than I would have liked first ride around a nearby lake. On the way we heard some very strange wildlife noises and at one point Russ went flying round a corner and just managed to avoid careering into a rather large elk cow and her calf!! After a quick detour around we encountered another couple of elk thankfully not quite so closely!! They really are huge animals!! Just as I was really starting to flag and wonder how much further we had to go the trail detoured away from the lake and we were back at the vans in no time. The traditional post ride activity in these parts is apparently the consumption of a large glass of cold beer!! Not wanting to break with local tradition we searched for a pub which would allow the kids in. We eventually found a restaurant that met our needs, and as it was getting a little late on Russ and Ruth decided to get the kids their tea there. Another Canadian tradition is the national dish of Poutine. Now before we headed to Canada, Noah, our Canadian mate we met in Russia and

India, had sung the praises of this and said it was an essential part of visiting Canada. At the time I had no idea what it consisted of, but was intrigued to find out. Here in Jasper I finally discovered that the mysteriously named National dish of Canada was in fact chips with grated cheese on smothered in gravy!! Not that I’m at all adverse to either chips and cheese or chips and gravy, but I have to admit that the combination of all three doesn’t rank among my culinary favourites!! Needless to say however, we enjoyed the beer, and predictably enough another late night of drinking ensued!! This turned out to be a bit of an error, as we didn’t get out with the bikes until twelve o clock, having to have them back by four!! What also didn’t help was that Wrecker Riley had busted the chain on one of them, and it had to go back to the shop to be fixed, so in the end we only got about an hour and a half each of riding time. Hel and I rode from Jasper to Lake Edith, and then looked after the kids while