Day 68: Banff, Alberta

It’s official, I’m done.  Finished up yesterday at about 7 pm.  I am glad I rode the Canadian portion of the Great Divide, it turned out to be the finest section of the entire trip!  The last 2 days were truly epic.  I crossed the US border on Friday at 5 pm, and arrived in Banff at 7.  That’s good time if you ask me.  220 miles in 3 days.  It really takes 2 months to get in that kind of shape, physically and mentally.  I just rocked it!

Alex Rafanelli and Alex Rossin were here at the hostel to greet me last night.  We went out, had a nice Mexican dinner and then hit the bar.  We had quite the celebration!  Lots of fun.  Today we’re going to drive the world famous “Columbian Icefields Parkway.”  I can’t wait.  I am very psyched to wrap up the trip here with a week of car touring in the Canadian Rockies.  The weather is perfect right now.  We’ll be out mountain biking, hiking, and sightseeing for the next 9 days.  Life is good.

Glad to see they’ve moved my story to the front page of the nau website.  You can check it out at www.nau.edu.  You may have to refresh it for it to pop up because the stories are on rotation.  I am not sure if the Arizona Daily Sun has picked up the story yet, I’m still waiting to hear back.  I will post again when that comes out.  I will also have photos, lots of photos, to share with everyone.  I will post those next week when I return to the States. 

As far as donations, please read the instructions on the right side of the page under “YODER FOUNDATION.”  I rode 2700 miles, completing the original goal.  It was an amazing experince that is hard to put into words.  I was absolutely buzzing yesterday afternoon during the final 17 miles.  The last 12 were singletrack and downhill.  A fine way to wrap things up.  And my last 2 days had consistent tailwinds!  Unreal! 

So that’s it, it’s over.  Thank you everyone for following my ride throughout the last 2 months.  The support has been tremendous.  I just can’t believe it’s over!  What’s next?  I’m flying back to the east coast next week to see my family and go to 2 weddings!  My stepbrother Benjamin is getting married on August 5th and the following week my sister is getting married!  How exciting!  Open bars, good food, and the fam!  It’ll be a blast for sure.

2700 miles.  30 continental divide crossings.  200,000+ feet of elevation.  5 US states.  3 countries.  Wam bam thank you mam, I’m done!