea is to leave plenty of time to camp and look around and enjoy.

Personally, I’m in no riding shape to take this on, having just finished a month of vacationing in Europe.  I’ve ridden a couple times since returning and feel like a garden slug.