A medium level of fitness is recommended to join this tour. However with the support we provide, we’ve seen people of varying fitness levels, all shapes, sizes and abilities complete our tours in the past.

Good mental attitude will triumph all challenges and you’ll come out the other side of this tour stronger and more confident than ever. We’ll be just around the corner if it ever gets a bit too much and can give you a ride in the van if you’re not feeling the love for it at any stage of the tour.

Some experience riding bikes on the road will be a good advantage. An Electric Pedal Assist Bike rental option is available for those who find the elevation changes a bit intimidating.

We support our tours with a well designed tour van and enclosed bike / food trailer. We believe that the route is simple enough that you will be fine riding in small groups at your own pace. We’ve found that we can better support your tour by floating between the faster, medium paced and the more leisurely participants with our tour van and trailer set up. We will keep an eye on the group as we leap frog you along the route, reacting quickly to any issues that may come up during the day. We will generally let you ride ahead for a few km’s then we will drive past the group making sure everyone is doing ok and park a few km’s ahead of the group at an appropriate place (usually at a scenic lookout). We will at times park and watch you ride past and at other times set up an official rest stop where all the food and supplies will be set out for you.

You are welcome to jump in the support van at any time if this occurs. If you don’t feel safe riding any part of the route, maybe you’re not confident riding down the hills or would prefer to skip the uphill sections, we’ll be there for you. After the first day of the tour we’ll have a good idea of everyone’s ability and fitness levels and can recommend various strategies then. Two way radios will be distributed amongst the group to enable you to contact the guide in the support van if assistance is required.

A road or gravel bike (thin tires) is the most efficient bike for this tour, giving you the most speed for minimum effort. There are a number of hills and climbs on the route so a bike with appropriate gearing for your fitness and strength level is also recommended. A cross bike, cruiser or even mountain bikes are okay although we recommend you install slick tires (rather than the knobbly mountain bike tires) before the tour to make your life easier. If you rent a bike through us it will be a lightweight gravel bike with slick tires, appropriate gearing and drop down handle bars.

Our maximum group size is 13 people, which keeps our tours small and intimate. With some notice though we can put custom tours together for group of up to 30.

Custom groups of 6 – 30 people.
Keep the tour private to your group of friends and design your own tour. With less than 6 people for private groups the advertised per person price will need to increase. Please contact us for more info and custom tour pricing.
We’ll set up your tour on our online booking system and send you a custom link so that your group can pay deposits and final amounts individually and find out more information about your custom tour designed specifically for you and your friends. For some custom tour ideas please check out this page of our website.

Smaller groups of 4+.
If you’re happy to share your tour with a few other like-minded people we will endeavour to fill the rest of the seats in the van so we can keep the advertised per person price the same.

Singles and couples:
We love you too. We commonly have just a few seats left on many of our tours. We’d love to have you along. Click on the tour dates button in the menu to see our currently availability.

No. We will carry all the food, supplies and your luggage in the van and trailer set-up. We will be just a few km away from you at all times. We recommend though that you attach a small tool bag to your bike seat post to carry a few necessary items. It’s also recommended that you have 1 – 2 water bottles with you on the bike to keep you hydrated between rest stops. If you are renting a bike from us a seat mounted tool bag will be provided with all the necessary tools and 2 water bottle cages will be attached to the bike to hold your bottles.

Our scheduled tours depart from and return to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Arrivals: We recommend you fly into Edmonton the day before the tour. We will pick you up from your hotel at about 8am the next morning, or from your house if you live locally. Exact pick-up procedure is flexible and determined on a tour by tour basis. We recommend staying at the following hotel in Edmonton. Double Tree by Hilton Downtown 

Meeting us in Jasper: This is definitely an option if you are already traveling and find yourself in Jasper the day before one of our tours.
For example catching the Via Rail train from Vancouver to Jasper would be an interesting way to get to Jasper before the tour.

Please note that accommodations in the Rockies are very limited during the summer months and book up quickly. If Jasper is your preferred meeting point, please book your accommodations for these nights as far in advance as possible. We recommend staying at Beckers Chalets but there are many other options that you can choose from.

Departures: We recommend that you fly out of Calgary on the evening of the last day of the tour. We can drop you off in Calgary International Airport on our way home to Edmonton. Usually we will be driving through Calgary around 2-3pm on the last day of the tour. Please allow sufficient time before your departing flight in case of any unavoidable delays. If you need accomodation at Calgary airport we recommend staying at Hotel 11 by Sonesta

Locals from Edmonton: For those who live in and around Edmonton we will drop you off at the location we picked you up from, or otherwise prearranged address.

Extending your stay in Banff or Canmore after the tour: If this is the case we’d be happy to drop you at a local hotel before we continue onto Calgary and Edmonton at the end of the tour. Banff Airporter runs a regularly scheduled shuttle to Calgary airport from Banff, Canmore and surrounding areas to help you get home.

If you need to return to Jasper at the end of the tour, local transportation options such as Brewster and Sundog run a daily service from Calgary through Canmore, Banff, and Lake Louise to Jasper. Please check their respective websites for timetables and pricing information. If bringing your own bike and looking into this option you will likely need to pack it up into a box for these shuttle services back to Jasper. We can provide high quality rental bikes to help save you this hassle if you prefer.

Your safety during the tour is our upmost concern and priority at all times. We have many back up plans and safety precautions in place to help keep you safe. Guides / Drivers are first aid trained, have access to first aid kits and an AED (Automated External Defibrillator).

There is no mobile phone (cell) reception between Jasper and Lake louise (Day 1 – Day 3) of the tour. Our guides however will have satellite communication devices on hand in case of emergencies. As a secondary communication option we will have a number of two way radios to share among the group.

Riding a bike on a road shared with other vehicular traffic through the mountains however does carry certain unavoidable risks, many of which are outside of our direct control.

We will endeavour to try and control or manage those risks that we have some control over to the best of our abilities, the rest we will need your help with.

For these reasons we will be asking you to take full responsibility for your own safety on the road during your tour.

We will require you to accept this responsibility for your own safety by filling out a waiver before joining the tour. You can find an example of the online waiver linked to on our Tour dates page.

Due to the nature of the activity being undertaken and various risks involved, an online waiver will need to be filled out and submitted before leaving town. Please find our online waiver by clicking the following link https://www.smartwaiver.com/v/biketourwaiver/ . Please contact us before signing up to the tour if you have any questions or concerns about filling out the waiver.

Please see the more information tabs above to find a suggested what to bring list.

Yes.
The weather in the mountains is unpredictable, very localized and can change at a moments notice. There is no accurate way to tell what the conditions will be like during your tour either before hand or even during. Chances are that if weather conditions are unfavourable they will get better around the next corner or an hour or so down the road. The support van will be close by at all times in case you need shelter or decide to call it a day at any time. Our advice is to bring clothing to suit all potential weather conditions and hope for the best.

In the case of extreme weather conditions the itinerary may be modified to suit at the guides discretion.

Whilst it’s not mandatory to bring cycling specific clothing, most cyclists wear this type of clothing for a reason. It’s generally the most visible and comfortable gear to be riding in for an extended period of time. If you don’t currently own a set of riding gear, you’ll want to at least invest in the following items: helmet (unless renting one from us), gloves, wind and rainproof breathable jacket, warm layers, padded shorts and a water bottle or two.

Please see the section below for a detailed list of meals supplied during the tour.