“Take the 1A highway! It’s fantastic. All paved, nice wide shoulders, lots of ups and downs and curvy roads and best of all, no traffic! And it’s the place to be! You’ll see lots of wildlife!”
We took the TransCanada Highway. And I am happy to report, that there were no signs of wildlife in BC or so far, in Alberta.
We got up at a decent time and by the time we had our wet tent stowed away and our breakfast eaten and cleared, most of the surrounding campers had packed up and were heading home too. It was brisk and cloudy. Charlie and I both had on most of the clothing we’d brought. (Well, I did have along 3 pairs of underwear, but I thought that under the circumstances, one was probably still enough.) We headed out of our electrified enclosure and turned east towards Canmore. 
Today was an easy day. The TransCanada through Banff National Park has beautiful wide shoulders, is clear of bush alongside the highway and has high wire fences on both sides to prevent animals from venturing into danger.
It is also a relatively even road and it generally slopes downhill. Altogether a welcome break. 
We were almost at the turnoff for Sunshine when we met Henk, pronounced Hank, 
a Dutch man from Holland who was cycling from Alaska to Argentina. He had come through Jasper and his bike was so laden, he even had an extra wheel so as to carry more load. He is retired so time has no bearing on his plans. We rode together until we got to Banff, whereupon he turned off in search of a campsite. He’d be tired! Such a huge heavy load and his little legs never stopped! Charlie and I pushed on towards Canmore, which, riding the Legacy Trail, wasn’t really a push at all. Once we got to town, we bought a few grocery items and some wine and mixed nuts to take to our “Warmshowers” hosts. Nola and Paul Stoliker welcomed us into their home like family. They have 2 sons, one of whom, Carl, we met later in the evening. 
They are avid cyclists and Charlie and I enjoyed hearing about their experiences. Paul had cycled from Houston to Florida to South Carolina this past February. He, too, stays with “Warm Showers” when he can, otherwise alternating between camping and staying in motels/hotels. (“Warm Showers” should you wonder, is a website for cyclists based on reciprocal hospitality. It’s like “Couchsurfing” for cyclists. Charlie and I have hosted many couchsurfers but only a few cyclists so far. We have found that the experiences of both hosting and being hosted have been nothing short of amazing. When you get down to it, it’s the people we meet and the people in our lives that make everything worthwhile.) Nola and he have plan to travel from Canmore to PEI this summer, starting in July. Hoping to travel 200 km a day, they plan on taking their trailer and taking turns riding. Their gear will all go into the trailer, so they may be able to make very good time. We exchanged cell numbers. It would be crazy fun to meet them sometime further out on our ride. Thank you, Nola, Paul and Carl for your open-hearted hospitality! And thank you too for the recipes for olive tapenade and veggie loaf. We found both to be yummy! 
Wendingourway:Across Canada by Bike 2017 
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