How can we thank Riley and Lauren (and Peach) for the boost they gave us to start this trip? Two weeks with their assistance and companionship passed too quickly. Riley’s commitment to ride with Kevin across Washington, Idaho and half of Montana transformed the mountains from daunting to communal. Riley shared 741 miles of the trek with Kevin.

Lauren dived into the road trip with her usual alacrity. She quickly embraced the daily “walk around” before pulling out with the trailer, and caught some misses before we drove away with ports uncapped or locking pins on the ground. When we fell short finding the next night’s lodging, she took on the task and proceeded to find at least seven nights of hookups and showers, some with bonuses like river walks and gorgeous views.

They say that no one is indispensable, but there are exceptions to rules. We truly miss our biking, hiking, cooking, cleaning, dog-training, snoozing, map-reading kids! Safe travels to you and come along with us again anytime.

71.1 miles, 10.9 mph, Odometer: 1148 – Glasgow, MT to Vida, MT

KEVIN – I am beginning to feel like a character in the book Holes, where the kids are made to dig holes. Every night, the protagonist is told that the next day’s hole will be the hardest. Today there was no snow. A bit of rain was noted, no consequence. The wind was a 20 mph head wind. At Wolf Point, 48.5 miles into the ride, 10.4 mph. Mother Nature humbled me.

SUZI – After a few morning chores, caught up with Kevin on the windy road to Wolf Point, then spent the day waiting for him at 10 mile intervals so he could take a truck break. The camping options were not good, so we drove 30 miles beyond his endpoint to stay at Horse Creek RV Park in Circle, MT. Pretty little creek and hills but nothing to recommend this RV park except a laundromat and full hookups. We resorted to using our indoor trailer shower for the first time on the trip. It’s a minimalist experience.

KEVIN – 65.4 miles, 16.5 mph, Odometer: 1076

KEVIN – Riley and Lauren drove me back to Harlem, MT on their way home this morning. I needed to ride the stretch of road between Harlem and Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs. I had ended my Wednesday ride at Harlem due to weather. Lots of pheasants are seen along the drive. I hope that today’s ride will be the last that includes snow.

SUZI – Kind of a lonely day without my trailer mates, Lauren and Peach. This tiny house is remarkably comfortable for four people and a pooch. After two weeks, it was cleaning day. Well that didn’t take long. My planned lap swimming in Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs pool wasn’t in the cards, as this cold Saturday brought three birthday parties to the facility. We spent two nights at the Sleeping Buffalo RV park, with Kevin riding first east to Glasgow and then backtracking to Harlem for the miles behind us. Kevin took a soak in the hot pool. Riley and I took full advantage of all the pools and first-rate locker rooms. I got an hour of slow lap swimming in the warm water on Friday. Nice to get some exercise without braving the cold outside! It was fun seeing the swim-suited crowd from babies to elderly RVers (our age?) lounging in and around the pool. Local residents with and without kids appear to drive some distance for hours of R&R in the warm water. Kevin pulled in before noon on Saturday, so we moved the trailer to Glasgow where we could refill propane and do laundry. Ready for his Sunday ride to Vida or Circle, MT, we haven’t identified any campgrounds or RV parks in our target range, so we’ll do some leapfrogging and see what we find.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

After 14 days, the four of us finally had enough energy left to play bridge in the evening. We were all surprised that 13 evenings found us all too tired to play. For no particular reason, the girls took on the boys over two evenings and three rubbers. Final score: Girls, 2610; Boys, 1230. (The girls will admit that the deals seemed to favor them.)

51.2 miles, 16.7 mph, Odometer: 1011

KEVIN & RILEY – The weather was better today. The rain stopped soon after we awoke. We noted ice on the windshield. Wearing all the layers we had, we rode. I thought at one point that a snowball was thrown at me while riding along, then realized it was just snow coming off a passing truck. Riley’s feet were numb but he chose not to wear the wind socks that I did.

LAUREN & PEACH – Another day at the trailer office.

SUZI – At this point, there have been many variations on our days. Due to the cold weather today, I leapfrogged the boys through their ride. A person could Google “hypothermia” to assess the risk, or a person can just stay close and offer a warm car to her loved ones from time to time. While enjoying the scenery from the toasty driver’s seat of the Pathfinder (mileage: 225,462 – heater: fully functional), and waiting here and there on the side of the road, I phoned my sisters and checked email. Tiny Saco, MT offered some interesting old buildings for photographs, and a pasture with four lovely mares and four energetic foals entertained me for quite some time. In Glasgow I found a cycle shop with some nice warm gloves and head cover for future cold days. Wish we’d had them to start today. The boys ended their ride at the Taco Shack in Glasgow where we met for lunch.

KEVIN & SUZI dreamed up this version of a cross country bike ride.

RILEY is our son and LAUREN is his gem of a wife. PEACH is their Brittany puppy.

TOM & JUDY are cherished friends. TOM is retired from the US Forest Service, a master carpenter, sailor, our trailer guru, and KEVIN’s baritone. JUDY is TOM’s first wife, ever cheerful companion to us all.

STEVE is a family friend and retired general surgeon, colleague of KEVIN. We have traveled and raised kids together with STEVE and his wife Karen for decades.

ELIZABETH is our grandniece from Texas. She likes to dance, especially Little Wranglers. She has two entirely Taylor Swift playlists and a small portable speaker which she hangs on the handlebars. This is her first time to ride a tandem bicycle.

KATHEY is Suzi’s sister. She has never failed to show up and help out!

HANNAH is Kathey’s daughter, college senior extraordinaire; she brings smiles and cookies to tired cyclists; she is quick to take on the entertainment of a 2-year-old.

MADISON is Kevin and Suzi’s daughter and LESLYNN is Madison’s 2-year-old daughter. Suzi schedules their visits at every opportunity.

LAUREN & SUZI – Got the boys to the trailer around 5 pm and left them to make dinner while we headed out for a hike. Lauren had worked all day and Suzi spent 4 hours shuttling cyclists, as well as catching up on laundry and other chores. Thanks to the AllTrails App, we found the Mt. Otis trail in Beaver Creek Park. The photos below tell the story. Next time you’re near Havre, Montana, don’t miss this gorgeous park and excellent hike.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/montana/mt-otis-trail

HARLEM, MONTANA – 36 degrees – Steady Rain – Zero miles

83.7 miles, 17.3 mph, Odometer: 959

KEVIN & RILEY – With road surfaces from great to terrible on Highway 2, from Rudyard to Harlem, Riley and I kept our attention on the road while many trucks passed in both directions. We saw both deer and antelope. We are staying again in Havre. Suzi drove us back 40 miles to start and collected us from 40 miles ahead.

SUZI – HIGHWAY 2 – If you grew up in the southwest, like I did, you might remember driving Route 66 before Interstate 40 was complete. A station wagon piled with kids and dogs; no A/C; windows down; munching on ice; lunch at rest stops; cherries allotted based on the number of pits on your plate; no seat belts; napping in the floor spaces; playing 20 questions and roadside bingo. Highway 2 seems a bit like the Route 66 of the north. According to Wikipedia, it runs from Washington State to the upper peninsula of Michigan, and from New York to Maine. It follows wagon roads that were built in the late 19th century by local railroad companies. Highway 2 forms parts of National Scenic Byways, including the road through Tumwater Canyon, near our home. Our bicycle adventure covers many miles of Highway 2, as we move across Idaho, Montana, and Michigan.

87.4 miles, 20.5 mph, Odometer: 875 miles

KEVIN – Awoke this morning to winds buffeting the trailer. Big winds were predicted. I was hesitant until learning that tomorrow, a headwind is predicted. The ride required a few moments of leaning into a side wind, but was mostly a tail wind. Suzi joined me at the Sugar Shack Diner for a great Montana beef burger, onion rings and a banana milkshake. Then she carted me off to camp. I took our tandem bicycle into the Havre Bicycle Shop and met Roger Gruber, who was very accommodating. He hooked up the child stoker pedals and tuned my road bike on the spot.