Bikes tuned up, ready to go.
Day 1 - 6/18/2015
8:51 pm (1027)

 

 

We all had our bikes worked on a bit, took up a tram to the top of a nearby peak, and had awesome burgers in the location shown below.

We'll potentially be incommunicado until Sunday night. All looks good at this point, even the thunderstorm predictions seem to be going away.

Also I've been informed that the "moose" is actually an elk. Go figure.

First day on the road
Day 2 - 6/19/2015: 37 miles (37 total), 2456 feet (2456 total)
5:43 pm (1029)

 

 

 

Hardest Climb of the Tour
Day 3 - 6/20/2015: 60 miles (157 total), 3465 feet (9386 total)
5:42 pm (1028)

Typical tour day, we were on the road by 7:30 after packing down our tents, and cooking oatmeal and coffee (supplemented by bananas and apples), and then made lunch (2 peanut-butter and jelly bagels, mmmmm). There was supposed to be a breakfast place 3 miles down the road, but we couldn't count on it, hence the oatmeal. Turns out there was a restaurant, so we had a (small) second breakfast after a five mile ride :-).

Then we headed off towards Sunwapta Pass. The pass itself is about 35 miles in, but the majority of the climbing, and all the really steep stuff, was on the way up to a false plateau, followed by a couple mile level ride, followed by a last push up to Sunwapta.

The ride until then was just truly great. I can't keep using superlatives because they start not meaning anything, but this was what we were there for. Mountains, falls, glaciers, everywhere you looked. There is no better way to experience this stuff than on a bike, where you have all the time in the world, and in some sense you *earn* those sights by our effort.

I should add that there is wildlife too. We saw plenty of elk, four bears by the side of the road (we kept cars between us and the fauna), and goats (more on this later).

So the climb begins, relatively long stretches of 10%, at over 6000 feet, hauling 50 lbs of gear plus water. This is the climb that Bill and I had both been worrying about, he for his cardiac issues and me because of my knees. I knew I was strong enough to get up the hill, but I didn't know if my knees would get swollen in response.

We hit the sharpest part of the hill in earnest after talking with a guy who runs rides from Jasper to Banff ---- in a SINGLE DAY. I mean this is 185 miles in the Canadian Rockies, a seriously crazy thing to do. The guy confided that he'd been running this one-day tour for years. trying to get people to the end rather than having to pick them up in his van. Guys failed and came back year after year until finally in one golden year, they all made it! Excitement! Except that none of them came back the next year (this one), so he has to start them all over.

He drives ahead and sets up his van every 10 miles or so w/ a real plush spread, everything you could thing of seems to come out of that van in massive quantities. The riders this year were four guys between 40 and 60, and a 21yo woman. These guys passed us up of course (hey, they were on unloaded bikes!), and were averaging close to 16 mph for the whole trip, vs 10 or 11 for us. I should add that at least two of them paced us up this nasty bit for a couple miles, before finally pulling ahead.

The climb started at 7% and quickly climbed to 10%. We all spread out, it's basically about survival for all of us at that point. I was most worried about Bill, who'd admitted to sleepless nights thinking about this climb. He started pretty shaky, 1km into the worst 4km he was shaking and weaving, despite all of us stopping frequently. At least I didn't think about my knees, I was too worried about bill.

However, at 1k in, he bellowed a reprimand from his marine days to himself ("Get your mind right, bitch!"), and that was that. We were all still slow (I was cruising along at 3.1 mph), but there was no longer a question of making it. We crested the top and high-fived, and if felt GREAT!

Our stop at the top coincided with the parking lot of the Jasper Skybridge, a glass-floored extension out over the valley, parts of it thousands of feet below. I had wanted to do this, though I don't do very well w/ heights and expected it to be an expensive tourist trap, which it was. However, one of the attendants walked over, introduced herself, and said that anyone who had just biked up that pass were welcome to go out on the skybridge free, so what-are-you-going-to-do? It was spectacular, scary, and I kept holding on to the railing. Why? I wasn't going to fall over, and if the whole thing fell to the valley floor hanging on to the railing wasn't going to help much. Maybe because when I looked between my toes I could see mountain goats at least 800 feet down.

After the Skybridge we had a short downhill and then a gentle climb to the actual pass (not the nasty notch we'd just summited). However, the gentle climb was into one of the most fierce headwinds I can remember battling. And remember, we were all using panniers, which are effectively sails when it comes to wind. We made it across the valley floor to where the road turns and the head wind effectively becomes a tailwind, and we were just boosted to the top, a short bit past the Columbia Icefields, where Rosana, Blue, and I had taken a bus w/ enormous wheels out onto the glacier years ago. I have to say that I don't remember seeing quite as many glaciers before, they were everywhere. Magnificent.

Going down the other side was a challenge. First, it was very steep. Contrary to my habits in other tours, I tried to keep it under 35 mph, as there was traffic, the road was a bit rough and winding, and the wind was unpredictable. Re the latter, at one point I sat up while going down a steep section, and rather that doing 35+, I was going 21-23 because of an intense headwind.

John, Henry, and Tom had stopped at the Icefields welcome center, but Bill and I were so stoked at having made it to the in good shape that we just kept going, and the next 20 miles sped past, getting us to Rampart Creek Campground. A nice, wooded campground w/ the same lacks as the last, except that it only had one water spigot about 3/4 miles into the campground, whereas we had set up camp near the front already. Turns out you *can* carry 4-liter pots full of water on your bike!

Now, we sleep....

First: weather. It rained much of our first day. Today it was alternately cold, hot, and windy, but no actual rain. The first night in whistler campground near Jasper, John, Bill and I endured temperatures in the 30's, Since, it's been a few degrees warmer.

I have a lightweight sleeping bag because of the heat we'll endure once we make it past Glacier National Park in the US. So that first night I had skin-tight long underwear and long-sleeved shirt, woolen long underwear and shirt, a fleece sweatshirt, woolen socks, my warm Archaeopteryx cap, and gloves. Since then it's varied night to night, and hour to hour, as mountain weather does. One night I had only a light base layer on until 2, but then it got much colder and I had to scoot around my tent attempting to find everything.

This is somewhat easier in this tent as it has LED light ing the seems. A push-button almost gives you light to read by and makes the whole thing glow brightly from the outside.

Finally, when we get to Lake Louise tomorrow, it will have been three days without showers. Riding hard in the mountains. 'nuff said.

Tallest climb yet: 6800 feet
Day 4 - 6/21/2015: 62 miles (219 total), 3502 feet (12888 total)
10:29 pm (1031)

 

 

 

Today was the third day, slightly more climbing than yesterday (though not as steep a gradient), and about 10 more miles. Essentially more beautiful glaciers and turquoise green lakes. Evidently the green comes from "rock flour", pulverized rock that only reflects in certain wavelengths.

Today's climb started about 10 miles in and was steep: 5% , which is nothing like yesterday maxing out at 10%. After a couple miles the gradient came down to 2-3 0.000000or the next 15 miles, followed by a last 4-mile section at about 7%. This was tough, but we stopped twice, admired the view, and generally had a good time.

Cresting Bow Pass at 6800 feet, we encountered a lone woman tourer who was headed to Alaska. She started in Connecticut. She vectored us to a nearby restaurant where we had surprisingly tasty bison chili.

Then the real fun began. We had a brand new road surface, slightly downhill. It was so new they didn't have lines on it yet. You have five guys who were excited to get over the first two tough mountain passes, so....boys will be boys. Bill took off and we formed a paceline behind him. After a great pull, I took the lead and dragged the gang along at 24+ mph, though not for long. After this, we just had one guy after the other racing to the front and the others would follow, Henry being the most aggressive. Stupid, not necessarily a good idea at the end of a long hard day, but it was GREAT fun. Some of the most fun any of us have ever had on a bike.

Racing down the new blacktop took us all the way to where highway 93 (ours) crossed the Trans-Canada 1, the major cross-country highway. Then we got on TC1. That was a bit scary, but actually it's designed to accommodate bikers and had a very wide shoulder. In any even, our exit was only a mile down the road.

So now we're going to have a short day to Banff tomorrow, followed by a rest day in Banff. Suggestions include going to the hotel, hot springs, and a good dinner. The hot springs, especially, will be welcome. Today was our first shower in a while, after all.

The pictures are of a 3yo grizzly bear off the side of the road (it's fuzzy because I was using a 30x zoom), and various beautiful stuff, including the clawfoot glacier.

Random pics
Day 5 - 6/22/2015: 40 miles (259 total), 1811 feet (14699 total)
10:26 am (1032)

 

 

 

 

The first is on the Skybridge, the last shows it in the distance.

 

 

Today was a study in contrasts. We woke up a bit late, got out of the tents at 6am, and at that point it was 31 degrees. By the time we arrived in Banff 40 miles and far more climbing than we expected later, it was 88 in the sun. Arg.

After showering we hopped a bus into the town to do laundry, where we essentially still are. Unfortunately, the campground's wifi is still under construction. Not sure what we will be doing tomorrow (layover day), but I expect it to include a lot of napping and reading.

Re the last picture, Henry has just placed a large rock on Bill's pannier, but he hasn't quite figured it out yet.

Rest day
Day 6 - 6/23/2015
2:10 pm (1034)

Only four days in, but a good time to get a good night's sleep (past 5 in the morning) and make sure all the parts are working correctly.

Tomorrow we head south and will probably take another layover day six days later. Two riding days after that: Going-To-The-Sun road!

 

Instead of doing 45 miles to an expensive lodge, we're going to tack on 25 miles (all downhill) to get to a national campground. This has the added advantage of getting us through an area that's going to soon be very hot, half a day quicker.

Pics are from the grand Banff Springs Hotel.

More pics
Day 7 - 6/24/2015: 72 miles (523 total), 3164 feet (26635 total)
12:36 pm (1037)

 

Why is this random assemblage of people all staring at their phones? Yes, free wifi.

Also, bear poop.

 

 

 

 

The answer appears to be "no", going by the big pile of bear poop we found: they prefer to shit on the road, probably just to freak us out.

Backtracking....today was another awesome day where we backtracked 18 miles from Banff to Castle Junction, a single-store town?, and then head south towards Radium Hot Springs. The Hot Springs are where it is predicted to get very hot in the near future. Our next two days were both supposed to be in the 40's, which gave us the idea that maybe we should try to bank a few more miles while we can. Today's ride was predicted to be a bit difficult on the way back to Castle Junction. Is was, but again spectacular rock formations, and enormous rock/mountains caught by the light while we were still in shadow, and a family of elk splashing in a shallow lake by the side of the road made it worthwhile.

From Castle Junction, the road was supposed to climb 800 feet, and then be a gentle downhill for the next 50'ish miles. Given this, it makes sense to skip the expensive lodge at 47 miles, and go to a campground at 70, no?

We thought so too, and therefore changed our plans. The 800-ft climb turned out to be 950-ft, but no biggie. By the time we started the climb the heat had started, but we had a nice, gentle headwind that kept us cooled off.

Reaching the top, we rejoiced and readied ourselves for the long coast to camp. Not to be......the headwind was now fierce, at least 15 mph and sometimes stronger. This turned the latter part of the trip into a bit of an endurance test. The sights were still grand, and there were still sections that were nice downhills, but good downhills were turned into gentle downhills, and gentle downhills were turned into flats, or worse.

At the end of 72 miles, we turned into McCloud Campground which had been renamed "Campground Ferme". Ugh. We had been warned that it might be closed, but that it was no big deal and the rangers would absolutely not care. On the other hand, as shown in the picture, there was a big fat bear poop next to the area we wanted to camp in. In combination with the fact that the bears might still be hungry after their long nap, and the absence of ANY people being here before us, it was a cause for concern, for some more than for others.

Bill, of course, was incredulous. He was all for taking precautions: 1) putting food in bear boxes, and 2) sleeping away from where we had cooked. However, the consensus soon formed that everyone would sleep in one of the picnic shelters, in freestanding tents for those that have them or on table tops otherwise. Two picnic tables would be used to "bear"-icade the doors, and woe unto him who need to go pee in the night.

"This is crazy," says Bill. Another biker who asked that his name be withheld (Henry) replies: "But Bill, you are old..." Oh no, where is he going with this? how can he finesse that without being being insulting? "...you're going to die soon. We have more time." Wham! You go Henry! Didn't see that one coming. Almost worth getting eaten to hear that one. (Another: a tiny number of snails endangered by construction. Henry: "They have been around 40 million years? That's a pretty good run, let 'em die...". Another: Bill: "I have a good story, and it's true." Henry: "Are you saying it could have been something else?")

At any rate, Bill, John, and I are camping out, Henry and Tom will be in the bearicade. Assuming you read this tomorrow, all was well. And also that the park rangers didn't put us in jail.

 

 

 

 

Mountain goats, river, Continental Divide, Marlboro-man Bill, and the Sawtooth mountains.

 

 

 

 

At our originally scheduled stopping point while heading south towards radium springs, trying to decide whether to go further.

38 degrees when we got on the road, supposed to be in the 90s tomorrow.

Typical second breakfast
Day 8 - 6/25/2015: 52 miles (575 total), 3455 feet (30090 total)
12:39 pm (1040)

 

 

 

 

Our stealth camping worked out well last night; we were able to get extra mileage in and it didn't even cost us anything! We got up late (5:30), cooked our oatmeal and coffee, and hit the road. We didn't go far, as there weren't any open restrooms in the campground, and there was an open picnic area half a mile down the road....

Once we were back on the road, we had a couple miles of flat to warm up, and then we hit a 1200-foot hill. Since we actually started up the hill by 7:30, it was still cool and to quote another biker (London John), we just "geared down and settled in". (I'm trying to concentrate here, but John and Tom are dissing movie starlets and it's distracting). As we climbed past 400, 500 feet, the vistas opened out until the mountain ranges stood out in the distance. We continued pounding, at this point all five of us at different points on the hill, everyone into their own groove.

At 800 feet the road turned and opened into a lookout area that had the best views yet. The road from this lookout looked flat, so everyone else assumed that the top had been reached. Ha! Being a technophile, I was tracking our climb on GPS and knew that we had 400 feet left. I THINK that helped me, but never sure.

Finally reaching the top, we tilted over the dropoff into a 2100-foot downhill, with grades ranging from 4-12%. The road was smooth, turns were gentle, and we went down through mountainside, rock canyons, past the hot springs, and down to our second breakfast. Truly a bitchen' downhill. As we rolled to a stop, we talked briefly with three women who were headed up, and from there all the way to Jasper. Women are out there! This is a very good thing!

We're now at an RV/campground w/ a pool and a covered picnic table area where I'm typing this and where we're going to have dinner. The heat hits tomorrow in earnest, so we plan on being on the road by 5:30, w/ our 50 miles (to Fort Steele) in by noon-ish. We'll try to stay out of the heat in the afternoon, maybe in a library, maybe in a movie. Regardless, we will be very careful.

First few pics are of the untouched wilderness Bill found last night.

Travel day
Day 9 - 6/26/2015: 58 miles (633 total), 2234 feet (32324 total)
3:28 pm (1042)

No good new pictures as today was just a travel day to Fort Steele. We all agreed to get up at 4:45 to beat the heat, and did, but a couple in our number (not bill or I), got up at 4:15! It did work, we rolled into camp at 11:30 am, after 57 miles, just as the thermometer was in the low 80, well below the predicted 93. It was still hot.

Tomorrow we go to Fernie, which is supposed to be a happening outdoorsy place.

I leave you with a picture of the largest pancakes I've ever eaten (considering both width and height).

In Fernie
Day 10 - 6/27/2015: 62 miles (695 total), 2550 feet (34874 total)
8:10 pm (1043)

 

 

 

 

Thanks to the largess of Tom (and Tom's brother, who evidently is well-heeled and treats Tom's biking companions to a hotel each trip), we are in a nice hotel in Fernie while the heat rages outside. Tomorrow we will be going to Bellevue, only 47 miles down the road, and crisping in a public park. The day after, we will be in Waterton, where the heat is evidently breaking and we might even get some rain.

The pictures are of the town of Elko (the town consists of a Store that sells everything from chips to chainsaws), a tire that was supposedly attacked by a grizzley, and three pretty pictures of the mountain pass we went over today.

The store was a real hoot: the proprietor gave us an earful of grizzly encounters ("Well, he was scratching at the door, roaring on two feet, but Buck, he's a deadeye shot... The real problem was that it was so hot that night that Buck had to sleep on the porch, next to the dead bear...").

Another travel day: fear and loathing on a Sunday
Day 11 - 6/28/2015: 52 miles (747 total), 1899 feet (36773 total)
10:34 am (1044)

 

 

 

We are on our way to our next destination: Waterton Village. We should arrive there tomorrow.

Today was basically getting some mileage in on, hopefully, our last really hot day. Today was in the low 90's and sunny; tomorrow is supposed to have a high of 82 in Waterton.

The biggest event for me is that I have caught some sort of food poisoning or other ill. As of yesterday afternoon I wasn't sure I was going to be able to ride today. I was thinking about waiting a day and trying to get someone to drive me up. Instead, I was able to ride (slowly), though things have improved only incrementally.

Tomorrow we are reverting to our early schedule, be moving by 5:30 AM. The plan is to get to Waterton Village and possible spend a layover day there. Then one day to Rising Sun in the US, and the next day go up the mountain.....

Into Waterton
Day 12 - 6/29/2015: 66 miles (813 total), 2876 feet (39649 total)
12:23 pm (1046)

 

 

 

Miscellaneous items: Animals

Four+ black bears, a grizzly, mountain goats, elks galore (including a family), a coyote, and now wolves! The coyote went running through our campground the other night, waking up everyone while it yapped non-stop at the top of its voice, running from one end of the campground to the other at high speed. The wolves were in a field as we rode past. They looked like coyotes to me, but Bill claimed that wolves have a distinctive lope that lets them run for 70 miles. Whatever, I'll believe him. Also, an antelope! Running along side us as we road. "Running out of room!" called Bill. Not a problem, though, as it jumped straight up over a 5 foot fence.

Locking things up: we all have small spindly combination locks that would be useless in a city. However, outside the city it suffices, especially since the bikes at so heavy most people would just fall over if they tried to take them. I carry my camera bag everywhere; its steel-reinforced and holds my phone, wallet, passport, camera, my Father's Day card from Blue.

Into Waterton Village. We were hoping that this would be a peaceful, beautiful interlude where we can recharge our legs and get ready for the toughest days on the ride. Long, long story short we have two tiny (TINY) plots for the night in the village campground, and two other spots for tomorrow night. None of them have

shade, but showers and the whole village is very close by. Bill was hot, hOT, HOT about the park service not trying to help us out, but in the end we did get the sites for tomorrow. Before, we didn't even have that guaranteed.

So we had another good traveling day, starting w/ Bill coming out of his tent late, stretching and bellowing, "I washed my clothes, I washed my body, and I still stink!" What can you say to that.

At about 5:30 as we were getting ready to leave, a guy comes blasting up to out site in his pickup truck, skids to a halt and stares at us. Then he says, "Good, you're still there, I'll bring coffee," and speeds off. Fifteen minutes later he's back with wife (on way to shift at hospital). They have coffee, cream, sugar, OJ, cinnamon buns, and individually cooked and bagged egg and cheese sandwiches. Understand this is in a municipal campground for a tiny village (Bellevue is one side of the highway, another town is on the other), and they aren't even charging us. Granted, there are no showers, but the whole thing is classy. I still wasn't feeling great (much better now) so I stayed at the site, but the others went in search of icecream. They ended up at a foreign legion hall where Bill presents his bonafides and suddenly they are the guests of honor. I've experienced this elsewhere. In this case, even I (not even there), ended up a chocolate shake and two corndogs, gratis. I disagree with the politics of much of the rural country, but people away from the city seem to have the time, and the lack of stress, that enables them just to be .... nicer. They're not constantly on the go and they have time to think of other people.

Today was fast rolling hills, much of it with a tailwind (yes!), that landed us improbably at a mexican restaurant for lunch. I had an extremely good smothered burrito and it powered me to a first place finish over the last 20 miles of the day (we aren't competitive, but I win! I win! Not sure if anyone else knew they were in a race, but I did!)

After arguing with park rangers for a while, we set up tent and set about cooling our heads, in this case by jumping into the 53-degree lake. "Ooh, look at the crazy men!" came from the sidelines. The whole beach had people sprinkled across it, but only Henry, Bill, and I went in, and even then only for a short time. But it's beautiful! Tonight a storm rolled into the valley, circled around, and then went out. Awesome.

Tomorrow we mess around in town, maybe take a lake cruise. Wednesday Chief Mountain Highway, the toughest day on the tour, and we end up back in the US!. Then Thursday we go up GTTS highway, the end-all and be-all of bicycle touring

Layover day!
Day 13 - 6/30/2015: 7 miles (834 total), 5 feet (39664 total)
8:54 pm (1047)

Lazy, lazy day. Bit of napping, bit of sight seeing, lots of eating and reading.

Back in the U.S. of A!
Day 14 - 7/01/2015: 56 miles (890 total), 4400 feet (44064 total)
4:57 pm (1050)

 

 

The biggest climbing day by far: innumerable 100-200-ft hills, a couple 500 ft, and one over 1000. They were all doable, though and external factors cooperated nicely. First, the sky was overcast; it even rained a bit, but that doesn't bother us. Second, the dreaded headwind that bedevils many cyclists on Chief Mountain Road turned into a tailwind for us. Beautiful!

The pictures are obscured by the low-skudding clouds, which have been enhanced by smoke from wildfires in Canada (north of Waterton Village, where we were), and washington state. The clouds will probably be with us tomorrow as well.

The pictures are of a temporary impasse I had outside the park, me striking a pose, and the giant peaks we will be cycling past tomorrow. The impasse was that the cows were slowly meandering across the road in front of me, and the bull wasn't going to let me go anywhere until they had passed. Fair enough, I suppose.

At lunch, we learned that John's mom had just passed away. This is extremely sad, and makes us wonder if there's a hex on our trips (my mother passed away two years ago on one of our trips).

Somewhat unrelated, we've decided to end the trip in Missoula. The trip has been great, scenery fantastic, and our health great. We just decided that two weeks, the best days of which can not possibly be topped by even Yellowstone, are enough. Time to get back to our families.

And no, I am not having problems w/ heat (2010), or knee (2011), or family illness (2013). I'd ride further, if possible, but it wouldn't be the same without Bill and John.

Going To The Sun Road
Day 15 - 7/02/2015: 40 miles (970 total), 2700 feet (49464 total)
7:52 pm (1051)

 

 

 

 

This is, hands-down, the most outstanding day of pavement riding that anyone could possibly do in North America. Unrelentingly dramatic moutains, sculpted valleys, , sheers sides to the magnificent construction job that created all of this. My biggest regret is that my parents aren't here for me discuss this with. Also, that John had to leave last night to be with his family after his loss.

No reason to continue typing, and the pictures don't do it justice, but this is a day I'll never, ever forget, and Bill, Henry, and Tom all agree.

John, we missed you, buddy!

Long ride towards Missoula, pt 1
Day 16 - 7/03/2015: 72 miles (1042 total), 2084 feet (51548 total)
5:22 pm (1053)

 

 

 

Missoula was about 177 miles from Apgar Campground down the river valley. Today we did 69, then biked 1.5 miles back to lake access and went for a swim. It was a pretty, country ride, but it wasn't GTTS, and it was 90+ by the time we got here. We set an alarm for 4:30, but didn't get out of the campsite until 6. Still, we did 69 miles by 1pm. We're almost done w/ laundry, took a swim, and the rest of the afternoon holds abusing the campground's wifi, maybe a nap, and then dinner at the Laughing Horse.

Pictures include the five of us at the Chief Mountain border crossing, the beautiful Lake McDonald last night, my breakfast this morning (a "Big Sky Griddle"), and a couple random pics from the road today.

Travel Day 2
Day 17 - 7/04/2015: 64 miles (1106 total), 2454 feet (54002 total)
6:37 pm (1054)

 

 

 

 

Almost there! By the end of the day we'll probably have 64 miles in, as we still need to bike somewhere for dinner. Last night's sun was fierce, and it basically wasn't possible to sleep until it was down behind the trees, basically 10pm (except for bill). I got to sleep at 11, woke up at 5, and we hit the road at 6.

Our original plan was to go a bit further today to save on tomorrow, but the campgrounds were either full or not answering the phone, so we decided to camp behind a hotel, as recommended by ACA.

However, coming out of the restaurant after second breakfast at 10 am (32 miles already done), the sun was already brutal. We coated ourselves liberally, put on hats and bandannas, and headed out.

The next 25 miles were slightly into the wind, slightly uphill, w/ that brutal sun becoming more oppressive all the time. We each rode by ourselves, just trying to make it through.

By the time we neared the town, I had already determined to ask if they'd had any last-minute cancellations in hotel rooms (all rooms in the town taken as of the previous night). Luckily, there were two, and I grabbed them both 5 minutes before first a buy quitting the Gread Divide route showed up, and then a norwegian guy soloing across the country. I felt bad, but we needed the air.

The afternoon has been about napping, reading, and an excursion to see the local 4th of July parade. It's a BIG deal, and pretty horrible. There were two horses in the beginning, two mules later, and the rest were utility vehicles of some kind or, more commonly, ATV's. A ton of those. And the crowd loved it all. I had a $4 ice cream cone and a $6 bratworst and headed back. The others came soon after.

The hotel room gives us the ability to get up and go quickly in the morning. Home soon!

The pawprint is supposedly life-size.

Into Missoula, Tour's End
Day 18 - 7/05/2015: 60 miles (1226 total), 1468 feet (56270 total)
5:36 pm (1055)

 

 

 

 

For the last day of riding, everything (well, almost everything) went absolutely perfectly. We were staying at a hotel on the edge of town, got up at 5, and were moving down the road at six. After the first 14 miles we turned onto rte 200, which was little traveled, mostly downhill, and had a wicked good tailwind. Even the one 400-ft up in the middle couldn't really slow down this day. I even skipped second breakfast, as it seemed a crime to not be out on the road.

The bottom line is that I coasted into town 53 miles later at a few minutes shy of 10 am. So fast that I decided to ride 3.5 miles west to REI, where I bought a duffle for the return trip, and returned my tent. Told REI guy that mesh tore and pole bent, but I probably didn't need to. REI has a great return policy.

After breathing in the calming air of The Church of REI, I dropped my bags off at the hotel and went in search of a bike shop. This latter aspect took a while, the first shop had said they'd be open today but weren't. Nonetheless, the second shop seems very competent and will box and ship the bike next week. Checked into the airline, and now I'm ready to go!

Now as to the 'almost', the last time I was here we all went to this highly recommended pizza place called Biga Pizza, where I found a caramelized onion and goat cheese pizza. I insisted that the group buy a second one. But today it's closed! And tomorrow it doesn't open until 11am!. Sigh...

In summary, fantastic trip. 860 miles, almost 40k feet climbing, easily the most spectacular scenery of any trip I've been on (even better than the west coast). Multiple days that go into my best ever category.

Cheers, pete

(I'll be posting a set of campground notes here soon for other riders. )

Me, Bill, Tom, Henry.