2021 GRAAB Challenge - Gravel Across Alberta

The GRAAB Challenge – Gravel Across Alberta was certainly that, a challenge!

The Origin

I dreamt up this idea because I wanted to ride across Alberta. I thought there must be a good way to get across AB on the road less travelled and why not take pictures of interesting landmarks on the way. Elk Pass seemed like the best choice to start since it is on the border of BC and it’s not on a busy road. With the BC-AB border snaking along the Rocky Mountains, there are not many crossing points that are not backcountry hiking trails or busy highways. Next, I looked for a finish point. Of all the border towns along the southern part of the AB-SK border, what better finishing landmark than the World’s Largest Bunnock in Macklin, SK. Then I searched for interesting landmarks between those two points and pieced together a route that stayed on gravel or off road most of the way. Overall, it was a success! Even though there were some paved roads, they were either not busy or had a big enough shoulder that I never felt like I was on a heavily traveled road the whole ride.

The Trial Run

I posted the 601km route to social media and made a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/GRAABchallenge. I wanted the route to be out there for others to try but for it also to be a laid-back challenge. I thought a Facebook page would be a fun way for those that ride the route to post their photos of the landmarks and anyone could do it whenever they wanted. People could do it at a touring pace or at a faster race-ish pace. If going fast, times could be compared for the all so important bragging rights. Lol!

My schedule worked out and I was able to give it a shot during a fall weekend! It would be so exciting to see the varying landscape of Alberta in the fall colors! I wanted to do it as fast as I could but also take care of myself a bit better than some other rides like this that I have done. That means a bit more sleep. And I did sleep a bit more…although only a little bit more. I also stopped for meals more often than I would usually do on these kinds of rides. It was nice to just ride at my pace without having the race mentality. Go as quick as you can but stop and smell the roses (or maybe the freshly made Subway sandwich -YUM).

Another fairly new thing to me was using a geared bike. I typically ride single speed but wanted to give this gear thing a try. I managed to source an XT shifter and derailleur and Dale at Rollingdale Cycle added them to the bike.

Gears, what a novelty!

My wife Kristin and sister Joyce dropped me off at the Elk Pass trailhead on Friday morning. Before even starting the GRAAB, I had to ride about 5.5km and 270m of climbing. It was a bit cold, 5°C, so I didn’t mind warming up with a bit of a climb. The fall colours already were breathtaking! This stretch of trail is part of the Tour Divide and Alberta Rockies 700 so it was familiar territory.

On the way up!

The ride to the top took about 40 minutes. Once at the top, I took my photos, turned around and went back the way I came. The inaugural GRAAB ride begins!

Landmark 1. Elk Valley Arch

The first selfie!

Starting time 9:37am September 24, 2021

I zipped down the hill excited to see what was in store for me over the next couple of days. I travelled down the double track I just came up, then turned into some gentle single track through Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. This is such a nice portion of trail that winds through the pine forest. I went down into the Boulton Creek Campground and up Whiskey Jack Trail until I got to Hwy 40. This is a short segment of pavement until the route turns left onto the steeeep climb up to Elbow Lake. The mountains were amazing in the morning sun. Typically, the forest is all green on the sides of the mountains. At this time of year there were these strips of gold going up the mountainside with the leaves changing colour.

Hwy 40: Pictures never do it justice!

I turned onto the rocky double track that led up to Elbow Lake. Steep, steep, steep. With the geared bike I was able to climb most of it, but when I felt like I was working too hard, I got off and walked. I had to make sure not to burn any matches. There was still a long way to go! The trail was pretty busy with hikers, horses, and one other guy on a bike. As I walked up a steep climb, I chatted with a guy and his two young children. Those kids were doing awesome with their big packs!

First view of Elbow Lake

Once I got to Elbow Lake, I was blown away with how beautiful it was! I rode the other way on this trail during the Alberta Rockies 500 COVID Edition in 2020 but did it in the middle of the night, so I missed all the scenery.

Another view of Elbow Lake

Yet another view of Elbow Lake. The view blew me away!

The trail led me into a flat, open section with mountains towering on either side. I’ll say it again, it was awesome! The trail was quite rocky, and I was thinking how this might be on a gravel bike. I was pretty happy with my 50mm wide tires and suspension fork. You may be able to ride a skinnier tire gravel bike, but it would probably be pretty rough. This rough, rocky trail continued all the way to the Little Elbow campground. If you are going to do this route on a rigid, skinny tire gravel bike, beware of this section!

Open meadow. Amazing!

See the gold and reds!

I chatted with the other biker, and he seemed surprised I was going to Saskatchewan. I carried on and was enjoying the downhill bits through the big rocks. Fun!

The trail snakes down into the valley

I cruised down through the valley and was very happy this section is on the route! It’s a fantastic section to showcase the Rocky Mountains. As I was zipping down the trail, I noticed I was off route. Typically in a bikepacking race, I would have to go back and get on the route. In the GRAAB, going off route a little bit is no big deal, so I stayed on my trail. It was a nice little section of single track that I would alter the route to take when I got back home. 

Singletrack reroute looking back

Singletrack looking forward. Gorgeous bit of trail.

I bombed down the rocks toward the Little Elbow campground. I was enjoying this thoroughly! Another thing that was different with the geared bike is the ability to gear up. I was holding 30-35kph on some of the downhill sections. I had to be careful not to push too hard. That’s where a single speed is nice. It keeps you from working too hard on the easy sections so gives you a chance to recover.

New bridge across the river

There were a few river crossings that were not very deep except for one. I managed to ride through the deep one but saturated my shoes and socks. The water went up to just below my hubs. I hoped my shoes and socks would dry out before it got too cold at night. At one point as I was flying down a gradual downhill, I saw a group (or is it a pack?) of horses and riders. Since horses are living beings and I didn’t want to startle them, I stopped on the side of the trail and let them pass. I don’t know much about horses and didn’t know how they would react to a bike flying by at 30kph. The cowpeople (politically correct way of saying cowboy since there were male and female riders) seemed appreciative. I think I will add stopping for horses to my list of riding policies alongside never riding over Texas gates in my aerobars.

Bridge at Little Elbow Campground

After the Little Elbow Campground, the gravel roads begin! I knew I would miss the mountain biking but was looking forward to some faster speeds. The route turned onto Powderface Trail. It was nice to settle into the rhythm of climbing and descending on the gravel.

Lots of this on Powderface Trail

After Powderface, there was a bit of pavement on Sibbald Creek Trail. It was a nice break after all the elevation of the day. I could see the mountains getting a bit smaller as I made my way into the foothills.

Sibbald Creek Trail. I continued to be blown away by the fall colours!

Just before Cochrane, I stopped to use the facilities (a bush) and checked my cell reception. I had some so I posted my Elk Pass photos to the GRAAB Facebook page. The scenery was opening up and I was starting to see more farmland.

The start of many wide open prairie views

I got to Cochrane about 5:00 or 5:30 and started riding on their local foot paths. The route showed going on the road at one part so I would have to change the route when I got home. As I crossed a road, I saw an A&W down the street. Food! I went down to the little complex, resupplied at the gas station and had a sub at Subway. In Cochrane, I had to find the Men of Vision Cowboy. I tried to make the route go past all the landmarks, but the Cowboy is up on a hill off the trail. I tried taking a selfie from the bottom of the trail but the picture looked lame, so I went up the hill to get right beside the statue.

Lame selfie from the trail

Much less lame selfie

The Cochrane cowboy looks off into the sunrise contemplating life

I left Cochrane with a full belly and good spirits. I climbed as the sun set and was looking forward to seeing Airdrie.

Cochrane at sunset

The tailwind was strong that night, my friends. I whipped down the roads toward Airdrie enjoying the easy, fast pedaling. I got into Airdrie about 11:00pm and wanted some more food. I saw a Co-op gas station, but it was closed. I was happy to see that the Tim Hortons next door was not! I got some supper and breakfast and filled up my water. I would usually call Kristin while I ate, but there was a pack of youths nearby swearing and being loud like kids do at that age. I ate my sandwich amused by the youths posturing amongst themselves by being as annoying and loud as possible. I remember those irrational, carefree days.

After eating I kept riding on the paths of Airdrie slaloming around more disenfranchised youths in the dark (ringing my bell of course). I got to the Korean Totem Poles and crossed another landmark off the list.

I am agape like the totems!

Korean Totem Poles

Bridge across Hwy 2

I continued through Airdrie on my way to Irricana still enjoying the tailwind. I arrived at Old Smoky the Horse at about 12:30am and took my photos. I wondered if anyone saw me and thought it was strange some guy on a bike was taking selfies with a horse statue in the middle of the night.

Nut on a bike by Old Smoky the Horse

Old Smoky the Horse!

I went on to look for the truck and tractor on a pole only a couple of kilometers away. When I got where they were supposed to be, there was nothing there except an auto recycling yard. I went up and down the road in the dark looking for them to no avail. They must have torn them down for this auto yard. They would have to be removed from the list.

Auto recycling yard where the truck and tractor on a pole should be

On to Beiseker. I went to see Squirt the Skunk. Squirt was the start and finish of the Hurt’n Albert’n 550 (HA550) that I rode a few years back, so I knew he was in the little campground in town. I rode into the campground and wanted to get a couple hours of sleep. I took my photos and looked for a bush to sleep beside.

Selfie with Squirt

Squirt in the dark. No lights, so I'm shining my headlight on him.

I rolled out my bivy and laid down to sleep. I did not sleep very well. It felt like I did not sleep at all, but when I checked my watch, I actually slept through my alarm! It was a very weird sleep. I packed up in about 6 minutes and headed down the road about 5:00am. It was pretty warm! Overnight, it only got to down to about 15C. I rode for a little while, then stopped to eat my wrap I bought in Cochrane for breakfast.

There was one stretch of road that I struggled with hard on the HA550. It’s long and straight, with lots of big up and down climbs. Not mountain-size climbs but still pretty big. This time doing it was not as bad as back in the HA550, but it was still challenging. One silver lining to this piece of road, was I was riding it during sunrise. As the sun came up, the sky glowed in oranges and reds. Being in the prairie now the sky was huge! The prairie stretched out for miles and miles. On the top of one ridge, I looked back and actually saw the small sawtooth of the mountains in the far distance!

Sunrise looking toward the sun

Sunrise looking away from the sun. The whole sky was alive with colour!

I arrived in Drumheller at about 10:30am Saturday morning. I found the Circle K closest to the route and loaded up on some food. I saw a plug behind a nasty, slimy garbage can so plugged my battery pack in and slid the garbage can in front…with my foot. I talked to Kristin while eating my warm ham and cheese burgers. They were actually pretty good! When I was in the store, I saw a Peace Officer and wondered if he would comment on my bear spray prominently displayed on my shoulder strap. It’s a more common sight in the Rockies but probably not in the Badlands. I wondered, but he didn’t say anything. After eating I rolled down the road to the World’s Largest Dinosaur and took my pictures.

The fear is real! That inanimate plaster dinosaur might get me!

The World's Largest Dinosaur!

After the climb out of the river valley Drumheller rests in, the elevation profile is quite flat. I expected to go faster for the remainder of the route. It’s the prairies - it should be flat and it’s all on gravel roads. But then there was the wind. It was so nice to have a tailwind up to this point, but now it shifted into a full-on headwind. The stretch I thought was going to be fast ended up being a slow grind as I was buffeted by the gusts of wind. To add to that, most of the roads were freshly graded so I had to plow into the wind and plow through the thick layer of gravel. I was hard-pressed to get my speed up to 18kph.

Thick gravel and wind in the face, but the scenery was still fabulous!

I kept plugging away. Any progress is good progress. I would make it to Hanna eventually. At one point, I felt tired, so took a nap on the side of the road behind a bush. The grass was already packed down, so it was probably a deer bedding spot. Just after I started riding, a small deer jumped out of the bushes and ran off. Maybe we were both taking a nap.

I eventually got to Hanna about 7:00pm. This was the last stop for resupply until the finish which was about 220km away. I got some snacks at a gas station and bought a couple of footlongs at Subway. While I chowed down on my sub, I told Kristin about the soul-sucking wind and gravel all the way here. I was scared the next 100km segment to Veteran would have the same disheartening wind. After dinner, I went to the second Hanna goose and got my pictures.

The goose attacked! It must have heard my disparaging comments about Nickelback.

Hanna goose taking off into the sunset

Thankfully, the wind died down to a less demoralizing level. Darkness fell and I was blessed with a clear sky and bright moon and stars. The moon was bright enough that I could dimly make out the terrain. There was also a relief from the thick gravel. Some of the section roads went through farmers fields. They consisted of mostly dry clay. This would be hard if it was wet, but it was dry for me, so I rejoiced whenever the route took me on these less maintained roads. Since they went through farmer’s fields I had to open and close several gates along the way.

Don't free the bovines!

At about 10pm, I was feeling tired, so I rolled out my bivy for a sleep on the side of the road. I slept about an hour and started packing up. The clear sky was beautiful but that also made it quite cold – about 3°C. I put on some warm gear and started pedaling to Veteran. The sleep monster hit me hard that night. About every 1-1.5 hours I would start nodding off. Whenever this happens, my policy is to stop and take a 10-minute nap. The road was flat and fairly fast but with the naps, I took longer than I hoped to get to Veteran. But I got there eventually!

Do you see the fatigue in my eyes?

The illuminated Poppy

I was cold and hungry, so I searched the small park nearby for some shelter to eat and take a nap. Then out of the darkness a glorious thing appeared! An outhouse… Just kidding; it was a fully enclosed picnic shelter to protect me from the cold wind. The shelter was located amongst a group of RVs. It was about 5:00am so I did not want to wake anyone up. It felt like I was tiptoeing around a group of sleeping hippos (that’s the closest animal I could think of that resembles an RV) trying not to wake them up. When I approached the picnic shelter, I slid open the barn door and it emitted a loud fingernail-on-chalkboard squeaking noise. Don’t wake the hippos! Thankfully, none awoke, and I was able to eat my sub and sleep on the picnic table for about half an hour without being disturbed. There was even a plug inside, so I was able to charge my battery pack a bit too.

My sanctuary from the cold, cold wind

I left Veteran at about sunrise and rode down a nice stretch of pavement. These little bits of pavement were nice reprieves from soft gravel roads.

Swamp reflecting sunrise

Thankfully, the headwind died down a bit. I turned off the pavement and was back on gravel. My spirits were high after the sanctuary in the picnic shelter. The wind was even cooperating! It shifted into a fairly strong south wind. My route was either going North or East, so I either had a tailwind or crosswind. I’ll take it! I stopped in this area to have a nice conversation with a cow. On these long rides, the cows are nice creatures to talk to and break up the boredom. I can’t remember why I stopped or what I was talking to the cow about, but she was very attentive and listened well. I was just about to pack up and ride off when the cow made a coughing noise and a bunch of liquid poured out of her mouth. That must be what chewing cud looks like. I bid her farewell and was on my way.

Gravel for miles and miles

The elevation profile for this section to the finish in Macklin showed some pretty significant peaks and I wondered what it would be like. I hoped I would not be plowing through fresh gravel and I got my wish. The route started following more less-used roads that are primarily used by farmers and gas or oil service workers. And it was sandy, very sandy. I loved it! It was nice being on these remote roads. Some sections were thick with sand and had to be walked, and some were a bit overgrown with bushes, but I loved the remoteness and they were fun to ride.

Sandy terrain. Wonderful!

Getting sandier!

And even sandier! I had to walk through this bit.

Some sections were a bit overgrown. Beautiful in the Fall!

As I got closer to Macklin, the service roads ended, and I was back on some thick gravel. That didn’t bother me though. I was almost done! I got to the border of Saskatchewan and wanted to take a picture at the “welcome” sign. But guess what? There wasn’t one. I guess they only have those on the major roads. The only indication I crossed the border was two signs on either side of a range road. The AB sign was blue and started at 10 and the SK sign was green and ended at 3290.

AB and SK RR signs

Almost done! I snaked my way through the sleepy town of Macklin and arrived at the Bunnock! A majestic 30-foot-tall bone in the prairies never looked so good. Kristin and Joyce were there and had a cold Coke and container of fruit for me. The Coke tasted extra sweet since I just ran out of all my water. The GRAAB Challenge was complete in 2 days, 7 hours and 1 minute!

Done at 4:38pm on Sunday, Sept 26th, 2021

Bunnock selfie

Victory at the Bunnock!