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鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to be excited about doing something I don鈥檛 like,鈥� she said.

I knew it was a gamble, verging on potential disaster. But I love cycling as a form of travel and wanted Keilie to feel the same 鈥� it can transform even a familiar destination into an entirely fresh landscape.

That鈥檚 exactly what Jasper and Banff National Parks are banking on with their new cycling initiatives. As a response to increased tourism (pre-pandemic, the two parks drew a combined total of 6.5 million visitors a year) and overflowing parking lots, the two destinations are encouraging people to BYOB: bring your own bike.

And thanks to a new pilot project, 17 kilometres of the scenic Bow Valley Parkway 鈥� a secondary highway that connects Banff to Lake Louise 鈥� is closed to vehicles for most of May, June and September. In Banff, you even can drop your ride at the , then head to , the town鈥檚 new Italian restaurant, to indulge in a 鈥淏icicletta鈥濃�� a bicycle-themed, Campari-based cocktail.

The new initiatives aren鈥檛 designed to appeal to hardcore mountain bikers or road cyclists, though. They鈥檙e meant to lure in the rest of us, who would be just as happy to see the area鈥檚 iconic glacial lakes and mountain peaks from the comfort of our cars.

Getting tourists to sightsee on bikes isn鈥檛 a particularly novel concept, until you consider that these aren鈥檛 the flat streets of Amsterdam. If a grizzly chases you uphill (an actual thing that happened to a cyclist in nearby Radium, B.C., in 2017), you could be actual dead meat.

Or at least that鈥檚 what Keilie, an Australian, seems to think. I spend the better part of our three-hour drive from Edmonton convincing her that we鈥檙e more likely to be attacked by a shark in Queensland. But my breath is wasted.

鈥淭he elk are calving right now. If you see any, pedal past them as fast as possible,鈥� the staff at the tells us when we pick up our Pedego e-bikes. 鈥淚 had one chase me the other day.鈥�

I can feel Keilie鈥檚 glare before I see it.

鈥淓lk?鈥� she hisses. 鈥淣ow I have to be worried about bears and 别濒办?鈥�

I don鈥檛 dare mention the aggressive Canadian geese.

For most visitors, close wildlife encounters are one of the selling points of cycling. Moving at a slower pace allows you to see what could be easily missed from the window of a car. As we daisy wheel around Jasper鈥檚 lakes, we spot coyotes, deer and, yes, elk with their young.

In truth, the real hurdle in getting visitors on bikes isn鈥檛 the hills or the animals 鈥� it鈥檚 regulations.

Due in part to trail-user conflict between hikers and cyclists, biking was once limited throughout the Parks Canada network. In Banff, for example, the activity was only permitted on 190 kilometres of the park鈥檚 1,600 kilometres of trail in 2005. Recent policy revisions have resulted in this number being closer to 500 kilometres today.

Amendments are also being made for e-bikes. Three years ago, Jasper began to permit e-bikes on all its multi-use trails, while in Banff, 15 of its 30 cycling trails are now e-bike-friendly 鈥� a change that only came into place in Dec. 2021.

鈥淪kiing has been around for hundreds of years 鈥� but mountain biking has only been around since the 鈥�70s. So, it鈥檚 a relatively young sport in comparison,鈥� says Elissa Cummings, owner of Journey Bike Guides, who started her company in 2019 to get more people on bikes.

鈥淧eople are still nervous to get on the trails,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of opportunity for growth of the sport.鈥�

In Banff, Clare McCann has also seen this transformation firsthand. The owner of 鈥� the first guiding business licensed to offer mountain-bike tours in the park, starting in 2021 鈥� she鈥檚 a member of the Bow Valley Mountain Bike Alliance, a cycling advocacy organization that works closely with Parks Canada to plan trails and prevent trail-user conflicts. When it comes to e-bikes, she says perceptions are changing: There鈥檚 a greater understanding that the pedal-assist technology makes cycling more accessible to people of all skill levels.

鈥淚 just want people to pedal,鈥� McCann tell us. 鈥淚 want them to stay on a bike for life and have a big smile on their face.鈥�

We zoom to the top of Teddy Bear鈥檚 Picnic, an easy, single-track cross-country trail down the Tunnel Mountain bench. With McCann鈥檚 calls of 鈥測ee-haw!鈥� reverberating through the trees, we twist and turn downwards. Glancing behind me, I can see Keilie鈥檚 grimace from days earlier has been replaced by a massive grin.

Yet, when the morning of our final ride arrives, I鈥檓 nervous. The 58-kilometre journey from Banff to Lake Louise could very well determine whether Keilie allows me to ever plan a holiday again.

Bear spray in our pack, we set out from the township. After about 30 minutes of cycling along a bike path, we reach the Bow Valley Parkway, where we revel in weaving across the middle of the relatively flat road, backed by snow-capped mountains. We鈥檙e not the only ones loving the car-free zone; deer graze roadside, and we watch a black bear soak up the mid-morning sun.

When it鈥檚 finally time to get back in the car and head out, everything seems to fly by far too fast. From the passenger seat, Keilie tells me she鈥檚 thinking of getting a bike. Life, she finally agrees, is much more fun on two wheels.

Writer Jessica Wynne Lockhart travelled as a guest of , and , which did not review or approve this article.

Three tips for a biking trip to Banff and Jasper

Plan your visit: This year, the 鈥� a pilot project in which 17 kilometres of the scenic roadway is closed to cars 鈥� operated from May 1 to June 25, and will be back Sept. 1 to 30. It takes roughly four hours to bike from Banff to Lake Louise, and you can take a bus ride for the return trip.

Book a tour: In Jasper, offers private guided mountain biking tours starting from $129. In Banff, 鈥檚 guided mountain e-biking tours start from $134.

Rent an e-bike: Cruiser e-bikes are available for rent from in Jasper, starting at $50 for two hours. In Banff, will kit you out with everything for the ride to Lake Louise; e-bike rentals are $72 for the day.