The Golden Triangle

Distance: 320kms 

Time: 3 days (usually)

The Golden Triangle. Or as I called it "The Devil's Triangle" when I did it over the August long weekend in 2020. I chose a very bad weekend to do it in terms of heat. It was 35 degrees in the sun while I was riding and I ran out of water day 1. I am getting ahead of myself. 

What is the Golden Triangle? It is a bike ride that is usually done over three days that takes you: from Castle Junction (between Banff and Lake Louise, Alberta) to Radium, British Columbia; from Radium to Golden, British Columbia; and finally from Golden all the way back to Castle Junction. It is roughly 100kms of riding per day. Some people do this in a day and that is awesome. I might try it in a year or two. Breaking it up lets you really appreciate the ride. 

My experience riding this was a little different. I rode this self-supported, meaning I had everything I needed for 3 days of riding on my bike with me. This also meant I had to start in Lake Louise since this is the only place you can leave your car over night in the National Parks (if you register ahead of time). The parking lot is conveniently located right off the highway behind the Husky Gas station. 

Riding self supported like this meant day one was a little longer than the normal Golden Triangle ride. It was actually 129kms for day one since I had to start in Lake Louise and ride to Castle Junction before setting off on the highway to Radium. My second day was also different because once I did Radium to Golden (100kms) I thought to myself, "why not just ride the extra 80kms and sleep in your own bed tonight?". So, I ate lunch and carried on to Lake Louise riding 187kms on day 2. If you are wondering, the longest bike ride I ever did before this was 59kms from Calgary almost to Bragg Creek. I have linked my Strava below so you can check out the routes and there are some photos! 

Check out my rides on Strava: 

• My Day 1 riding the Devil's Triangle
  
• My Day 2 riding the Devil's Triangle
  

Because of all this self supported stuff lets discuss this ride by segment instead of days. 

Segment 1: Castle Junction to Radium

This ride starts with a climb and, spoiler alert, also ends with a climb. You have to climb out of Castle Junction and it starts right after you cross Highway 1 on your way to Radium. It is not a terrible climb but it is consistent and long. Roughly 7kms of climbing with the worst being a 7.7% grade. Luckily the shoulder is nice and wide and well paved. Looks like it has been recently paved. The only issue with the paving? They have filled cracks with tar and then put sand on top of that tar and it made numerous tiny speed bumps on your ride. I hope those flatten out over time. One more thing to note for this climb: this is also where cell service stops and it will not start again until you get to the Radium Hot Springs almost 80kms away. Prepare for that by pre downloading whatever lite rock love ballads you listen to while riding. I would be happy to share my playlist with you if you want. 

My Lunch Spot

You know what the best part of climbing a hill is? Going down the other side (or back down the way you came). Thankfully, this segment has a wonderful downhill portion. Almost 70kms of it to be somewhat exact. It is lovely. You will see the continental divide, you will coast in to B.C., you will see a beautiful river snaking beside you as you ride. You might even see some animals. I saw a deer. People told me to worry about bears, but it was 30 degrees and I was fairly confident the bears were smarter than me and wanted nothing to do with being out in the sun on hot pavement at 30 degrees Celsius. I felt very safe. The shoulders are also wide and even though it is a busy road I did not feel unsafe surrounded by cars. This portion of the ride is wonderful and has great spots to stop and eat lunch. I opted for the Simpson River Trailhead for my lunch because it was the mid-point of my day. You really cannot go wrong. 

Like I said above, this ride ends with a climb. The second big climb is about 10kms of climbing with max grade of 6.6%. This one I would say is rougher than the climb out of Castle Junction. It did not help that I had run out of water and was suffering from what I think was mild heat exhaustion. I did go back to re-do this climb a few weeks later (redemption time) and it was still hard on fresh legs and with ample water. Save some steam for this climb. 

Once you conquer the second climb you coast down to Radium and if this is stop 1 find your wonderful motel, do your ice bath, hydrate and eat all the carbs. I also passed out from heat exhaustion for about 1.5 hours before wandering around the town looking for food (and beer). You can choose to do this if you want although I do not recommend heat exhaustion. 

Segment 2: Radium to Golden

If you liked the climbs from segment 1, you will be slightly disappointed during segment 2. Segment 2 is pretty flat. I do not want to minimize a 100km ride, but in the grand scheme of things it was pretty easy. It is flat. Look at my Strava post from above and you will see how it is flat and then rockets up at
the 107km mark. That 107km mark is leaving Golden. The first part is Radium to Golden. 

Pretty uneventful actually. Wide shoulders and wonderful valley scenery. There is the worlds largest paddle at some point on this route but I did not see it until I went back a few weeks later to help support someone else riding the Triangle. Worth stopping IMO. Great view and you can tell all your friends you saw the worlds largest paddle. There really isn't anything else to report here. It is a wonderful calm beautiful ride. You are in a valley and you see mountains all around you. It is beautiful and for most of the ride the river is running pretty close to you. It is fantastic and not very tough on the legs. 

Segment 3: Golden to Castle Junction

At the end of Segment 2 of this ride you start to climb in to Golden and that is simply a taste of what is to come. Segment 3 is a super fun day of climbing hills to get you back to where you started. 

No matter how you ride this, you will be leaving Golden via the Trans Canada Highway and it is uphill. This is also where the shoulders on the road get a little small in parts and you start to realize "wow, there are a lot of big trucks and camper vans on these roads". You have to deal with the small shoulders for about 7kms as you climb out of Golden. Be careful here. Then the shoulders open up as you descend a little only to start more climbing! 

This segment is climb heavy but the views! It is amazing. You will bike on a highway cut through rock, ride beside another river as it snakes through the mountains and stare at giant mountains jutting up in the sky right beside. The feeling of being totally surrounded by the mountains is ever present. It is incredibly apparent as you leave Field, B.C. roughly 50kms in to your ride. It is truly spectacular and worth all the climbing. Check out the video I shot when I should have been focusing on the road: 

After this video, there is another big climb out of Field, B.C. that will last about 10kms and then you have your final push down to Lake Louise and the final stretch of Bow Valley Parkway back to Castle Junction. The biggest danger here is rocks in the shoulder and random construction signs. You do need to navigate a cattle gate going from Highway 1 to Bow Valley Parkway so go slowly and you will
hopefully not bail at the end of your ride. You should save some fuel in your tank for a few more small climbs on Bow Valley Parkway but the ride is smooth and the road is brand new. This is the one part of the ride where there is a good chance you may see a bear. Maybe do not stop to eat fresh berries without first checking your surroundings. 

You made it! You did the Golden Triangle! It is long and there are climbs but it is worth it. The views and the accomplishment alone will keep you going. 

I hope this break down has helped fuel the desire to get out and tackle this worthwhile ride. If you have any questions leave them in the comments.