British Columbia: Blairmore to Galloway

I got dressed and broke camp this morning in 55 minutes - a new record for me, but partly helped by the fact that I didn't cook (or eat) breakfast in camp. Last night when I was walking around I noticed a restaurant in the motel across the street, so I had breakfast there. Orange juice, coffee, french toast, and bacon for $9 Canadian (about $5.60 in US dollars) - a pretty good deal.


Is this Crowsnest Pass?

Crowsnest Pass was really just a passage through the mountains, not a major climb. There was a little more up this morning, but nothing steep. My second crossing of the continental divide on this trip - and my first entry into British Columbia. Downhill into BC, with a wicked headwind on and off. Coming to the west side of the divide is very different from the east. On the east side is seems that the mountains drop away very quickly. On this side they seem to stay around. It appears that the road here dipped south to get through the mountains and eventually went through a tunnel to cut through.

I stopped in Sparwood BC - which bills itself as being the home of the world's largest truck! (http://www.sparwood.bc.ca/titaninf.htm) It was pretty big. My only regret is not getting a picture of my bike next to the truck, but the plain truck picture will just have to do!


This is billed as the world's largest truck. Is it?

I saw one cyclist today going in the opposite direction. He was coming down from Jasper, Banff, and Kootenay. He's heading for Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, and Canyonlands national parks - on a 10-week trip, from Europe.

Strange weather day. It was clear this morning until I crossed the pass, then it looked like rain. I stopped in Fernie to eat something - it sprinkled there, then turned into bright sunshine. After I left Elko it clouded up again. It sprinkled while I was setting up camp, but now it's dry again. Hopefully it will blow over - I hate packing up wet gear in the morning!

When I stopped in Fernie I also stopped at Fernie Sports to ask if I could borrow a floor pump. I just can't seem to get the tires up to full pressure with the frame pump. They loaned me a fabulous pump - that made me realize that it's time to replace my floor pump at home, since this one worked a lot better than mine does. It was a Blackburn pump with both Schrader and Presta valve attachments.



I ended up in a very funky campground in Galloway. There are some cabins at a gas station / store with a grassy area for tents. I bypassed the first place I passed in Elko (with a similar setup) at 3:30 in the afternoon after I heard there was another campground 12 miles down the road. There is a small creek that runs through here, then the grassy area, the cabins, the road, and the railroad tracks. I set the tent up behind one of the cabins so it's not too obvious from the road. The bathrooms are locked (each camper is given a key) - so I won't run into some stranger from the road in the middle of the night. The woman who runs the place seems really nice.

I still need to figure out my goal for tomorrow. It will probably be either Skookumchuck or Canal Flats. I'll see if I can find out which has a better campground.

Two trailers with kids and dogs just pulled in to the campground - probably a good thing. This way it's not just me back here.

Grocery shopping is a little disconcerting here. There are a lot of the same product that I see at home, but they have been repackaged for the Canadian market. And the vast majority of the packaging doesn't include any nutritional information - which makes me realize how much I use that information.

I made a comment to the campground owner about the 2 dollar coin. It's a good looking coin - with a silver ring outside and a brass center. She pointed out that it's "the queen with a bear behind" (which sounds funnier than it looks, "bear" vs. "bare"). It has the face of the queen on the front, and a picture of a bear on the back. They call it a tooney (twoney?), and call the $1 coin a "looney" for the picture of the loon it bears. The smallest bill is $5, and they are apparently talking about changing it to a coin too. Ouch - too heavy!

It's going to be a noisy night between the road and the railroad tracks. Three long freight trains have gone by in the last 3 hours.

Alberta: Waterton Lakes to Blairmore

A little further than planned...

This is the first day that I didn't see any other cyclists. It was a relatively hard ride, but very enjoyable. Rolling, with relatively short steep ups and downs. It was steep enough that it was easy to hit 35 mph on the downhills without pedaling, and to need to use my lowest gear on the uphills. The morning started with a combination of mountains and prairie - ranch country, very beautiful.





Route 6 through Pincher Creek was pleasant, with little traffic. I stopped in Pincher Creek for lunch. Peanut butter just didn't seem to interest me today. Traffic picked up after lunch, but there was a pretty wide shoulder so it really wasn't an issue. The road pulled away from the mountains, then headed back toward the mountains and Crowsnest Pass. It seems to be a somewhat odd pass in that it is pretty low. I believe I'm part of the way up it now, and I'm 14 miles from the top. I went through a major rockslide area. 30 million cubic meters of limestone came off of the mountain and partially covered the town of Frank. It's amazing that there is a town still sitting here.





I planned on staying in either Bellevue or Blairmore. The first campground in Bellevue was pretty gross - on the highway (if you can call this 2-lane road a highway, but it's the only road around). It was at a wayside chapel with a public restroom. It didn't give me a good feeling, so I continued on to Blairmore. I'm staying at Lost Lemon campground. I really prefer the public campgrounds (they seem to be in much nicer locations), but I'm taking advantage of the laundry to have totally clean clothes.

There is still a lot of interest in my bike and in my trip. I stopped in Lundbreck for a cold drink and one of the folks running the store came out to ask about it. He also told me that the couple from the UK that I met outside of Kalispell passed through here yesterday on their way to Banff. He said that they headed up Highway 22, so I don't think I'll be likely to run into them.

I walked through town after dinner - probably walked about 3 miles up and down the main street.

The campground seems strange to me. The people 5 sites down have a tarp up with electric lamps on their picnic table. All the comforts of home... It's quite a difference from Waterton and Glacier where most people were hiking and wandering through the park; this seems to be a place where people come to sit and use the pool.

I think the hills are starting to take a toll on my knees - just a bit cranky this evening. I'm using ibuprofen. Hopefully I'll be ready to ride in the morning.

Switching countries: Many Glacier to Waterton Lakes

It was a very nice ride today in spite of threatening weather this morning and rain mid-day. I got a late start at 8:30. I was trying to wait for the rainfly to dry out, but I finally gave up. There were two pretty big hills today. The first one was 5 miles long, not sure about the second one. The grade seemed similar to Logan Pass, but there were some pretty good downhills to recover from the uphill.



I talked to some cyclists on a Backroads tour when I stopped for a snack. One of them mentioned that Colin was one of their leaders, so I pulled into their rest spot to see if was the same Colin that I know from doing the Backroads Alaska tour - and it was. I talked with him for a while. It was great to see him again. He was pretty excited to see me out on the road on my own since I was talking about doing a trip like this when I was with him last year. He offered me the use of his shower tonight (they are staying at the Prince of Wales lodge in Waterton), but that turned out not to be necessary since the campground here has a shower. I stood on the side of the road for a while and chatted with a cyclist from Michigan who is on his way to Chicago. He said that he cheated and took the train from Minot, North Dakota to East Glacier, which gave him a lot more time to play out here. He's the second person I talked to who did the same thing - sounds like a good idea to me.

The ride today was simply amazing. When I talked to Becky (one of the Tri-Cities cyclists - and yes, we are following each other around!) she said that her altimeter showed a total climb today of 3000 feet, which is almost the same elevation gain as Logan Pass. I think that the major downhills in between the ups made it much easier for me - the uphill wasn't all in the same stretch of road. The riding today also cleared up my concern about getting freaked out on downhills. I was fine today, and just flying down the hills. The difference is that the road surface today was smooth, no concerns about crevices like I had on the ride down Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier.

I stopped at US Customs on my way out of the country to get a registration form for my bike. Since I am entering Canada by bike and leaving by plane, I was afraid that there could be some questions about whether I entered the country with the bike. Turns out that was a very silly worry that wouldn't result in a problem - but the customs agent did give me a form saying that I brought the bike with me into Canada.



It started to sprinkle on the climb up from Belly River. I stopped to change the lenses in my glasses - very cloudy, couldn't see much. But then as I came over the top of the hill and around the corner, the valley and prairie below just opened up. It started pouring as a reached the overlook, but I could see the sun off in the distance. What a beautiful sight!



I had a little problem figuring out what the international point of interest sign represented. Obviously, I know what it is now, but when I first saw the sign I thought it was a big person and a little person, or a big person and a pump. That might just say that I have a somewhat strange imagination.

When I pulled in to the entry station for Waterton Townsite, the sign said that the campground is full. I asked if that was true - and it turned out that there are still tent sites available. Since I'm traveling on a bike, he called ahead to have a site held for me. The campground is a big grassy area, and the section I'm in is a walk-in area, so there are no cars at all. There are good bear storage lockers here, showers, and covered areas with tables and stoves. I found Corry & Gerard again, so we walked into the townsite for a pasta dinner. Then we walked up to the Prince of Wales Hotel. There was a great view from there, but I liked the lobby at the Many Glacier Lodge better. Then we headed back to town to get some ice cream, where we met another tandem-travelling couple from the UK. Nice people.





Corry and Gerard are heading south today, so we said our goodbyes and exchanged addresses and phone numbers. I hope I meet some other people on the road who are as nice as they are. My goal is to be as in shape as they are when I get to be their age - Corry is 64 and Gerard is 74, and they are in great shape!

I can see that I'm going to have to come back to Waterton Lakes some day. Just passing through this park isn't really enough. It looks like a great place to do some hiking.

Montana: rest (?) day at Many Glacier

Hmm - do you think this classifies as a rest day? Corry and Gerard headed out for Waterton Lakes today - I'll follow them there tomorrow.

I hiked out to Iceberg Lake this morning, starting with a naturalist and a large group. I only lasted about a half an hour with them. As I suspected, the pace was just too slow for me, so I pressed on by myself. I ended up walking part of the way with a young woman who is working here for the summer - but I walked back alone. I'm glad I didn't let the bear warnings and the "never hike alone" warnings scare me off. I talked the whole way - conversations with people when others were available, conversations (?) directed at the bears when I was alone (hey bear! hey bear! where are you hiding?). Some people put bells on their packs - but according to the rangers the human voice does a much better job of alerting the bears to your presence. The area is loaded with berries that the bears like to eat, and the key to hiking is to warn the bears of your presence and not surprise them.

It was a very enjoyable walk. It was amazing how cool is was by the lake. There is a lot of ice floating in it - even though the air temperature is quite warm - and there is cool air rising off of the ice in the lake.











I got back to Swiftcurrent at about 12:30, just in time for lunch. Then I wandered back to the campsite to meet my new "camp-mate". Don is from Minnesota, came in on a motorcycle. He took off to hike, and I headed over to the Many Glacier Lodge to relax for a while.

When I got back to the campground I noticed a big sign that somehow I spaced out yesterday. It said "Bears have killed or injured people in the campground". Scary, but just a warning to be careful...

Right now I'm waiting for clothes to dry. I washed out what I was wearing today, but decided that it looks too much like rain to risk air-drying it, so I popped back to the motel to use a dryer. I've put my rainjacket out in the tent for later, and I think I'll cover the bike when I get back. Don & I are going to have dinner in the motel dining room tonight. So far it's been a nice, relaxing day. I'm glad I stayed - although when I initially got back to the campsite after lunch I actually considered packing up and leaving. I am definitely having a hard time just staying in place! I took the time to look at my maps today. It looks like it should take me 7 days to hit Banff from here. And I have 9 days left until I need to be there - which leaves me some rest days or bad weather days. If all goes well I will have the time to get to Kananaskis Country.

Later on... Just after Don & I got to the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn for dinner it started pouring! It rained really hard for about 2 hours - we finished dinner then hung out on the porch for a while. There was an unbelievable double rainbow at the end of the storm, and a large temperature drop. I actually used the hood on my rainjacket to help warm up. I was almost afraid to go back to the campsite - wasn't sure what I'd find there. It was none the worse for the rain though, and the tent and contents came through totally dry. Most of my gear was still in the panniers on my bike, and since my panniers are totally waterproof (thanks to Ortlieb - http://ortliebusa.com) I wasn't worried about anything there.

Two more cyclists joined us in the hiker-biker site - Bonnie & Richard from Bozeman. They were unfortunate enough to get caught in that rain on their bikes. It's Bonnie's first tour, but Richard had done quite a few back in the 70's. They are headed for Cardston, Alberta tomorrow to visit the Mormon Temple there.

Richard was very interested in my bike - I'll have to remember to tell Peter about all of the attention the bike it getting.

I heard a very sad bear story today. A mother grizzly and her 2 cubs broke into the ranger's quarters at Goat Haunt. Apparently these bears had scared some boy scouts a couple of weeks ago. The kids dropped their food (not the right thing to do), and the bears got a taste of human food and learned to associate humans with food. This week they removed a screen from an open window in the ranger's quarters, climbed in the window, raided the refrigerator, and generally trashed the place. Unfortunately the bears were too clever for their own good. The ranger told us that they will be killed tomorrow - part of the bear management program. I hate to hear stories like this.

Montana: St. Mary to Many Glacier

I saw pictures yesterday at the campground of the Logan Pass Visitor Center in the winter. They say they often have 80 foot snow drifts - and that when the staff arrives in mid-May there are still sometimes (usually) 17 foot drifts. I talked to someone in St. Mary who said when she arrived for the summer that there were 30 foot banks of snow along the road. It turns out that once they start opening up Going to the Sun Highway that they open the newly plowed road to hikers and bikers. It would be really cool to time a trip out here to get a chance to ride even part of the road without cars around.



It was a short ride today into Many Glacier. I set up camp before noon, discovered showers and a laundry available at the Swiftcurrent Motel across the way. That was a nice surprise. (OK, I know I'm riding to eat, but now it seems I'm riding to shower too...)

I started walking back to the Many Glacier Lodge. It's a beautiful old building, and I wanted to take a look around. I was walking down the road minding my own business when a black bear crossed the road in front of me. Little guy - minding his own business too. I stood still for a minute thinking a mama bear would appear too. And since he crossed not too far from me, I didn't want to get any closer. No mama. I think he might have been a 1 year old - and a black bear, not a grizzly. I continued up the road talking to myself and to the bears (hey bear, hey bear!). Then a truck stopped to tell me that there was a grizzly up by the turnoff to the hotel. I thought about it for a minute, then decided not to be afraid of my own shadow and kept on going. I kept on talking too - definitely didn't want to surprise a bear. Then I met a cyclist who had just seen a grizzly sow and 3 cubs. We stood and talked for a while. He is originally from Holland but lives in Alberta now. So, I asked him about my planned route through Radium Hot Springs. He contradicted everyone who said it wasn't scenic. He said he thought that everything as you proceed north continues to be beautiful. He apparently comes to Glacier quite often - he said he knew of a couple of young black bears plus a grizzly and cub who hang out and wander between the hotel and Iceberg Lake. They seem to be used to people being around and are not aggressive. But I still need to be careful here. He said that when he saw the grizzly he stopped, got off of the bike, and backed up slowly.

I got the the lodge and saw Corry & Gerard's tandem, and assumed that they were staying at the lodge. Then I found them in the lobby. They only went as far as Rising Sun yesterday, which is why I missed them last night. They are camping here, so I'll be sharing a site with them again. We decided to go to the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn for dinner together. I spent about an hour sitting in the lobby and on the deck overlooking the lake talking to folks from the Tri-Cities cycling club. Then I walked the 2 1/2 mile nature trail around Swiftcurrent Lake. I was alone for about half of the time, then ran into some people from Minneapolis and hiked the rest of the way with them.



Back to the campsite... I was just about ready to go for my shower when Corry came running back. She & Gerard bathed in the river and saw a mule deer there laying in the shade. I went over with my camera, and he was still there. They said that the river was nice - and warm - but I wanted to use soap so I headed for the shower!

I've decided to stay here another day to hike. I'm thinking about going on a naturalist-led hike, but I have a feeling that they'll move too slowly for me.

Corry & Gerard & I had a pleasant dinner. Shared a large salad, pizza, and a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

We spend a couple of hours in the motel parking lot after dinner - watching bears. The rangers had set up long distance scopes on tripods. The scope we were using was a 36 power - a far cry from my little 8-power binoculars.

Montana: Over Logan Pass

Boy am I glad I went to Avalanche yesterday. It would have been very difficult for me to finish the pass by 11 if I had started at Apgar. The gear on the bike definitely slowed me down - to between 4 and 5 miles per hour on the steep section, 12 miles at about a 6% grade. I left the campground at 6:30am, and arrived at the top at 10 - 3 1/2 hours of elapsed time, and about 2 hours 45 minutes of riding time.



Tim was right last night. It took 1 1/2 hours to break camp, even without cooking breakfast. I was actually glad to hear him say it was taking him an hour and 15 minutes because I thought I must be moving at a ridiculously slow pace. It doesn't take anywhere near that amount of time to set up camp!

Back to the riding. It was definitely a hard climb - and harder than the other time I rode up Going to the Sun Highway, but that time I wasn't riding a loaded bike. I rode with Gerard and Corry for a while, then saw them again at the summit.











I walked to the Hidden Lake overlook with some people from Connecticut. I also spoke with some of the Tri-cities cyclists again - seems to be a really nice group.



I ended up spending several hours at Logan Pass. What an amazing place. I really think it is the most beautiful place I have seen. There were marmots, Columbian ground squirrels and mountain goats wandering around. The wildflowers were in bloom and were gorgeous. A number of trails were closed due to bear activity. In fact, the Hidden Lake overlook was as far as you could go in the direction I was walking before you hit a trail closure. I didn't get to see a bear today. The squirrels were really funny through. They weren't begging for food, but they did seem to be posing for the camera. They had a short tail, a fat little body, and made a loud cheeping sound.


My friends, the ground squirrels


A marmot, on his way to?







I decided to ride to Saint Mary. Headed down the east side of Logan Pass. The road condition wasn't too smooth, so I was using the brakes quite a bit. I had to stop several times to let my rims cool down.

I checked out the St. Mary national park campground and found out that they didn't have a hiker biker site. I could have stayed in a regular site, but for the same price I could stay at a private campground just outside of the park and have access to a shower. So I opted for Johnson's campground. I met a couple from the Netherlands at the campsite across from mine. They are also riding the Adventure Cycling Great Parks route, but in the other direction. They confirmed the 12% grade out of Radium Hot Springs, but said that it wasn't that long. I think I need to not worry about it - if my legs (or knees) decide they don't want to ride that grade, I can always walk it! I do need to figure out the days between now and when I need to be in Banff - but I'll do that later. Tomorrow I'm going to head to Many Glacier to do some hiking.


St. Mary Lake

Montana: Kalispell to Glacier National Park

What a day! I was a little nervous leaving Kalispell this morning. Maybe rest days aren't good for my head. Time to head for one of my favorite national parks! Or maybe I'm just getting nervous about riding up Going to the Sun Highway on a loaded bike. Whitefish Stage Road was very nice. Adventure Cycling Association did a good job of getting into and out of Kalispell on lightly traveled roads. Nice surprise - I thought I'd be fighting with traffic all day.

I met a couple from the UK (he quit his job to bike, and she had 9 months off...) heading in to Kalispell to buy helmets. They said they never wear them, but they heard that you must wear bicycle helmets in Canada. It's been so long since I rode without a helmet (probably around the late 1970's) that I can't imagine not wearing one. They're heading up the alternate route through Whitefish, but maybe I'll run into them again. Another conversation that makes me try to figure out how (when?) I should take a year off to travel - especially now that I know I love this mode of travel.

I pulled into West Glacier at around 1. I stopped and picked up a good map of Alberta, then headed into the park. I ended up sitting at Apgar (campground, camp store, Lake Macdonald) for a couple of hours. Bikes are not allowed on Going to the Sun Highway from Apgar to the top of Logan Pass between 11am and 4pm, so I had a bit of time before I could continue on. I spent the time with quite a few other cyclists who were also waiting for the road to re-open. Five were from Tricities cycling club (WA). They are doing a 1-week tour here. There was another couple who just finished a trip in Saskatchewan. They seemed to be about my age (I know, I should have asked them...). They took a year off to bike, then got home and realized that they didn't need all of their "stuff". They sold their house, bought a motor home, and essentially retired.

I had a conversation with a ranger at Apgar when I was waiting for the road to re-open. She suggested that I make noise and talk while I am biking to warn the bears. That's the first time I'd heard that about biking - I knew about making noise while hiking, especially in areas where there is alot of brush, but it seemed like overkill on the bike. It turns out that there was a biker-bear incident recently. A bear ran out on the road and scared a cyclist who then crashed. No real bear / human interaction, but a slightly injured biker. Hmmm.



I had a hard time deciding whether to stay here at Apgar - a sure thing since there are campsites available - or to continue on to Sprague or Avalanche and hope that there is a campsite available. I don't want to risk not getting to the top of Logan Pass by 11, and I'm really crawling up the hills. I decided to head for Avalanche campground and just hope that there is a campsite available. The folks from the Tri Cities bike club told me that if I had a problem getting a campsite that they would find me some floor space in one of their rooms in the lodge. A very nice offer.



I had a very enjoyable ride to Avalanche - including stops to take pictures which I would not have had time for in the morning. Apgar is 30 miles from the top of the pass, and Avalanche is 15. Quite a difference.

I pulled in to the hiker biker campsite at Avalanche - plenty of room for another tent and a bike. There was a retired couple from California there already with their tandem - Gerard & Corry. They're originally from Holland, but they retired to California 15 years ago. They're doing the same route that I am from here to Waterton Lakes, so I may see them again.



A backpacker came in when I was getting settled. Nice guy. We cooked dinner at the same time, so we had a chance to talk and eat together. He works for a utility. He asked for and got a year off. I told him about my friend Mike influencing my decision not to wait to do trips like this. (Mike was diagnosed with cancer and died within a couple of months. He was young - in his 30s - and had been totally healthy. We had some discussions after his diagnosis where he really encouraged me to follow my dreams.) My new backpacking friend said that he had a similar experience - had a melanoma removed. He believes he's OK now - but it really makes you think. I'm going to have a lot of thinking to do when I get home.

I thought that Logan Pass (tomorrow's ride) would be the worst pass on this trip - but Corry & Gerard said that some of the passes in the Canadian Rockies are a much steeper grade. Ouch!

The hiker biker campsite is great. They put up to 9 people on a site - which is fine since we're all traveling by bike or foot - no cars or RVs to park. There is a metal box to store food and anything else that has any odor to it, including stoves, fuel, toothpaste. The site is wooded with plenty of flat spots for tents. Actually, the entire campground is beautiful. The bathrooms have running cold water and flush toilets - but no lights.

Early to bed - it's going to be an early morning tomorrow.

Montana: rest day in Kalispell

I had a nice relaxing day today. Went to the craft show in town. There was some really nice and inexpensive pottery. But I just looked, didn't buy anything. I obviously can't carry it on the bike, and I didn't feel like dealing with packing and shipping it home. I picked up a walking tour guide of Kalispell and rode by some of the places. Then I picked up a nice picnic lunch and sat in a woodland park for a while. I checked into the hotel in the afternoon and sat by (and in) the pool and hot tub for a while. I met some people from Calgary. They told me that my planned route through BC wasn't the most direct route to Banff, and recommended that I go via Kananaskis. I already knew that (who says that going in a straight line between point A and point B is the best way to get there?), but I'd really like to get to Kootenay National Park, so I'll continue on the Adventure Cycling route. I still think I will have time for a side trip to Kananaskis when I get to Banff.

Montana: Swan Lake to Kalispell

It was a bird day today. A hummingbird flew up to me while I was making breakfast. It took a minute before I realized that it was a hummingbird, not a bee! I don't know what kind it was - he had some yellow on him, and he was beautiful.

I saw an osprey nest later in the afternoon - with birds in it. There appeared to be several in the nest as well as an adult that flew off and then came back again. I thought he was going to dive bomb me at one point (OK, I was probably standing too close to the pole where the nest was, but I really wasn't THAT close.)

It was a somewhat wishy-washy day. I couldn't decide whether to stay in Bigfork or ride on to Kalispell. I decided it was time for a real rest day though, so wherever I end up today is it for 2 nights. I decided to play it by ear and decide later. I rode to Bigfork and wandered through the old village area. There were a lot of shops, pretty much a tourist area. I was hoping for some interesting art galleries... Then I headed south on route 35. I thought I'd ride along the east coast of Flathead Lake. Unfortunately, it turns out that the lake is almost totally surrounded by private land. I bought some Flathead cherries at a roadside stand - at $1 a pound. That is an unbelievable price for fresh cherries. I rode a little further south, then turned around. I checked out Wayfarers State Park, but I wasn't thrilled with the campgrounds. so - on to Kalispell. See - I told you I was feeling wishy-washy today. But once I made the decision I was really happy about it.

It was another really hot afternoon. Hot and sunny - which allowed me to see this unbelievable water view:



When I got to Kalispell I stopped by the Chamber of Commerce visitor center to check out campgrounds and hotels. The place was "manned" by three total dingbats. When I asked about campgrounds and hotels, they said "we have lots - look at the brochures on the wall". That wasn't overly helpful, but I did find a place to stay. I'm at the Days Inn tonight. There's something to be said for national chains with consistency and no surprises. And it's only $38.

One word of warning - don't try to stop your loaded bike from falling over if it decides it wants to fall. When I was leaving the visitor center, I unlocked the bike, and started to walk it out to the street. I must have been tired (or not paying attention) because it started to go over, and I tried to catch it. The only thing I accomplished was to put my leg right where it would get gashed by the chain ring. Oh well, just a couple of puncture wounds, not too much damage (but a bit bloody). I think I could have a permanent chain mark on my leg!

It's hard to make myself stay in one place for a day, but I think I really need a rest day before I head up to Glacier National Park. I just made a hotel reservation at the Red Lion for tomorrow night. They have a pool, which sounded good. There's some kind of craft show in town tomorrow, so I'll probably go there for a while. Hmm - stayed inside 2 nights in Missoula, and 2 in Kalispell. But I'm about to start hitting the parks, and will probably be all camping from here on.

I chatted with a couple of guys from England this morning when I stopped for a cold drink. They were at Logan Pass yesterday and said that it was no cooler at the top of the pass. That was one place that I expected to need some layers.

Took the time to really clean and re-lube the bike tonight. All ready for more riding.

Montana: Seely Lake to Swan Lake

I'm sitting in "town" waiting for my laundry to finish. There's not much here - just a market with a shower and laundry - but clean was a big draw today, so I rode back after setting up camp. It's a nice campground. The group campsite is closed (no groups, I guess), so they reserved it for cyclists. It has big grassy areas with some shade, much nicer than the regular area of the campground that is set up more for folks with RVs.





I had a late start this morning - didn't get up until 7:45. I guess I needed the sleep.

It was a beautiful ride today, with the Mission Mountains to the west and the Swan range to the east. I have to remember to turn around and look behind me more - can't always see the mountains in the direction I am traveling.

I met 2 women this morning - one from Belgium and one from France. They have been on the road about a year, and have at least one more year to go. They've biked South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, then up the west coast of the US (California), up to Jasper & Banff (Alberta), back through Yoho and Kootenany. They're headed for Yellowstone now, then eventually to South America. I'm definitely jealous.



Interesting - I seem to be seeing a lot of people using BOB trailers. I counted all of the sightings since the beginning of the trip, and I've seen 4 people with trailers and 5 with panniers. I'm using panniers, and didn't really consider the trailer. It will be interesting (someday) to compare them.

Montana: Missoula to Seely Lake

It was a hard day of riding today. The first 30 miles were at a slight uphill grade, with a wicked headwind. That was problem number 1. Problem number 2 was that I think I was operating at a calorie deficit. Mickey & I found a really neat bakery this morning - had very good walnut current rolls and yogurt for breakfast. That should have been enough, but it appears that I should have stuck with my standard breakfast of oatmeal. I really know better...

I think I'm back to normal now - I drank a lot of fruit juice and ate constantly all afternoon. Someone asked me if I am losing weight on this trip, and I don't have a clue since the only pants/shorts that I have with me are either biking shorts or they have a drawstring waistband! My biggest concern is having enough energy to support my riding.

I ran into another cross-country biker this morning (going in the other direction). We stood on the road and talked for the better part of an hour before we headed off again.


I ended up camping at Seeley Lake. It is much larger than the other campgrounds I stayed in - 50 sites, and not much interaction between the people in the different sites. But that's OK because I can use an evening to myself - and an early night. I really didn't sleep that well the 2 nights in Missoula. Interesting that I'm sleeping better outdoors and on the ground! I'm sitting in the tent writing because the mosquitos have come out in force. I still don't have the rainfly on the tent - still too hot. I'm assuming that I may need to start using it soon - let's see how much it cools off at night here (to say nothing of rain...).

I've started seeing some really cute little black squirrels - and they are doing a lot of chattering.

Montana: around Missoula

I don't know what I was thinking of last night when I set the alarm for 6:30am - an early start to a riding day, I guess. My original plan was for a rest day here, and it felt like the right thing to do. I rolled over and slept until 7:30. I found a great diner for breakfast, then headed out to stock up on groceries. I finally checked out of the hotel at 11. Funny, I just didn't sleep as well in a comfortable bed inside a building - I'm starting to be more comfortable in my tent.

I had a conversation with a 60-ish gentleman in the lobby, then headed out. I was only a block away when he drove up next to me and asked if had seen the carousel... and then led me there.





Missoula has a beautiful operational carousel with hand-painted horses in a park by the river. A nice start to the day.

I was headed for the Adventure Cycling office when I saw another loaded cyclist and stopped to chat. Mickey is 2 months into the Transamerica route. He told me he was going to stay at the hostel tonight. I decided to stay there too so we can continue our conversation over dinner - can't beat the price at $8 a night!

On to Adventure Cycling... I met 4 other bikers there - who recommended Kananaskis Hwy over going through BC to Radium Hot Springs. I wonder if I can do both. I'm actually hoping to get to Banff early enough to swing down to Kananaskis (which was written up in a recent Bicycling magazine article). I must have spent 2 hours at the office talking to people. Greg Siple - one of the founders and resident photographer - took pictures of all of us for the "picture wall" in the office. Then he spent time talking about some of his travels. He and his wife June did a 2 1/2 year trip from Alaska to Argentina. He showed us some fabulous pictures from his trip.



Adventure Cycling has a lounge for cyclists with books, maps, and free soft drinks and ice cream. Everyone there was really friendly. I also met Ernie while I was there - he runs the hostel. I asked if there was room available for the night - and the answer was yes.

Once I finally peeled myself away from the office, I headed out to the airport to see the Smokejumpers Visitor Center. Tim Eldredge - who I spoke to a couple of months ago when I was looking for Forest Service maps - led the tour. It was fascinating. There are only about 400 smokejumpers in the country, with 68 of them based here. The training facility here is also used to train jumpers from other countries and from the military. Smokejumpers are used for "small" fires caused by lightening strikes in inaccessible areas. On of the things that surprised me is that the smokejumpers make / sew all of their clothing - jumpsuits and clothes that they wear on the fire line. The parachutes are manufactured outside - but to Forest Service specifications. They do all static line jumps using round chutes. They must roll on landing - but there have been NO chute failures.

After the tour I did a bit more riding, then headed to the hostel. Did I say this was supposed to be a rest day? I guess I'll have to take a real rest day soon.

I met up with Mickey again at the hostel. We had mediocre Thai food for dinner - but we had a great time talking and sharing our experiences. He's taking 2 years off. He'll finish his Transamerica tour, then head to Alaska for a month. After that he's going to Australia and New Zealand, to a monastery in India for several months, then to China to study martial arts. Wow. I have a feeling that this trip is really going to make me think about what I want to do with my life...