Week 7: July 21 - July 27
West Glacier, MT to Eureka, MT
This Week's Photos
Week 6 journal
Week 8 journal
July 21
"Today is the start of our 7th week on the road. It is also a day off
from riding. So I have an opportunity to reflect on the trip so far, and
speculate on the future. Objectively, the raw stats say that we have gone
over 3000 miles, averaging about 80 miles per day. Subjectively, one of
the principal goals, if not the emotional peak was attained and passed
yesterday. I find myself a little down today, knowing that the ride is
almost over and yet over two weeks (a third of the time we've already
spent) remains to be completed before we reach the finish, and are able to
go home again.
In Rugby, we met a man who had done a crossing of the continent last year,
and warned us of the emotional letdown that can take place when it's time
to return to the routine that we left BTR (Before The Ride). He explained
that although it's been a year since he returned to the routine... he
still has not recovered emotionally. In fact, he reported that he rarely
has ridden his bike since. Now, a year later, he has signed up to do a
short, weeklong ride in the hopes of rekindling his passion for bike
touring. At the time, I thought there were few parallels beween his
situation and mine. He toured extensively BTR, and I only toured to
prepare for it. He only rode his bike to tour, while I took great
satisfaction from a more utilitarian approach to riding. However, now
that I am experiencing a letdown of sorts after crossing the divide, I
wonder whether some inevitable deeper letdown is in store for me, to be
overcome, in the weeks and months ahead?
Putting the events of yesterday and their possible effect on my feelings
to the side for the moment... The experience over the last six weeks, of
seeing the impressive expanse of our land, the people, their kindness,
generosity, hopes, needs, values and flaws will stay with me and affect me
always. The inward struggle to remain focused on making progress, in
spite of weather, bad surprises , and at times, boredom and loneliness
will be remembered as a contrast with the times when life is easy and It
seems to take no effort on my part. I guess, in short, it will help me to
keep from taking those things in my lfe that I value most, for
granted.
In the short time we have left, Steve and I will take a side trip down to
Missoula before returning to our charted route. We will probably take
more frequent days off in order to time our finish at Anacortes to happen
just over two weeks from now. Today's weather may be a taste of what is
to come, now that we're west of the divide... a combination of clouds,
coolness, some rain, but also bright sun which is warming me now as I work
on this journal. So it goes..." --ez
July 22
"We are spending the night at Alva Lake Campground in Lolo National
Forest. No showers... no pay phones, so this journal entry will be a
little delayed. We left West Glacier this morning under very cool
conditions... low 40s. Both Steve and I wore our gloves and complete
rainsuit as a windbreaker as the route was generally downhill. The sky
was overcast, and we were in the shadow of the mountains so there wasn't
much expectation of radiant warming. These were the conditions that we
expected as, days ago, we looked from the eastern side of the continental
divide and saw all the clouds along the range. The day remained cool
throughout, except that occasionally the sun appeared, and warmed us.
Just as frequently, however, there was mist in the air, and at one point
we outran a heavy downpour that we saw approaching from behind. We later
ran into a soaked motorcyclist who wasn't as lucky. The weather changes
so rapidly this close to the mountains that we must always be prepared to
seek shelter, or don our rain gear.
We are taking a side trip off route down to Missoula to see the Adventure
Cycling headquarters, and wish them a happy 25th anniversary, and
continued success for another 25. The road we chose to take is
particularly beautiful... It is route 83 that follows the Swan River
between the Mission Mountain range to the West, and the Swan Range to the
East. They are parts of Lolo National Forest and Flathead National
Forest, respectively. The road is gorgeous, lined with Ponderosa and
other (lodge pole?) pines. It seems every piece of property here has a
large gate made of two vertical logs and one more horizontally overhead,
supported by the other two. The more prosperous a landowner, the larger
the gate!
Traffic on 83 was a bit hectic... being Sunday, there were a lot of
campers being hauled, only one tractor trailer, though. I don't know if
commercial traffic will increase tomorrow, or not, but being near Seely
Lake, we are about 26 miles away from the end of 83 where it connects with
route 200 and goes towards Missoula, it shouldn't be a problem if we get
an early start tomorrow. We traveled 101 miles today averaging 13.1 mph...
and I over-exerted myself. We were trying to get to a campground around
Seely Lake, but I was relieved that we happened on this one. Luckily, at
the last town, Condon, we decided to have some sandwiches made at a deli,
and bought some drinks just in case we didn't have access to buying a
dinner at our stopping point... which turned out to be the case. We will
be taking another rest day in Missoula... I Know!... we just had one...
but it's all part of the Master Plan... which at this point we are making
up as we go along. A true adventure. Overall, today was a wonderful day
of riding! So it goes..." --ez
July 23
"Missoula is a neat college town with a lot of bike riders. We arrived at
Adventure Cycling headquarters at about 2:30 this afternoon. Considering
that they must get a half dozen or more people like us stop in each day,
they were very friendly and gave Steve and I a lot of attention. We got
to meet Greg Siple, whose photography graces the pages of ACA's magazine.
I have admired his work for a long time. We signed some releases and he
took our photos for the archives... I suppose if some anthology of bike
touring gets produced in the millenia to come, they might even see the
light of day again... ;) Greg was kind enough to offer advice on the best
way for us to continue on the northern tier route... a great option, but
unfortunately, would cut several days off the trip... so... in spite of
his concerns about our proposed route, we may proceed as we originally
planned anyhow.
Today started out even chillier than yesterday... I hope this isn't a
trend! Rte. 83 continued very scenic, but narrow with commercial traffic
showing up on a weekday. Once off of 83, we had a long, gradual, uphill
for a distance of about 6 miles on route 200. After reaching the crest,
however, it was downhill the entire rest of the way to Missoula... almost
30 miles! The wind, was in our faces, but not very intense, so we were
able to maintain an average speed of 13.3 mph over the 67 miles we
rode.
Tomorrow is another day off, we'll try to get our pictures developed and
mailed off. We'll probably have to ride to have them developed, and then
mailed, because unfortunately, the motel we are at is a bit out of the
way. Not only that, but it didn't have the laundry we were led to believe
it provided for guests to use, so we wound up walking a half mile or so to
get that chore done.
An observation about Montana.... There seem to be an abundance of guns
here! Many, if not most of the highway signs we passed had bullet holes
in them. There was even a sign that said "No Shooting" . THAT one didn't
have any bullet holes in it! I guess if you have a gun here, you're feel
a strong compulsion to use it! So it goes..." --ez
July 24
Sometimes days off can be tedious. Certainly they are necessary to allow
small hurts to heal, and to get tasks like laundry and photos and post
office visits and shopping for replacement parts done all at once. They
are more likely to be tedious when they happen in an out of the way place
like our two night stay at Glacier Campground. They are more likely to be
tedious when you have to slow down your rate of progress... like Steve
and I do. However, it's hard to be bored in a bike friendly town like
Missoula. We did a little riding today to check out the area, and do some
shopping. It seems that everyone bikes in this town. Bike lanes run
along the main roads in town. Drivers are very much aware of cyclists and
will extend riders uncommon courtesy, such as having both directions of
traffic stop to let Steve and I make a left hand turn onto a busy street!
(It really happened, although, I can't believe that it happens often, even
in Missoula.) There is an extensive system of bike paths in the city...
It seems that one major trunk extends out from the city center towards a
residential area... a real example of a practical commuting path. Busses
all have bike racks mounted on them. Bike racks are everywhere,
especially downtown where they look like hitching racks and are embedded
in the concrete near the curbs. As is not uncommon elsewhere, bike racks
are found in front of most major stores... uncommonly, here they are
often full of parked bikes. As Steve pointed out to me, most cars have a
bike rack capable of carrying at least one bike, and in many cases
snowboards as well. while we were shopping, we were recognized as
cyclists (must be the tan!) and asked if we were in town to participate
with the upcoming charity ride from Missoula to Billings... over 400
miles in 7 days with over 1500 riders! Unfortunately, by the time the
ride starts we should be in Idaho.
No place is perfect, however, and I couldn't help notice how barren the
hills surrounding Missoula are... My guess is that it's the result of
lumber companies clear-cutting the area. I guess one side benefit is the
reduced liklihood of fire damage due to an out of control wildfire. Steve
and I had seen the effects of forest fire when we passed Sofa Mountain
along the Chief Mountain International Highway on our way to Rising Sun
Campground the other day. The area was devastated in 1998.
I had been concerned about the drop in morning temperatures here on the
west side of the divide. Steve and I have been uncomfortably cold for the
past two camping mornings. Luckily it hasn't been raining those two days,
but as we move west through the northern Washington passes, I can't count
on that luck lasting. With rain and temperature in the upper thirties,
we'd be looking at serious pain, and even risk of hypothermia...
especially if a mechanical failure occurs and prevents us from continuing
to pedal. Originally, when we were deciding on gear to take, a fleece was
on the recommended list. Weight and bulk concerned me, however, and I
compromised by bringing a more substantial rainsuit. I felt that the
jacket and pants from the rainsuit would serve to trap enough warmth and
block enough wind in the Summer months that they would do sufficient
double duty on our trek for warmth, wind and rain protection. Up until
the rockies, this theory has worked out well, however, with temperatures
hovering around 40 degrees, it's clear that regardless of the space and
weight, a fleece jacket is necessary. Cutting to the chase, Steve and I
bought fleece jackets today at an REI outlet store. Having bought our
tent online from REI, and being an avid camper, I like to browse such
stores anyway. I resisted the temptation to buy a new LED headlamp from
Petzl... but it's on my list for the future!
Another task on today's agenda was to make a final decision on choice of
route to reconnect with ACA's Northern tier route. We decided that we
would rather bike three long, scenic, safe days to Eureka, rather than
three short, traffic filled days. So we will be traveling to the
northwest towards St. Regis, following Interstate 90 (it is legal for
cyclists to ride on ANY road in Montana), before turning back to the east
for a bit. The convoluted route is forced upon us by the pattern of the
mountain ranges, and the need to follow river paths... (most roads in the
mountains follow rivers). So it goes..." --ez
July 25
"Money well spent", according to Steve.
The fleece jackets that we
bought yesterday were put to use this morning. We both originally started
out riding in just our bike shorts and shirts... but after twenty miles I
was unable to control my fingers very well. It seemed as though I was
moving in syrup. We stopped for some hot chocolate, put our fleece
jackets on, and stood in the sun for a while. After that we rode on in
our jackets until the sun actually started to warm the air. We followed
Interstate 90 for about 75 miles today, alternately riding on parallel
frontage roads, and where there was no frontage road, riding on I90
itself. It was an interesting experience, because I am accustomed to
bicycle prohibitions on Interstate roads back east. Here in Montana,
there are no such restrictions... nevertheless, it is a little nerve
wracking to be riding alongside traffic that is traveling at 75+ mph,
especially when crossing a bridge over a river and the shoulder
disappears! For the most part, though, the scenery was awesome, the
shoulder was wide, and traffic was relatively light. There were two types
of rumble strips that we encountered on I90, however. The first (older)
one was a continuous strip about 2 feet wide immediately adjacent to the
right hand traffic lane, leaving us separated from traffic and able to
ride in comfort in the remaining 8 feet width of shoulder. The second one
seems to be a new approach to rumble strips for Montana, and it is
definitely a pain for cyclists to endure. This type consists of full
shoulder-width patches of corrugation for about 4 feet every 50 feet of
shoulder. There is no way for a cyclist to avoid the strips without
edging into the traffic lane every 50 feet of travel... definitely a
dangerous situation. The only mitigating factor related to this new style
was the fact that sand and road cinders had collected in the strips,
making it almost tolerable to ride over them. We only had to deal with
the new type for the last 15 miles or so, as we exited I90 at St. Regis.
Route 135 was very scenic from St. Regis towards route 200. It snaked
through the mountains, sharing the valley with a railroad spur, and a
river that was being used by a number of rafters, kayakers, canoeists, and
fly fishermen.
Generally our route today was all downhill... as I recollect it. Steve
seems to think it was flatter. We'll find out who was correct tomorrow as
we attempt to finish our temporary route and reconnect (almost) with the
Adventure Cycling Northern Tier route in Kalispell. I think that we've
got a significant climb ahead of us. Today's distance was 99 miles (for
me). Steve went over 100 because he, as usual, was far out in front of
me, and got nervous when after waiting for me to catch up for a long time
(and seeing an ambulance go by), he doubled back a couple miles on the
route to find me plodding along. I had gotten another flat tire, and had
just started riding again after repairing it when he and I met. So far, I
have had four flat tires. The first was my front tire which got punctured
by some piece of metal back in New York. Both trailer tires went flat...
but neither got punctured! I still don't understand how it happened, but
a tiny hole developed in two different tubes close to the valve, with no
noticeable sharpness in the rim at the point of the hole. I had just
chalked those two instances up to some possible idiosyncracy of the nylon
rims, or a defect in the 12" tubes. However, today's flat was in my
bike's front tire again, and was the same symptom as the trailer tires!
The hole was tiny, on the rim side, and within an inch of the valve stem.
I am mystified. I can only think that the rumble strips weren't helping.
We are spending the night at the Cascade Campground in Lolo National
Forest... rustic and NO showers! I did go down to the river and rinse
off... almost as refreshing :) So it goes..." --ez
July 26
"I was right.
When we turned onto route 28 today, we were immediately
presented with six miles of climbing. Once that was over, however, the
terrain turned flat and slightly downhill. We were riding in the Flathead
Indian reservation, and I wonder where the name "flathead" came from.
It's my guess that it describes the nature of the land through which we
biked... very broad and flat... almost like an "altiplano". Also like
South America, the first animals we saw in the plain, extending as far
as we could see was a huge herd of llama. Alpaca on the hoof! Heading
north for about 25 miles through this land, I made a mistake and pushed
myself as hard as I could. I had gotten overconfident having made the
initial climb, and not realizing the toll it had taken on me, I subjected
myself to more stress. I began to run out of energy as the road turned to
the east, whereupon we were presented with an ugly surprise... a stiff
wind in our faces coming out of the east :( Palpably unfair! Needless to
say, I struggled the rest of the day. Thankfully, Steve stuck with me,
offering encouragement, and we made it into our target destination for the
day, Kalispell. Along the way, we passed west of Flathead Lake, one of
the prettiest lakes I've ever seen. Surrounded by large hills on all
sides, the water was a deep blue, with whitecaps spread over its surface
by the wind. A number of sailboats were out taking advantage of
conditions. There appeared to be a hilly, large island in the middle of
the lake, which according to symbols on my map was the location of a state
park. As we turned north to skirt the lakeshore, the terrain changed to a
lot of long hills... very physically draining, even if I wasn't already
spent. Luckily, as we left the lake behind, the road flattened out for
the last 10 miles into Kalispell. Adrenalin got me moving faster again as
we came upon road construction over four miles into town. With heavy
traffic at that time of day, aggressive riding helped me get through the
tight section of road... at least it got me through it a lot faster! As
we pulled into our stop for the day, the final tally had us put in another
near century day at 97+ miles. The next two days will be considerably
shorter, and then we will take a day off on the third day, spending it in
Libby, Montana! So it goes..." --ez
July 27
"As Steve said, "It's a good thing we got a late start today". I would
call today as close as it gets to "Murphy's revenge on our trek". We left
Kalispell at 8:30 this morning, and finally got out of town at 11:30.
About 5 miles down the road Steve mentioned how canted one of my trailer
tires looked . We stopped and found that somewhere along the last day's
ride, the wheel lost all but one of its bearings, and was hanging on by
just one of its bearing retainers. After 'weighing' our options, we
decided that the quickest way for us to get back on the road was to
perform equipment triage and find room to squeeze the essentials onto my
bike and Steve's with some attempt to equalize the weight. We took apart
the trailer frame and packed it along with a lot of other gear that we
felt we could do without over the last 800 mile stretch. It all fit
nicely into the trailer box, which I loaded while Steve researched the
location of a UPS office in town. We actually packed it after we got to
UPS, because we needed to use the trailer, such as it was to get there.
We got there and found that the office didn't open until 11 am, so after
hanging around, commiserating, we had it weighed and shipped back home. I
lost 33 pounds today, and boy did I feel fast afterwards!
Well, we continued on our "short" day's ride, and about 35 miles from
Eureka, Steve's rear derailleur cable broke. Again, it snapped at the
retaining nut, so rather than get our last tandem-length cable out and use
it as a replacement, I cut about 3 inches off the cable housing to give us
enough slack in the old cable to reach the nut... problem solved in about
10 minutes in the town of Olney, MT. We continued on towards Eureka, and
met a guy at a power-ade stop who let us know that he had ridden in the
very first cross country ride 25 years ago organized by then-named
Bikecentennial... (now Adventure Cycling). Just as we were getting into
Eureka and looking for the town park, I noticed my rear tire going flat...
a slow leak. We limped into the park, and as Steve set up the tent, I put
a deposit down on the shower room key and began fixing the flat while
Steve showered. All this was ending around 7PM... a LONG day for a short
ride!
In the park with us tonight is a cyclist from The Netherlands named Juul.
He is a teacher, and during his six weeks off each year, he selects an
area of the world to tour. He has crossed the USA 20 years ago following
the ACA TransAm route. He has cycled Australia, Alaska, Europe
extensively, and told stories of 20% grade hills in his favorite cycling
destination, New Zealand. Needless to say, he is unmarried! It is now
almost 10PM, and Steve and I have to be on the road at 5:30 to try and
beat the predicted 30 mph headwinds we will encounter on our way
traveling to tomorrow's stop, Libby, MT. I hope to get a replacement
rear tire for my bike there. Oh, by the way, the Tobacco Road rodeo is in
town! Lots of outsiders dressed cowboy style filling up all the bars...
I expect hootin' and hollerin' as we try to sleep tonight! So it goes..."
--ez
