A bike ride by the G7 security cordon

KANANASKIS, Alta. — It’s an odd thing to be asked your business in your own country, in your own province, in an area where you’ve spent plenty of time hiking and climbing and skiing. A place where the whole purpose is to be free — or at least freer than in the city. You expect these questions going through customs or at checkpoints in less salubrious parts of the world. But not necessarily out on a gravel backroad in Kananaskis, Alta. Of course, with the G7 in town starting Sunday and a massive security operation restricting access to huge swathes of the backcountry, it’s a matter of routine. So, not unexpected, but still vaguely unsettling, to be stopped and warned by the RCMP where you’re not allowed to go and asked what you’re about. Kananaskis Village is nestled on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, and the meeting of seven of the most powerful people in the world will occur at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain lodge. Motorcades will travel from the Calgary International Airport, along the Trans Canada Highway and down Highway 40, also known as the Kananaskis Trail, to get world leaders to the summit. The location means that there is a massive security cordon set through the area backcountry. A stretch of Highway 40 is fully closed. And the security perimeter runs through miles of wild country, with many backcountry hikes shut down. When I set out with my bike Saturday morning, that meant I had to traverse a gravel backroad to arrive at Highway 40, for just a 15 kilometre stretch from the intersection of Highway 742 and Highway 40 before I butted up against the checkpoint set for the G7. Coming in from Canmore, roughly an hour drive on the gravel Smith Dorrien Trail, there were a handful of security checkpoints en route. Mounties asked where I was going and what I had planned, reminding me that hikes along the eastern slopes of the mountains in the region were closed. They seemed vaguely unclear on what I would be allowed to do with my bike, though I’d previously checked with Alberta Parks, so I was fairly sure I had it right. As an aside, when I phoned Alberta Parks last week, the call began with a recorded message about cancelling reservations in K-Country, suggesting that a good number of tourists had trips planned and backed out when they discovered they wouldn’t be able to do what they wanted. At other points, police and conservation officers had electric bikes on standby, along with the odd ATV. Mostly, police were just lounging around, drinking coffee in camp chairs. Given that everyone’s aware that there’s limited access to the backcountry, it was a quiet drive. I saw only a handful of civilian vehicles on the drive out there. The parking lot of Chester Lake, a popular (and easy) hike trafficked by tourists, sat empty but for some security. In stark contrast, I swung by Banff for lunch with a friend after the ride, and it was an utter madhouse, especially with the Banff half marathon scheduled for Sunday. At the start of the ride, I checked with two Mounties if I was allowed to ride where I wanted to. The officers were from British Columbia and Ontario, shipped to the area for the G7, and informed me that I’d be fine to ride. In response to a somewhat desperate request, they let me use their port-a-potty, with the caution that if I made a mess, they’d clap me in irons. And so I set out, pedalling for an easy 15 kilometres north towards where I knew the checkpoint would be. As I rode, an RCMP light-armoured vehicle went barrelling by in the opposite direction. At one point, a Mountie in a pickup truck stopped to ask where I was headed. I told her and she warned me about a grizzly bear and cub that had been frequenting the Opal day use area. (I checked the accessibility of my bear spray and carried on.) The checkpoint itself was far less exciting than I’d expected. I’d imagined something from an apocalypse movie. All concrete barriers and military vehicles. Instead, there was an events tent and a couple of police officers. We chatted for a bit about skiing in the area and I turned around, discovering to my horror that the 15 kilometres back was quite a bit more uphill than expected and that the headwind on the way in turned out to … still be a headwind, as so often happens. All in all, the security presence seemed far less intrusive than expected. On the way back, at a checkpoint near Mount Sparrowhawk, one officer did give my bike and vehicle a cursory inspection and declared that he was satisfied, while asking if I had any hikes planned. I did not. I did see a couple of security officials hiking back out of the woods. Before I left, after loading my bike back onto my car, a woman pulled up to the King Creek parking lot for a hike with her dog. Before she headed out, she declared herself exasperated by all the security: “It’s almost over,” she said. True, but the G7 itself is just getting started.

• G7 leaders will get a 'truly Albertan experience' says Kananaskis lodge GM
• Ivison: President Trump, the G7 and Canada's new ‘realistic’ foreign policy

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here.