I'll be sure to let you know , no set date yet on when we're leaving , just planning .

I hope you don't mind me asking you for advice , I could start a thread or pm you , so I'm not invading your thread , wanna be a good guy here ....

 

Feel free to post them here… A few people read this, so the information might be valuable to other folks…

 

Well , first question , going to be staying in Golden for one night , just to see the Grizzly bear and the wolf .

1 : Leaving Banff would you take #1 all the way there , or would you take #93 and do a scenic run , running back up to Golden .
2 : We're staying in Cochrane for a couple of nights so we can go to the Calgary zoo , then we'll be heading to Banff first thing the morning to do some sight seeing , not staying , then off to Golden , what time would be a good time to head to Golden , was thinking 4-5 pm , would that be to late , should only take us approx 2hr's .
3 : After Golden we're heading down to Cranbrook , want to see Fort steel , any places along the way worth stopping , we'll be leaving Golden around noon , so have all afternoon to get there .

That's all for now .

 

From Cochrane... I would take 1A, all the way to Lake Louise... you have to get back on 1 for a short bit... but 1a is a much nicer motorcycle road... then run all the way to Golden... Golden is a **** hole... only stay there if you have too... Calgary to Golden should be a nice 3 hr leasurly ride with time to stop and take pictures...

The road from Golden to Radium is very nice... bit sweepers, some straights, and some slower corners... when the road gets narrow, watch for rocks on the road... lots of logging trucks on that road, and they will kick up rocks when they get too close to the side of the road...

On the way south from Golden, stop in Radium, and head up into Kootenay National park... get to the top of the pass, and go down about a couple of kilometres to the pull out on the right... one of the nicest views in the park anywhere... but the rest of the road towards highway one is not much of a motorcycle ride, but a nice view... turn around and head back to Radium... if the pools are open, enjoy a dip...

The road south towards Cranny is a nice ride...... If you did not get a dip in the pool at Radium, then I would suggest Fairmont... just south of Fairmont, on the top of the hill... there is a nice place to get off the bike and go for a short walk... and a great place to take pictures of the Headwaters of the Columbia River... Columbia Lake...

Fort Steele for sure, and plan to spend a few hours there...

Not sure where you are staying in Cranbrook... but i would suggest The Flamingo on the West side of town... Clean & motorcycle friendly... you can park right in front of your window... and it is right beside Robins Shop... so stop in and tell him I said hi...

Not much to see in CRanbrook itself... but if you like trains, it has one of the best Railroad museums anywhere... A good place to coffee downtown is Kootenay Roasting Company... and over on Victoria, HotShots... good restaurants are The Firehall downtown, although it can be hit and miss... also Downtown is the HideOut... On the strip it mostly fast food, but look for RockWater Steak house, which is a buddy of mines place and a bit West of The Sandman Inn, and on Cranbrook street... and for good Italian and Greek, The Apollo... but I have not been in there for quite a while... if you are looking for the best Restaurant food in town... Allegra... it is down by MacDonald's on the strip...

A nice day ride is up to Kimberley, onto Wasa... down to Fort Steele, south on the Wardner/Fort Steel road... stop at the Bull river Inn for a burger and beer... then down to hwy 3, cross the bridge, and immediately turn left... down to Ha Ha creek road and run it to Hwy 3 and back to Cranbrook.... that is my Sunday go-to Ride...

 

Appreciate the advice Rock , I checked out google maps and found the 1a that goes from Banff to Lake Louise , thanks for that , I thought it ended at Canmore , I'll be sure to take it .

We did watch some Utube videos about Golden , looked good , by the time we got there from Cochrane , it might be too late to see anything , although , we'd rather stay in nicer places . We value your opinion and want to have the best trip we can , so we can easily plan out another place to stay . We would have from about 9am to get from Cochrane to wherever we stay in one day with as many scenic stops we can fit in . Still working out the details .

When we finally get to Cranbrook , I have a feeling my wife is going to need a break at this point , a nice supper out and a relaxing eve . My wife's in charge of finding the best , most affordable places to stay , she likes clean , safe and free breakfast , Lol . I'll make sure we stop and say hi to Robin , and grab a couple t-shirts .

Maybe an extra day in Cranbrook , would love to see the train station and see what else there is to do , might be a good time to take a relaxing day from riding .

I'll run your post by my wife and see what changes we can make between Cochrane and Cranbrook , maybe an extra day in there to cut down on travel time .

Just to let you know , my wife has medical issues , not that bad now , but she still has off days , we're doing this tour for our 30th anniversary , she wants to , we have a few spare days just in case we need to stay and recoup along the way .

 

From how you’re describing it… Golden seems to be the natural place to stay for a night… About a half hour east from Cochran on 1a… there is a hotel called the Nakoda… I’ve stayed there… It is a nice place.

 

Ok , just talked with my wife , we'll skip Golden and go from Cockrane to Banff , then down to Radium Hotsprings on the #93 , sight seeing along the way . By the end of the day we'll be in Cranbrook and stay 2 nights , visiting the train museum and Fort steel the next , this should give us lots of time to see both and not worry about a schedule .

So far so good , I think this is going to be a memorable trip .

 

MyFavRK, a 2-1 exhaust on a RK looks awesome. Love the Pro Pipe. Had one before my DD. Great choice.

 

we planned to spent 2 nights camping at Banff. It was crowded and noisy.
Pushed on to Lake Louise. It is a short ride from Banff

 

love the pro pipe , my indy recommended it before I did the cams ( TW222 ) , it pulls nicely two up .

My buddy has been to Banff on more than one occasion , said the same thing , we're only going to be in Banff for a couple of hours , then move onto Radium , I hate crowds .