Cascades to Glacier Epic Bike Trip - June 24, 2021 - July 12, 2021
During the height of the pandemic when we were stuck at home, I spent a lot of time daydreaming about all the trips on my bucket list that I wanted to take when it was safe to travel again. Than had completed one of his bucket list trips during the pandemic: a 3-week hike on the John Muir Trail in July 2020. I’m not as keen a hiker as he is (mainly due to the camping aspects), but I do love to cycle, so I decided to look for some cycling trips that I could take in the US once a Covid vaccine was available. As middle aged folks, we are both keen to do outdoor adventure type travel before the wheels start falling off entirely!
I had been on one other organized bike tour with an outfit called Woman Tours back in 2018 after I left my job with ARM and I had enjoyed it, so I decided to research their offerings for 2021. The tour that caught my eye was the Cascades to Glacier tour -- a great way to explore Washington, Idaho and Montana. But by the time I decided to sign up the tour was full, so I put my name on the waiting list. I forgot all about it until mid-March 2021 when I got an email from Woman Tours offering me a spot on the tour. Yikes! I was excited at the prospect but also pretty nervous about whether I could do an 18 day bike tour with only 3 months of training. I decided to go for it.
A few notes on how the logistics worked for this bike tour:
People - Our group consisted of 20 cyclists and 2 guides. 12 of the 20 cyclists were doing the full Northern Tier route from Anacortes, WA to Fargo, ND. The other 8 cyclists, myself included, were doing a subset of that route, starting in Anacortes but ending 18 days later in Glacier. The guides were Abby (mainly responsible for logistics and driving the wagon with the trailer containing our luggage), and Emily (mainly responsible for the meals). The cyclists were from all over the US, with all sorts of professional backgrounds. For example, there were two cyclists from Hawaii, one a triathlete. In addition, we had a veterinarian and a college professor from California, a retired letter carrier from Arizona, a tech worker from Kansas City, MO, a soybean farmer from North Dakota, a human resources professional from Acton, MA, and a CPA from Connecticut, among others. All of these women were united by a passion for cycling and were very inspiring. I learned a lot from them.
Lodging - No camping! We slept mostly in chain hotels such as Comfort Inns and Best Westerns, with an occasional stay in a national park lodge or local inn. A couple of places were on swimmable lakes or rivers -- those places were real treats after a long day of biking!
Bikes - Most of the other cyclists brought their own fancy road bikes, but my bike is a 10-year old hybrid bike and I decided it was not worth the hassle of shipping it across the country for the trip, so I rented a bike from Woman Tours which turned out to be a Specialized Vita Elite Hybrid with an aluminum frame. It came with a map holder, a trunk bag and 2 water bottle cages. Inside the trunk bag was a mini pump, spare tube, and tools for changing a tire -- all of which I became well acquainted with (!) on the trip. Here's my rented pony:
Directions - I used the Ride with GPS program, which I downloaded to my cell phone before the trip. It worked really well -- similar to Google maps it provided “voice” directions for each turn and if you were off course the program would chime repeatedly. In addition, every night after dinner we would convene for a “map meeting” when Abby would discuss the next day’s ride and distribute paper cue sheets. I mainly used the cue sheets as back up to Ride with GPS.
SAG - Every 20 miles or so the SAG wagon (a Honda CRV) would be parked along the bike route ready to dispense snacks and cold water to the cyclists. The SAG was driven by a rotation of 4 of the cyclists who drove the SAG in exchange for a discount off the tour price. Typical SAG scene:
Meals - Breakfast was usually provided by the hotel and typically consisted of yogurt, bagels, and fruit, but sometimes Emily would supplement with oatmeal and some form of protein. After breakfast Emily set up a snack table in the parking lot of the hotel near the trailer with the makings for PBJ sandwiches and bags of dried fruit, nuts, M&Ms and granola bars. Lunch was on our own -- we either ate the PBJ sandwiches we made in the morning or stopped at a local eatery along the way. Dinners were mostly prepared by Emily using a grill and a 2-burner hot plate she kept in the trailer, but in the national parks we ate at the lodges.
Itinerary:
June 24 - Travel Day. I flew out to Seattle on JetBlue. Mask wearing was enforced on the plane and most travelers appeared to be vacationers like me, taking their first vacation after staying home for over a year. After getting my luggage and rental car, I drove to Seattle to visit with Kathryn & Scotty. Kathryn had made shrimp tacos and we ate dinner with Wyatt, then Kathryn and I donned sun hats and walked around Green Lake, which took about an hour. It was wonderful to catch up with dear friends, unmasked! From there I drove to Anacortes, about an hour’s drive north of Seattle, arriving at the Anaco Bay Inn around 8:30pm.
June 25 - Day 1 - Anacortes, WA.
I had the rental car until noon, so I decided to go to Washington Park to walk the 2.2 mile loop trail, which is closed to vehicular traffic until 10am. It was gorgeous:
The trail is a lovely shaded paved path through the forest with periodic views of the San Juan Islands and Olympic mountain range. It was sunny and in the low 70s: a wonderful way to start the day.
After my walk I had an early lunch in old town Anacortes at Calico Cupboard Cafe, sitting on the patio and watching the people. When I showed up at noon to return my rental car, the Enterprise guy offered to drive me back to my hotel, which was super nice of him. He said business was slow that weekend due to the forecasted heatwave -- more on that later.
At 2pm we all gathered outside the Anaco Bay Inn for the bike tour orientation. According to Emily, all of the cyclists are vaccinated, thank goodness. The youngest rider appears to be about 40, most are well into their 60s, and a couple are in their 70s. Dinner was catered from a restaurant called Adrift: salad, rice, veggies, chicken and baked cod.
June 26 - Day 2 - Anacortes to Rockport, WA
We gathered in the parking lot of the inn at 8am to bike en masse to the Seafarer’s statue in downtown Anacortes, where we posed for a group photo and dipped our tires into Fidalgo Bay. Then we rode out of town on the Tommy Thompson bike path until we got to the state highway. I rode with Lorilei (HI), Randy (AZ) and Danica (MO). It was great to have the GPS program for navigation along the 70 mile route -- there were lots of turns and the paper cue sheet was 4 pages long! Riding on the highway was not much fun, but we did a lot of riding on country roads where we were surrounded by orchards and the Cascades. The sun started bearing down on us and by 10am it was pretty hot. I put on my sun sleeves and reapplied the sunscreen. By lunchtime, it was a scorching 102 degrees! A record-breaking heatwave had settled into the PNW and would stay with us for awhile.
Every 20 miles or so the SAG wagon would be waiting for us with water and fruit and other snacks. I gorged on some local Ranier cherries at one SAG stop - yum!
At the 50 mile mark it was 1:30pm and we were in a town called Concrete, WA where some of us had stopped for ice cream.
We were feeling the heat in a major way, so when the SAG showed up, Danica and I decided to ride the SAG wagon for the last 20 miles to Rockport. I was sorry not to have completed 70 miles, but I’m glad I was able to do even 50 miles in the heat. In Rockport, we stayed at the “Glacier Peak Resort”, which was definitely not a “resort”! It was basically an RV park with a few cabins dotted around. The main issue was that the place did not have AC, which made for difficult sleeping, but the cabins were clean and I felt better after a shower. Due to the extreme heat, the dinner plans (grilled fish) got scrapped and we all ordered off the menu of the local snack bar. I had a black bean burger with a green salad -- I was hungry and ate every bite.
Tomorrow’s forecast is for 103 degrees - yikes.
June 27 - Day 3 - Rockport to Winthrop, WA
Today was the longest bike ride of the trip, 90 miles, with 25 of those miles climbing over the Washington Pass summit. We rode mostly on the North Cascade Highway, which is closed from November - April due to heavy snowfall. Indeed I saw many patches of snow along the way, not just on the mountain peaks but also in the shaded forested areas along the road. All along the route there were waterfalls and I was careful to ride past them slowly to take advantage of their cooling effect.
At the higher elevations the air was noticeably cooler and I did not mind traveling at 4 mph to climb to the top of the pass. The granny gear on my rental bike did ok, and my legs felt strong. Seven of us elected to get a “bump” from the SAG to mile 30. I started the ride with Danica (MO) and Jo Ann (Tacoma, WA), but we ended up spreading out over the passes, so mostly I rode on my own. I passed one other bike rider along the way - he had fully loaded panniers and was going about 2 miles per hour -- a tough slog. I got to Rainy Pass (elv. 4,855, 3.9%) after about 3.5 hours of climbing. The Pacific Crest trail crosses Rainy Pass and I saw several hikers with large backpacks milling about up there, but I did not stop to chat. From Rainy Pass it took me another hour to climb the next 4 miles to get to Washington Pass (elv. 5,477, 5%). Although it was hard work, it was worth the climb when I got to the top and saw the views of the mountains and the green forests.
From Washington Pass it was 17 miles of downhill. For me that meant feathering the brakes the entire time and trying to stay upright and in control. I stopped a few times to admire the view and rest my hands along the way. Every mile I descended felt hotter and hotter, and by the time I got to the valley it was 103 degrees. I had biked about 45 miles at that point and needed a break, so I pulled over at a store in Mazama and bought a cold drink. From that point on the ride was a bit of a slog up and down hills on Goat Creek Rd. I was very hot and tired by the time I got to the hotel at 4:30pm after 6+ hours of biking. Luckily the hotel, the Abby Creek Inn, had AC. After shower and dinner and watching some of the US olympic trials, I fell into a deep and satisfying sleep in my 70 degree room.
June 28 - Day 4 - Day off in Winthrop, WA
After yesterday’s climb I was glad to have a day off from riding. I did laundry and walked to the Pony Express espresso kiosk for a cappuccino while my clothes were in the dryer. Once the laundry was done, I put on a sun shirt and long pants and got on my bike to find breakfast. Downtown Winthrop was about a 1.5 mile ride away, across a bridge over the Methow river. I stopped to eat at the Rocking Horse Bakery, where I had a veggie breakfast sandwich at a picnic table overlooking the river:
I parked my bike in the shade and wandered around the downtown area. Winthrop is a charming mountain town with a bookstore and a few gift shops, outdoor gear stores and restaurants. I bought a re-supply of sunscreen, a sun shirt, and a new pair of sun sleeves to wear when I am biking. One of the shopkeepers told me that the Methow Valley has the largest network of cross country skiing trails in the USA. Sounds fun if you can figure out how to travel to the Methow Valley in the winter without the use of the North Cascade Hwy!
I stopped at a grocery store on the way back to the hotel and bought some Ranier cherries and a salad for lunch. When I got back I fired up my laptop and found a “yoga for cyclists” program on YouTube and did some stretching. It was wonderful to stay indoors and relax.
June 29 - Day 5 - Winthrop, WA to Omak, WA
It felt like we were jumping out of the frying pan into the fire with our ride to Omak today. Omak was registering the highest temperatures in the state, with a forecast of 118 degrees. It is hard to figure out the best strategy for biking through that heat. Our solution was to get an early start whenever possible. With a super early start I was able to ride over the Loup Loup summit (elv. 4,020) by 8am.
The landscape was mostly scruby and dry. We rode past a number of orchards, including one large cherry orchard, distinguishable by the large rolls of nets standing at the ready on the edges of the field. After 18 miles of downhill, we rode into Okanogan, then pushed on to Omak. Riding the flats of the valley was super hot and I was anxious to get to the hotel as quickly as possible. The town of Omak is not scenic but does have services, including a library that was designated as a cooling center for the community. Several cyclists decided to hang out there. I went straight to the air conditioned Best Western, arriving by 10am. Lori, a triathlete from HI, was already there when I showed up and I enjoyed talking with her about her athletic competitions and her work as director of Honolulu’s bike share program, Biki. Of course, arriving early at the hotel meant cooling your heels until the rooms were ready for check in. I waited 4.5 hours for my room that day, but I was grateful to be in the cool lobby rather than outdoors. Once again it was too hot for Emily to cook, so we had takeout pizza and salad for dinner.
June 30 - Day 6 - Omak, WA to Republic, WA
When we left Omak at 6:30 am it was already in the 80s and humid. About 12 of us took the SAG to the 30 mile mark and started the climb to the Wauconda summit. The first part was pleasant enough, with the Okanogan highlands surrounding us. There were lots of evergreens along the way and I enjoyed the smell of the piney woods.
I was riding with Linda (WI) when we finally got to the Wauconda pass (elv. 4,310). Sadly, there were no views or scenic overlooks, but we were glad to be on the downhill side of it so we could move faster to escape the biting black flies. One bit me through my bike shorts, ow! When we arrived in the little town of Republic (pop 1,078), I was delighted to find that my room was ready. The hotel was a bit on the old-fashioned and rustic side, but it had AC and hot showers. I took a 30-minute nap after my shower and felt revived.
Dinner was cooked by Emily: grilled chicken, grilled veggies, tabbouleh, tahini sauce, pita, and a chocolate birthday cake to celebrate Lynn’s (MA) birthday. The celebration was marred by the news that one of our cyclists (Karen from CO) had to be taken to the ICU for hyperthermia. She had completed the ride, but started having symptoms at a restaurant shortly thereafter. We are all worried for her. Her husband will be flying out from CO tomorrow morning to be with her.
July 1 - Day 7 - Republic, WA to Colville, WA
Today’s ride was a beautiful ride, particularly as we got close to the Columbia River and could see the water between the trees and the hills.
We walked the bikes across the bridge over the river near Kettle Falls. Even though it was hot, the river had a cooling effect (real or perceived). I was riding with a group of 4 other cyclists and I was very glad to be with them because at about 8 miles from the finish while we were riding on highway 395 I got a flat on my rear tire. It was bound to happen at some point, but I wished it hadn’t happened on a busy highway! Luckily JoAnn had changed many tires before and was able to tell me what to do, and Danica was familiar enough with disc brakes to know how to remove and reattach the wheel once the tube had been replaced. It was unnerving to be doing this while cars and trucks were whizzing past, but we got it done in about 25 minutes and I was glad to be on my way and off the highway a mile down the road. I was also glad to be carrying a spare tube, bike tools and a small pump. I hope I won’t need them again on this trip. Among the many bike touring tips I picked up on this tour, I learned that those little packets of makeup remover wipes in our motel rooms are perfect for removing bike grease from your hands, so I carried a couple in my bike trunk bag after that day.
Lots of fields on the way to Colville:
After we arrived at the Comfort Inn in Colville, I walked across the way to the grocery store and found a get well card for Karen. I sat in the lobby while the other cyclists arrived and passed around the card for them to sign while I did a little laundry (several of us combined loads). Karen was scheduled to be in the hospital for about 3 days. In addition to hyperthermia, she was being treated for hyponatremia.
July 2 - Day 8 - Colville, WA to Ione, WA
Today’s ride was 45 miles of rolling hills, no steep mountain passes, and a screaming 4 mile descent towards the end. We started as a group for a change so that we could all ride together to the hospital at 7am and wave to Karen through the window. She seemed happy to see us all there.
Then we were off climbing hills, but it was very pleasant and the air felt slightly cooler than the day before. When I got to Beaver Cafe I pulled off and found other cyclists sitting on the back deck overlooking the lake -- a great spot for some french fries and other snacks. Ever since Karen’s diagnosis of hyponatremia, we are all intentionally adding more salty snacks to our diet and french fries qualifies!
Bonnie, Lori, Heather and Liz enjoying a snack break:
After the 4 mile descent, it was only 3 more miles along Hwy 31 to get to the hotel. There were signs along Hwy 31 indicating that it was part of the International Selkirk Loop, which goes up into Canada. Local color on Hwy 31:
Our hotel for the night was the Riverview Motel, which is right on the Pend Oreille River and has a dock and some kayaks. As soon as I got to my room, I put on my swimsuit and jumped into the water. The water temp was perfect and I had a refreshing swim. View of the Pend Oreille from the motel deck:
In the afternoon I sat out by the dock with some other cyclists and we saw a couple of bald eagles. Apparently there is a bald eagle nest not far from the motel. In the late afternoon I rested in my room and started listening to an audiobook that I downloaded from Libby: The Lost Apothecary -- easy entertainment. When I tried to leave my room after my rest, I found that I was locked in my room -- the computerized Yale lock on my door had gotten stuck somehow. Luckily I was on the ground floor and was able to yell to someone through the window to explain my predicament. The motel maintenance person came by and said that they were having trouble with their locks in the heatwave: the hot afternoon sun on the locks would cause them to seize up. He used a wet rag to cool down the lock and then taped paper tents over all the locks of the rooms to shade them from the sun. Despite the lock issue, I would definitely stay at the Riverview Motel again in order to swim, watch the bald eagles and and sit on the deck overlooking the river.
Dinner was cooked by Emily: turkey burgers, corn on the cob, and broccoli salad. Emily made lots of delicious salads on the trip!
July 3 - Day 9 - Ione, WA to Sandpoint, ID
Today’s ride was 83.7 miles long and we were all champing at the bit to get started because the air in the morning was nice and cool. After eating oatmeal for breakfast at 6:30, I quickly jumped on my bike and set off. The first 30 miles were fantastic - we rode along the Pend Oreille River and the ride was fairly flat, the air was cool, and the road we were on was a quiet one with lots of shade.
From 30 - 50 miles into the ride the air was getting hotter but the route went through the Kalispel Indian reservation and there were interesting things to see, including a fish hatchery operation and a herd of bison.
At the 50 mile mark we crossed over into Idaho on US2E, which was a busy highway full of pickup trucks towing boats and folks heading off for the holiday weekend. I was glad to get off US2E and cross the Pend Oreille River onto Dufort Rd, which was quieter.
But by that time it was almost noon and there was no shade and I started to feel pretty hot. I took lots of little water breaks and reapplied the sunscreen and convinced myself I could complete the ride. The worst part of the ride was between miles 74-79 when we had to ride on the shoulder of US-95 where there was a lot of high speed traffic, ugh. Luckily my bike held up and I was able to get onto the Serenity Lee bike path, which runs parallel to US-95.
From there it was just another 5 miles to get across the Pend Oreille and into Sandpoint, ID where there were a lot of tourists and cars for the holiday weekend. I finished cycling at about 2pm, happy to have completed the whole 83.7 miles. Our hotel rooms were not ready, so Danica and I walked a block to a wine tasting place that had a lunch menu. We split spanikopita and a mushroom pizza and I enjoyed an ice cold pomegranate/orange san pellegrino:
Woman Tours has a tradition of serving margaritas on bike tours when you cross state lines, so since we had crossed into Idaho we had margaritas before dinner to celebrate. I had a half glass and that was more than enough! Emily made chicken stew and a green salad for dinner and it was delicious. I crawled into bed at 9:30pm and slept straight through until 6am.
July 4 - Day 10 - Rest Day in Sandpoint, ID
It's the 4th of July and Sandpoint is all decked out for the celebration. When I went to the lobby to get some coffee at 6:30am, folks were already putting chairs out for the parade, which starts at 9am. I spent some time window shopping in the center of town with Randy and Lorilei, trying to figure out if any of the stores would actually be open on the 4th of July so we could visit them after the parade. We ended up at Starbucks where I got a cappuccino, then I headed to the local grocery store and bought some peaches for breakfast. After breakfast I spent some time by the bike trailer cleaning my bike chain, which had collected a lot of gunk during the last week of riding. The parade marched past and I saw lots of cute kids dressed up in patriotic costumes. At noon I met up with one of the guides, Abby, so she could re-align my front wheel. Abby grew up in Alaska and has guided all sorts of outdoor adventures. She is also a certified bike mechanic and she was able to fix the problem with my bike in 10 minutes.
Danica and I spent a couple of hours shopping downtown. We stopped for ice cream and I tried the huckleberry flavor. For dinner I picked up a delicious salad from City Beach Organics.
I did yoga for cyclists on YouTube in the afternoon and then had some tea while listening to my audio book. It was a great rest day!
July 5 - Day 11 - Sandpoint, ID to Trout Creek, Montana
Today’s ride was about 65 miles, so not too long. The first 25 miles were nice enough. I rode with Ann (CA) and we took our time cycling along the Pend Oreille River, keeping a lookout for moose in the marshy areas. No moose sightings, alas, but we did enjoy the serene water views.
In the town of Clark Fork, I noticed a familiar bike parked in front of a cafe so I decided to stop: it was Steve, the self-supporting cyclist we have encountered all along the Northern Tier bike route. He is from Houston and plans to bike all the way to Maine. I think he appreciates running into the Woman Tours SAG wagon on a regular basis because we always give him water and a snack! By that point I was fairly hungry myself so I decided to stay long enough at the cafe to eat a breakfast burrito with hot sauce - it hit the spot. We crossed into Montana around the 35 mile mark.
Since we had crossed state lines it was margarita night again. I chose the virgin one this time and it was pretty tasty! For dinner we were told to order off the menu at the hotel. I had Alaskan cod, french fries and broccoli. We shared a piece of huckleberry cheesecake for dessert. In the evening I went back to my room and finished listening to The Lost Apothecary, which had a good ending.
July 6 - Day 12 - Trout Creek to Libby, MT
After a delicious breakfast at the hotel, we set off early on a gorgeous ride along MT-56 N with the Cabinet Mountain range surrounding us.
The morning temperature was cool enough that I wore my bike jacket for the first time on the trip. Around lunchtime we stopped at Kootenai Falls. It was busy there but well worth the walk down the rocky path and across the bridge over the RR tracks to see the falls. I ate my lunch in the shade on the rocks overlooking the falls.
The ride after lunch into Libby was on US-2E. There was heavy traffic -- logging and mining trucks - but luckily there is a wide shoulder on US-2E. I passed a dead deer and a taxidermy place on the way. Libby is not a very attractive town, but our motel had friendly people, AC and a warm shower.
July 7 - Day 13 - Libby, MT to Eureka, MT
After our experience with Libby, it was a delight to arrive in Eureka where we are staying at a wonderful lodge called the Riverstone Family Lodge. There were several long climbs on the 73 mile route from Libby to Eureka and I used my granny gear more than once to get through those climbs, but the scenery was beautiful:
The weather was cool early in the morning and mostly cloudy, which made a big difference in my energy levels, particularly for the last 20 miles of pedaling. Between mile 28 and mile 34, there was a thunderstorm and what felt like large almost hail-like precipitation. It was a bit scary to see the lightning not too far in the distance. Luckily I was biking with two other women (Linda and Liz) but none of us knew the protocol for biking through a thunderstorm. We were on a highway surrounded by trees, so there weren’t any options for sheltering. We made it safely to the SAG stop at mile 35 and pondered our options. By then the rain had stopped and we no longer heard thunder, so we decided to continue the ride.
Taking a break at the Koocanusa bridge (Montana's longest bridge):
Liz and Ann at the bridge:
I had originally intended to stop riding by the time we got to the Koocanusa bridge (at about mile 55) just because I thought the sun would be bearing down hard around the time we got there (1p-ish), but because of the cloud cover I felt good and decided to continue riding. I got to the lodge in Eureka at mile 73 around 2:30pm, ready for a nice shower. My room at the lodge in Eureka:
Before dinner I was able to sign into our weekly Hatha Yoga class with Asha via Zoom -- it was great to stretch for an hour after all that biking and to catch a glimpse of Than taking the same yoga class. One of the benefits of having classes move online during the pandemic is that you can participate in them while traveling!
Emily cooked dinner in the lodge kitchen: grilled chicken, focaccia, roast potatoes and brussel sprouts, and a delicious salad with baby spinach. It was Claudine’s birthday, so dessert was special: chocolate brownies with ice cream and toppings.
July 8 - Eureka to Whitefish
After cycling several long mileage days, I decided to take a zero mile day today in order to explore Whitefish. I helped Abby and Emily clear out of the Riverstone Valley Lodge in the morning and enjoyed the van ride to the first SAG stop at around mile 20. The scenery was classic Montana: big sky with lots of ranch land and some gorgeous lakes and streams along the way. The first SAG stop was at a local bakery /mercantile and Heather (who usually rides in the front of the pack) decided to buy 3 pies there for our dessert tonight.
She got cherry, apple and peach pies and we loaded them up in the wagon. At that point in the morning it was getting pretty hot (no cloud cover) and Lynn had decided to stop riding, so she joined us in the van. We arrived at the hotel in Whitefish around 11am and Lynn and I decided to take advantage of the free time to do laundry since none of the upcoming lodges in Glacier National Park offer guest laundry services. After we finished that chore we walked into Whitefish for lunch, taking the footpath along the Whitefish River and enjoying the wildflowers (and weeds) along the way.
Whitefish was pretty crowded and it took us a while to find a restaurant with available seating, but we finally sat down at the Buffalo Cafe around 1pm. We both had the roasted veggie salad with iced tea.
After lunch I made a beeline to the ice cream shop and ran into Ann and Danica. I had a split scoop of huckleberry and chocolate ice cream - yum! Then I did a little souvenir shopping but I was not very inspired given the number of other shoppers who were doing the same thing.
Emily’s dinner that night was outstanding: salmon with pesto and goat cheese, kale salad, green beans with mushrooms, rice pilaf, and Heather’s pies. A new rider, Harriet, who is a retired nurse from North Carolina, joined our group that night. She had completed several epic bike tours with Woman Tours in the past and wanted to complete the Northern Tier route.
July 9 - Whitefish to Glacier National Park
Our departure from Whitefish was delayed until 11am due to certain Glacier National Park restrictions on cyclists, so to kill time Pat, Ann, Danica and I decided to borrow the hotel’s kayaks to paddle along the Whitefish River. It was very serene on the river and it felt good to use my arm muscles instead of the leg muscles for a change!
At 11am, we were off on our bikes riding to Glacier National Park. Linda, Claudine and I got to the Park Entrance by 1:30pm and zipped through the entrance line. Here we are just past the entrance to GNP:
Our hotel was located at Lake McDonald, which required traveling for 10 miles on the Going-to-the-sun-road, however cyclists are not allowed on that road between 11am - 4pm, so we ended up having ice cream and hanging out in Apgar Village to kill time. The view of Lake McDonald at Apgar is stunning:
At 4pm we joined up with other cyclists and hightailed it the 10 miles to the motel. Dinner was at the lodge, in take-out containers only due to Covid. I ordered the trout dinner and it was delicious. I went to bed early to get rested for the next day’s climb.
July 10 - Going to the Sun Road
Today’s ride was a stunner. We left Motel Lake McDonald at around 6:30 am and started pedaling on the Going to the Sun Road (GTTSR). According to the GPS, it was 20 miles from the motel up to Logan Pass (elevation 6646) which is also the continental divide, then another 20 miles to go from Logan Pass to our hotel in St Mary Village. To get to Logan Pass we would be climbing straight up for about 12 miles on a narrow 2-lane road with a couple of steep hairpin turns. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous about cycling it! Due to the nature of the GTTSR, large RVs and campers are prohibited, and cyclists are banned from climbing up to Logan Pass between 11am - 4pm. If a cyclist is still climbing after 11am, the park rangers will remove them from the road in their pick up trucks. Once you reach Logan Pass, however, you can take all the time you want on the descent.
The day we rode there was quite a bit of road traffic on the way up, but there were plenty of turnoffs so we could pull over to let cars pass. I quickly fell into a good cadence with my pedaling and started to enjoy the ride. The air was crisp and the scenery was beautiful. I saw lots of Indian Paintbrush and other wild flowers along the way, and stunning views of Heaven’s Peak and Avalanche Creek.
Heather climbing:
When the real climbing started I shifted into a comfortable gear and just pedaled away, stopping periodically to take pictures, drink water, and admire the views. There were many waterfalls along the way and one I particularly liked was “Bird Woman Falls”:
When the pedaling got tedious I chanted a silly mantra to myself that another cyclist had taught me: “beans-and-rice-and-rice-and-beans” over and over - it helped keep me on the right cadence. I started feeling a little fatigued at the “Weeping Wall”, a 100 foot rockface with cascading water located about 3 miles from Logan Pass. I pulled over and ate my banana and then pushed ahead. I arrived at Logan Pass around 9:45am, feeling elated and surprisingly good. It was an amazing experience.
I sped down the mountain, arriving at our hotel in St Mary Village at noon. I ate a celebratory lunch (quinoa burger) with Lorilei, Randy, and Harriet in the hotel restaurant. Dinner was also at the hotel restaurant: I had vegetarian risotto and a salad.
July 11 - St Mary Lodge to East Glacier, MT
Today’s ride was billed as a 30.7 mile ride, so I thought it would be an easy-peasy one, at least compared to the GTTSR ride. Hah! Within those 30.7 miles we had to climb 3 summits: the first summit was at mile 6 (elev. 5,992), the second summit was at mile 11 (elev. 5,657) and the third summit was at mile 22.6 (elev. 5,993). Whew! After the previous day’s long climb, my legs felt like jelly, but as with most of the other summit routes we had cycled, the views at the top were rewarding and I took my time to savor the ride, knowing it would be my last one of the tour.
Linda, Lori, Danica and Harriet at the top of the first summit:
looking back at the road I just travelled on Hwy49:
Heather and yours truly at the top of the third summit:
Another reward waiting for us at the end of the ride: a stay at the Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier, which is one of those historic timbered national park lodges with an enormous stone fireplace in the lobby and wide porches where you can sit and admire the mountain views. View from my room:
We were all in a celebratory mood at dinner, which was at the lodge restaurant (I had roasted brussels sprouts and salmon). After dinner we sat outside to recap the trip and Abby and Emily organized us into teams for a Jeopardy-style trivia game with fun facts from the trip. It was a great way to end an "epic" tour and wish the remaining 12 cyclists well on their journey to Fargo, ND.
July 12 - Travel day. I flew back to Boston. It was great to be home and to be with Than again after almost 3 weeks! I can't wait to return with him to Montana in August, and I am hoping the heat wave will be long gone by then.
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