KEVIN – I needed a rest so we took it easy. A helping wind had me in camp at noon after a slow start. We are now out of the woods and can see to the horizon.
SUZI – Driving the truck/trailer, I had the fresh sight of a shimmering horizon after 10 days of peaks and valleys, steep grades and sharp curves. Silos of Montana wheat growers regularly stood before the broad prairie vista.
RILEY & LAUREN – The Monday work day allowed time for an oil change in Cut Bank, MT. At Kenny’s Service, Kenny made some great recommendations: the river walk below our Sunset RV Park, and Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs Resort, 233 miles ahead on our route.
KEVIN, RILEY & STEVE – Today was Steve’s last day to ride with us. The three of us rode over Marias Pass to East Glacier with a helping wind. We left Steve at the railway station waiting on the Empire Builder. Tomorrow to Cut Bank, Montana. Lauren and Riley will be working.
Wednesday – Day 6 from Colville to Riley Creek was a heads-down day. I looked up once and saw some cows, which was nice. All kidding aside, the drivers east of Colville were the most considerate and respectful of the trip so far. It was more hill at the beginning of the day than we had bargained for, but after that it was a pleasant pace along the Pend Oreille River with rolling hills. We had a nice lunch that consisted of two solid burgers for ten total dollars in the tiny mill town of Usk; our four Gatorades were more expensive than the burgers by a dollar. I ended up riding 80 miles, then mom and I switched off as is now our custom and I drove the trailer the last 20 miles into camp. We were met there by my dad’s most entertaining, longtime quartet member, Tom. You guessed it, the baritone. We had a nice catch-up with Tom and his wife Judy, and at one point a ghost dog licked Tom’s leg. You’ll have to ask Tom what it feels like to be licked by a ghost dog; none of the rest of us could commune with it though we tried.
Thursday – Day 7 – The morning was a nice ride, 50 or so miles along the Pend Oreille River and Lake Pend Oreille. The lake came in to view as a gigantic body of water backed by the 8,738 foot Cabinet Mountains. Though not a particularly difficult ride, you could tell we were both feeling it in our legs. We passed a really cool rusted old car collection east of Clark Fork along highway ID-200 in a rock quarry. Mother bemoaned that we didn’t stop and take a picture, since it was not your usual auto junkyard, and she couldn’t stop the 50 ft truck/trailer on that stretch of road. So this definitely isn’t a link to the coordinates, (https://goo.gl/maps/xru7rn92mV8mf9eM7). If anyone’s interested in snapping a better picture, I think it’s called Overman’s Western Stone. After we turned up highway ID-56, we were met almost immediately by a friendly face and, more importantly, fresh legs. Steve Knox gave us the energy we needed for that last 20 miles, and wisely told us it was a pretty steady uphill, though it turned out to be mostly flat. It always feels steeper coming down for some reason. We stayed up later than we should catching up by the campfire, and feasted on flank steak, pesto pasta, salad, and ice cream provided by our unwavering pit crew. Oh, and dad found a Volcom baseball cap, but after I told him it was a skater brand, it seemed to rub him the wrong way, and he ditched it on a bench where we stopped for lunch.
Friday – Day 8, a day of rest for me. At this point, I think the odometer is reading 503 miles total for my dad, which put me at about 440 miles. A good day by my count: helped pack up the truck; several rounds of puppy (Peach) training; a latte, laundry, groceries; and a nice car ride with my wife and our sleeping 11-week-old Peach.
Bad Medicine Campground
Saturday – Day 9, back on the saddle. I admit that after that many days of riding my legs are feeling stronger, but I spent almost this whole day feeling literally refreshed. We rode from Eureka to Whitefish (Columbia Falls). The morning and evening locations would have a hard time being less similar. While both in Montana, Eureka was 1.5 miles from the currently closed border with Canada. It felt like a southern vacation spot for Canadian horse people. Lots of ranches, not much of a town to speak of, very rural. I got the sense it’s the ‘plow your own gravel road to get out of your house in the winter’ kind of place. Our local camp host made a point to remind us several times that he ‘carries’ all the time, for the critters. I tried to press him on critters, but got nowhere and decided to stop while I felt ahead. 80 miles later we entered Whitefish and the moment we hit the edge of town, you could feel the tourism, nice homes, infrastructure, and frankly, money. If you had told me we were actually entering Bend or Boulder, I would have said “yup, where does the brewery crawl start?”. Lauren had scouted us a pizza place and boy did that deliver [:)]. We did some more puppy training, plenty of positing on the next day’s ride over the Continental Divide, and tried to go to bed a little earlier for a change.
Sunday – Day 10, converging and diverging rivers. My legs certainly weren’t as fresh as day 9, but I was still feeling far better than day 7. We started up our last real hill before uh, Maine? I don’t know, I won’t be there cause I’m not that crazy. Not long in we spotted a lanky, as my dad would call him “6-percenter”. That would be a Kevin Pitts-ism for a person with less than 6% body fat. He was loafing along, probably saw us, and let us catch him. His name was Marshall and he was out to enjoy, as he called it, his classic ride. He had previously lived in Whitefish for a spell and was back visiting family. We proceeded to play a cycling version of tortoise and the hare for maybe ten miles. We’d putt along at our 14 mph and he’d take off at something over 20. Then down the road, we’d catch him at the spot he knows he can fill his water bottle along the route, or a picturesque bridge of the Flathead River convergence. We talked a bit about the route. He was also heading to the pass and also being picked up by his pit crew, which was all dad needed to know in order to recommend putting a ring on the girlfriend. We saw him once more as he caught us trotting along and literally pushed and pulled us at 20 mph for several miles. It was by chance that we were on that road with Marshall. We had debated staying on Highway 2 which was shorter and less elevation change by a little. It turned out to be a great decision vindicated by a local. The rest of the ride was spent mostly on Highway 2. It was not too steep an incline which was very much appreciated by all. We made it to our camp (Glacier Meadows RV Park) right after Lauren and Peach arrived, had a good lunch , and continued on our way to get Steve to the East Glacier Amtrak station.
Kevin, Marshall, Steve (front to back)Glacier MeadowsGlacier Meadows RV ParkEast Glacier Amtrak Station
Kevin had hoped to ride Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park, but we knew that it wouldn’t be open in time for us. Scheduling constraints meant that we would take an alternate route on this trip, and he planned to go back to Glacier in the future to do that ride. Yesterday, our camp host mentioned that she thought the road was now open for bicycles. I hopped online to check it out and this is what I found:
KEVIN, STEVE & RILEY – Steve, Riley and I rode from just south of Rexford to Columbia Falls. It was fun to ride with three people taking turns pulling. We seem to be slow learners as we continue to be surprised by turning the corner only to find another climb. This time it was coming into Whitefish, MT. We heard that Going to the Sun Road was open to bikes yesterday, only to close again after avalanches blocked cyclists. We finished early after a lunch in Whitefish. Suzi is out on her bike.
SUZI – Rode in the afternoon from Whitefish to Kalispell and back. 24.7 miles, 11.9 mph, Odometer: 102.2
KEVIN & STEVE – Steve rode with me and pulled all morning. It was cold out. We rode from Bad Medicine Campground. Riley and the girls found us in Libby, Montana. We were on rollers by Lake Koocanusa most of the day.
So we are getting better at this, but wouldn’t yet make an A in the class (always a concern for Suzi and Lauren). Thanks for your patience. We have edited some earlier posts now that we are able to successfully load photos etc. For those who are hanging on our every word (!), be sure to re-visit earlier posts that have been edited.
Kevin called Tuesday night – he was on the Northern Tier trip with Suzi, Riley and Lauren (and Peach!) I had wanted to ride, but a new granddaughter arrived along with a trip to Denver to see her, and hopes of joining at the beginning disappeared. Kevin wondered if there was any chance I could come sooner than later, as we both recognized that the further east they went, the more difficult the logistics. In 24 hours, we pulled together a chance for me to ride – if I drove on Thursday AM, I could ride Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then catch the Amtrak Empire Builder from East Glacier back to Libby, MT, where my car would be parked. Driving home from there, starting at 11 PM Sunday, I would arrive just in time to join Karen then pick up Rachel in Seattle Monday morning to start an Olympic Peninsula vacation. No problem; you only live once, although Karen felt I was a few links short of a bicycle chain.
Actually, it has all worked out great, even allowing me to ride out from Bad Medicine campground near Libby, MT, right after I joined the sherpas. I met Riley and Kevin one hour out and they let me lead them in to camp (the only ride I’ve finished with more energy than Kevin). Kevin and I had an exhausting ride on Friday, over 87 miles from Bad Medicine toward Eureka, MT. It was beautiful weather and rolling hills along Lake Koocanusa; Riley picked us up with his truck – he was taking a rest day – and delivered us to camp for the night. We’ve enjoyed wonderful camping sites, meals, and, most importantly, showers. Suzi, Lauren and Peach keep the road show going as the support team (sherpas). Saturday was an easier ride notable for a wind at our back, not too many hills, and a revitalized Riley, who really kept us going. A large burrito and a Coke in Whitefish, MT, helped power us to a record finish, arriving in camp at 1:30 pm. Tomorrow we face the Continental Divide in a trip from Columbia Falls to East Glacier. Lots of climbing – should be fun – and then I will be delivered to the train station and off to my next adventure. Many thanks to Suzi, Lauren, Kevin, Riley and Peach for sharing their friendship, food, and Peach’s sleeping spot in the trailer. Most importantly, thanks for making me part of the family!
KEVIN & RILEY – Today we rode along the Pend Oreille River and Lake for miles. Our legs were tired. I was glad to see Steve Knox 18 miles from camp. He pulled us to camp.
KEVIN & RILEY – Today was a day of rude surprises. Last night, Google Maps said 78 miles. This morning we discovered that Google used Hwy 395 but we were actually riding Hwy 20 headed east; 99 miles. We knew there was a climb at the beginning. We did not know it was a 2000 foot climb that lasted 30 miles. Tonight we will look closer at the maps! It was a beautiful ride along the Pend Oreille River and a great lunch at the Texaco Cafe. Suzi rode the last 16 miles with me. Just as we approached Riley Creek Campground near Laclede, Idaho, our friends Tom and Judy Graham passed us on the road with their truck/trailer. Their turn in to the campground showed us exactly where we were headed. It is always delightful to spend time with Tom and Judy, lots of laughter around the campfire!
Cycling with Kevin & Suzi 