Two Wheeling West

All done!

Posted by Andrew on August 17th, 2009 - 2 Comments...  

And that’s it, I’m done.

Back in NJ at the moment sorting through mail, cleaning up some gear, and planning my move to Boston.  I’ve got plenty of pictures that need to get sorted and posted, so look out for those in the coming week or two.  I’ve got a few posts about the end of the trip in the works right now, and I’ll write a few things about the overall experience too.

Overall, it was excellent - the US is big.

Orcas and Seattle

Posted by Andrew on August 7th, 2009 - No Comments;  

I spent my second night in the San Juans on Orcas Island - it’s a big horseshoe-shaped island, hard to get around, but absolutely beautiful.  I arrived on the ferry with just enough time to ride from the terminal to West Beach Resort to camp for the night.  I’ve encountered a number of campgrounds that like to refer to themselves as resorts, but this one priced itself as a resort: $41 for the night + $1 for a shower.  By far the most expensive campsite since Maine - I wish I could say that it was the best and worth it, but it wasn’t.  *sigh*  The shower was hot, the ice cream was cold, and the sunset was excellent.  I had a beer and Mrs Fields ice cream sandwich while I watched the sunset over a distant island.  Couldn’t help but think how cool it would be sitting there having just biked straight across the country…  ohwell, another adventure for another time I suppose (more to come about that).

I was up early the next morning because that’s how large campgrounds work.  Dogs need to go out which wakes up the kids who then need to get back on the playground.  I’ve learned that tent sites tend to be the worst campsites available - both campgrounds on the San Juans held to the rule very well.  On San Juan the “hiker/biker” sites are located as far away from water, power, and the showers as possible on a lousy patch of lumpy ground.  On Orcas, my site was about 10 yards from the showers, playground, and volleyball court.  Tent areas also look like pet exercise areas - I’ve had several people let their dogs crap behind my tent while I’m standing there eating my Pop-Tarts in the morning.

Note: I’m not hot on large campgrounds right now.  Too many people, dogs, kids, diesel engines mixed in with a lot of cheap beer is the complete opposite of what I want in a campsite.

Anyway. The guy camped next to me turned out to be the campground–sorry, “resort”–maintenance guy, who suggested Mt. Constitution as a good place to visit before I leave the Islands.  He’s left the islands 3 times in 6 years, so I assumed he really knows what’s up.  Kelly suggested hiking up the mountain, but I only have flip-flops and cycling shoes, so up I went on the bike.  Steep switchbacks, no shoulder, and a hot, steamy day made for one brutal climb, but the view was worth it.  Going back down was a blast - it’s the only time I had to stop on my way down something.  I thought the burning smell was the car in front of me, but nope, definitely my brakes.  Short hill, brake hard, short hill, brake hard…  all the way down the mountain.

Raced back around the island to catch the ferry, which was over an hour late, and went back to Anacortes to camp for the night.  On Wednesday the 29th I rode from Anacortes, WA, down WHiDbey Island, crossed back to the mainland and continued to Seattle.  98 miles in 100+ degree heat - it’s the type of heat that comes at you in waves when the wind picks up, much like opening your oven door. After getting lost in the fake street grid around Seattle and falling (1st time in the trip!) on uneven concrete, I arrived at Bryce’s house for a relaxing evening of cheeseburgers and beer.  Thanks Bryce, great to see you!

After a night at Bryce’s and the following day spent in front of the computer (bills, email, website!) I rode about 2 miles down the road to Kelly’s apartment for a day of cleaning, reorganizing, repacking, reading, and eating. Thanks a lot Kelly - it’s been a while since I’ve had time to clean up and repack!  Just as soon as I got everything unpacked and spread out, Steve sent me a message via facebook - he happened to be in Seattle on his way from VT to AK (home).  Excellent timing!  I took the bus downtown and we wandered around seeing the sights.  The Pike Place Market is definitely worth visiting - we stood with the rest of the crowd waiting to se some fish thrown around for a bit.  Everyone was watching with nobody buying, hence the lack of fish flying around.  The Pike Brewery IPA was excellent, cheap burritos from Taco Del Mar hit the spot, and the Seattle Monorail is not worth the $2 fare, just walk, it’s not that far.

That evening, I rode one of the extremely well-marked bike paths south to Erica and Brian’s apartment.  Minneapolis, you could learn something from Seattle’s bike path signs - the intersections are labeled with directional signs = very helpful. We spent Saturday afternoon watching the Blue Angels perform as part of Sea Fair from the shore of Lake Washington.  Very cool show, and very close!  I hadn’t seen them since the air show in Schenectady and I’d forgotten how wild it looks.  Fantastic Thai food for dinner, some excellent beer, and a game of Container that lasted well into the night - great way to end a few days off from riding.  Thanks a lot Erica and Brian, great to see you both!

I got up the next morning and rode my bike to Portland.

North Dakota and Montana Photos

Posted by Andrew on August 3rd, 2009 - 1 Comment...  

I’m glad I watched the truly flat parts of ND roll by from the train and got back on my bike to ride through the rolling yellow hills of canola.  ND was a lot of fun, the people I met are fantastic, the weather was good, and the landscape was completely new to me.  I loved the extremes: bright green fields gave way to blinding yellow fields, then rolling “waves of grain” became sparse, rocky, then barren as I approached ranch country.

All I saw of most ranches was a gate with a name and a beat up fence at the road.  Obviously there’s something else back there, but I couldn’t discern any other buildings or activity as far back as I could see.  Big ranch. The cattle that I did see near the road all watched as I rolled by, which was sort of an odd feeling.  They didn’t just look up, they actually turned around to face me, turned their heads, and shuffled around to get a good look.    I mean, I’d watch me too, not probably not that intently.

I met some interesting people in Montana and had several unexpected conversations along the way.  Gordon is a full-blooded Sioux Indian living just off the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana.  I found him leaning over his car on the side of route 2 staring straight up at the sky with a pair of binoculars.  At first glance, I didn’t see anything, but after I stopped to ask what he was looking at, Gordon pointed out several golden eagles floating way up in the sky.  He told me about seeing a few up close, how they mate (grab onto one another up high, then float down slowly until the last moment and let go), and their position as a sacred animal.  We went on to talk about the trouble on the reservations, both in years past and in the present.  Gordon has his fair share of issues years ago, but is proud to have cleaned up and is trying to help others, unfortunately without much success lately.

I met a rancher in Saco, MT as I was changing my rear tire.  I picked up a sharp stone in NY, which turned into a hole and kept giving me flats…  2200 miles on that tire wasn’t too bad.  We spoke about riding, the weather (of course), the bugs, which weren’t too bad so far this year, and about organic farming.  He was pleased to see that a few farms, mostly wheat, peas, and canola, have started to switch over to organic practices.  I must admit, I was a little surprised to hear about changes in a place like Saco.  I assumed this was very large-scale commercial farming with all of the chemicals and debt that comes with it.  Before he left, we talked about my bike for a few minutes… turns out he used to race bikes in high school and college, but doesn’t ride any longer.  Instead he builds tandems and other odd bikes (4 wheels) for whoever needs them - just gives them away!  He recommended the beef jerky at the local grocery store, “Robert makes the best jerky in the state!”  I don’t know if it’s the best in the state, but I thought it was excellent.  The grocery store had several animal heads on the wall - nice touch as you’re looking around for ice cream.

View ND photos on flickr…

View MT photos on flickr…

Grace and Alan
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Montana
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Laurie, Lucy, Me, Grace, Alan, Barbara
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San Juan Islands

Posted by Andrew on July 28th, 2009 - No Comments;  

I asked several friends for suggestions once I made it to the coast and heard, “go to the San Juans!” from all of them. So here I am, on Orcas, just wandering around for a few days.

I arrived in Anacortes just in time to catch a Ferry to San Juan Island, so I figured that might as well be my first stop. I spent the night at Lakedale Resort (campground), just about 3 miles from the ferry terminal. As I’ve found with several other popular campgrounds, the “hiker/biker” sites are way off in the outskirts of the grounds, the sites are typically lousy, and I end up walking to water/power. At $20 for the night + $2 for a shower, I figured the showers would be nice… they were, until the water slowed to a trickle and stopped mid-shower. Wet, soapy, and a little grumpy, I walked back to the main lodge and learned that the “water system was broken.”

They did OK by me though - a got a 3 gallon jug from the office to drink and cook (and rinse off a bit), and $10 off my site when I asked the next morning.  I can’t imagine the complaints they must have dealt with that night though - it was at least an hour before they decided to hang a sign at the bathhouse mentioning that the water didn’t work!

San Juan was fun - I saw all of the sights: a pod of killer whales from the west coast, the large alpaca farm, a random camel (yes, camel on the island), English Camp, the American Camp, and explored Friday Harbor.  Good riding a very cool landscape: hot and dry in some places and wet, dense, cool forests in the valleys.  I’d like to come back and see the island having not slept on the ground the night before!

Riding in honor of Brian Hahl

Posted by Andrew on July 24th, 2009 - 7 Comments...  

Update 7/27: I’m up to $1 per mile for my longest day so far. Currently thinking about the Seattle to Portland (STP) route. 200 miles should be enough space!

Update 8/3: I’m up over $3 per mile, thank you all! I managed 202 miles yesterday, Seattle to Portland in a day.  Whoa tired, didn’t think I’d pull that off…  (Note: there are other new posts below this one)

Update 8/6: 202 miles it is - I’ll be in Bend, OR until the 9th without riding very much. Thank you all, and I’ll be in touch via email with donation details.

On July 10th I had breakfast with Alan, Grace, Kevin, and Laurie in Wolf Point just before Kevin split off to head south. We said goodbye, snapped a few pictures, and everyone clipped in to hit the road. I checked my email one last time and received sad word that my friend Brian Hahl had passed away the previous afternoon. Brian had a heart attack while out riding his bike, surely training for his two big charity rides this summer.

I’m fortunate to have met Brian up at Lake Placid a few years ago. I was up to join Dan and try speed skating for the first time - the three of us ended up rooming together at Lysek’s. After dinner, we decided to head out for a few beers downtown; “a few” turned into several and a pretty late night. Brian was a big guy and he handled the fantastic local beer a lot better than Dan or me… skating the next morning was slow. I remember several things about Brian very clearly from that first night out: he loved teaching (clearly gifted at it), he pulled a picture of his 1973 Pinzgauer out of his wallet (I think he had a truck-related t-shirt on too), he often fed change into the jukebox to play Pink Floyd, and he was passionate about the 2 charity bike rides he does every year.

I saw Brian again at Lake Placid several more times during the next few years: skating, bowling, more time at ZigZag’s and the Northwoods Inn, and relaxing at Lysek’s. I’ve got pictures buried on my computer at home of us speedskating, wandering around Placid, and one of him stuffed into a tiny bobsled at the track outside of town. Heading up to Lake Placid is one of the highlights of winter for me, and meeting up with Brian was a big part of the experience. Skating and wandering around Lake Placid won’t be the same without him.

Brian was participating in 2 charity bike rides this summer, the National MS Society’s annual PA Dutch 2009 event and the Pennsylvania Perimeter Ride Against Cancer (PPRAC). He rode both for a long time, and I know they meant a lot to him - he rode the PPRAC in honor of his father who died of cancer.

I’m going to finish my ride in honor of Brian Hahl, a fantastic guy who worked hard on his bike to raise money for 2 worthy charities every summer. If you’ve been following and enjoying my journal, I ask that you please join me in making a donation to PPRAC in honor of Brian. It seems fitting to honor him by donating to a cause that meant so much to him. If you would rather mail a check, please see the bottom of Brian’s fundraising page for an ACS form and information.

Now, to make things a little more interesting: I will donate 50 cents per mile for the longest single day I can ride before August 8th, the day Brian would have finished his PPRAC ride. If you’d like to join in on the challenge, please let me know - leave a comment, send me an email, call, whatever you would like. I’ll get in touch with you after August 8th to let you know how far I managed on my longest day. Of course, if you’d rather make a donation without gambling on my legs, please feel free to do so!

Disclaimer: I have no idea how far I can ride. I rode 120 miles fully loaded back in IL and I did 104 a few days ago then followed it up with 95 (over Sherman Pass).

Goodbye Montana, Hello Idaho

Posted by Andrew on July 20th, 2009 - No Comments;  

I really enjoyed riding in Montana: new terrain, varied terrain, great riding partners, good camping, pretty good weather, and really interesting people along the way. One problem throughout the state: broken glass all over the side of the road.

I’m not sure I get it… are some of you that lazy that you can’t bring the bottle home with you? Just leave it in the back of the car, in the trunk, or those seat-back pockets that never seem to be as useful as they should be. Or tell the dude in the backseat to hang on to it - all of the action is in the front of a car anyway, whoever is in the back might as well just hang on to empties and watch the hills roll by. No, I didn’t have many flats, just two or three related to a tire puncture from NY that grew into a 3mm hole and gravel-magnet. I am pretty careful with my tires these days since I want them to last; I stop and check my tires whenever I roll over the remnants of your cheap beer.

Stop throwing bottles out of the window. Or at least get them more than 4 feet out of your window into the grass. What? Can’t throw it that far? Weak.

You can continue to throw sort-of crushed cans on the side of the road - they won’t puncture my tires, so I really don’t care. Besides, guess where those cans end up? You know, the ones that end up blowing off the side of the road into the grass? No idea? The cans end up in your hay. I have never purchased a bale of hay, but I would imagine that a shredded can sticking out of the sides doesn’t improve the value. So go ahead with the cans, I’m sure that’ll work out well for you in the long term.

Anyways…

Glacier NP was outstanding! I rode a long day to get to the east entrance to the park, then took a 0-day before climbing up over the Continental Divide at Logan Pass. I spent my time off cleaning the bike, replacing my front tire and brake pads, and cleaning up some gear before using the shuttle system to see some of the park.

Wow, outstanding shuttle system! I rode up to Logan Pass and down the other side to get a burger and a beer at Lake MacDonald Lodge. Burger was excellent, and the Moose Drool Brown Ale was outstanding - exactly what I needed on my day off! It was fun to scout out the road and see the sights beforehand, even though the experience is certainly different from a bike. You can’t feel the temperature changes from the shade, snow, ice, and streams when you’re in a car. I probably wouldn’t have seen the large black bear rummaging around by the side of the road in a car either. Even if I did, stopping a car creates traffic issues, but stopping my bike really doesn’t matter. I’ve got some good pictures of the bear!

The climb up to Logan Pass from the east is not too bad. The first 12-ish miles are flat or very gently uphill, and I never needed my smallest chainring (lowest gearing) for the last 6. Met up with a tourer from Scotland at the top who had only been on the road for 2 weeks. We exchanged traffic stories and talked bike gear, because that’s what you do. Also chatted with a few riders on a supported tour through several mountain passes in the area - all riding light road bikes. Pansies.

Heading down the west side is amazing! I didn’t bother sticking to the sides of the road since I was going down as fast, if not faster, than the cars and motorcycles. I don’t think I made it past 35 mph due to the twists, turns, and road construction, not to mention the slightly scary drop off the side of the road.

Perfect day, perfect weather, traffic was not an issue, and the huge huckleberry ice cream cone in West Glacier at the end was fantastic - I couldn’t ask for a better experience going through Glacier. This was my first time through, and I’d definitely recommend it however you want to get through the park. Make sure you get out of your car to feel what it’s like out - I saw too many people getting out at the top, then going straight back down

Approaching Glacier NP

Posted by Andrew on July 14th, 2009 - No Comments;  

Glacier National Park is just about 100  miles away, which could be 1 day, 2 days, or 3 all depending on the wind.  Yesterday I left Havre, MT with a slight headwind headed toward Shelby, MT.  I was hoping to do 100 miles, but the weather had other plans for my day.  As I sat outside of a bar in Hingham (40-ish miles) eating a brownie (very tasty), I watched the wind pick up.  I got back on the bike, then it picked up again, and again, and again.  By the time I arrived in Chester (60 miles), the wind was around 30 mph straight at me, making riding extremely hard.  At one point I could only manage 5 mph, so I got off my bike to walk for about a mile.  Walking 4 mph was a lot easier than riding 5 mph.  That’s the first time I’ve walked anything - I don’t plan on making a habit out of it, but it was a nice 15 minute break.

The wind typically dies down in the evening and we see calm weather through 9 or 10 AM on most days.  Not so this time.  The wind did die down a little last night around 1 AM, but then picked up again when it started to pour at 2-3 AM.  Fortunately Alan, Grade and I were camped under a pavilion in the Chester Town park, so we stayed mostly dry.  “Mostly” because the rain came in sideways and through gaps in the wall on the west side of the pavilion.  We all spent a good 20 minutes this morning drying things out - in the wind again.  Lazy day for me so far - it’s almost 2:30, and I haven’t left down yet.    The thought of grinding into the wind again doesn’t get me going…  weather.com says things should calm down a little later this afternoon, so I might put in 40 miles to Shelby, but we’ll see.  I’d give weather.com a 70% success rate so far with a few really lousy predictions.

Aside fom the wind, things are great!  I’ve been traveling with Alan and Grace for about a week now, and we’ve been joined by several others along the way: Laurie, Kevin, Lucy, and Barbara.  Meeting up during the day, sometimes riding together, and camping with them reminds me of backpacking.  In the 6 months I was out on the AT in 2004, I only spend 2 nights alone, and even then I found out that others were within a mile or two of my campsites.  Sharing dinner, stories, griping about the road, or hints from other bikers is a fantastic way to end the day.  If I get out of Chester, MT today, I’ll meet up with them again this evening for a few more days before we split up: Alan and Grace are heading north, and I’m continuing west to the coast.  Thanks guys, it’s been a lot of fun!

I’ve never spent any time out west, just a few days down in Arizona years ago.  I’m really enjoying checking out the landscape out here.  Flats in ND and MT, rolling hills, and now I’m starting to see hills in the distance again.  I’ll follow river valleys for the next 2-3 days before my route does any real climbing, which is nice, I get a good look at what’s to come.

A few stories from the folks I’ve met are in the works: Gordon, 100% Sioux told me all about Golden Eagles and tough times on the reservation, a rancher from Saco who used to race bikes and builds bike frames, Karen and Jim who took 6 of us in for a night, and fed s truly amazing cinnamon buns.

Photos from Indiana and Illinois

Posted by Andrew on July 13th, 2009 - 1 Comment...  

I had a great time riding in IN and IL - good weather, met some great people, and had a blast riding/camping with Jerry and Kris for a few nights. They were the only other long-distance bikers I met before skipping ahead to Minot, ND. I ran into a few people doing week-long trips, weekends, or just out for a day, but nobody else headed cross country. When I arrived in ND I met people 10 minutes after I left the train station, and I continue to see people every day. During my 60 miles from Malta, MT to Chester, MT today, I spotted 8 bikers going east (with the wind).

View IN photos on flickr…

View IL photos on flickr…

Wow, it's flat out here
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Welcome to Illinois
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Back on the bike in ND

Posted by Andrew on July 7th, 2009 - 1 Comment...  

I think I picked the perfect spot to get off the train in ND and start riding again!  Most of eastern ND (at least up north) is flat and looks pretty much like Indiana blanketed in wheat instead of corn.  I was up early on the train to watch the wheat fly by - I woke the guy next to me so he didn’t miss his stop, and the woman across from me decided to start snoring at 5 AM.

Anyway… got off the train in Minot and watched two guys try and run after the train when it left them in the station.  They were warned to stay close - we were an hour late and the conductor made it very clear that the stop would be a short one.  One train a day through this area, so I hope they enjoyed the coffee they absolutely had to  get!  After I laughed at them shuffling toward the train, I realized that I left my mirror (helmet mounted) on the train.  Damn, off to the local  bike shop.

Val’s Cyclery is great, and I ended up with a better mirror, gave my extra bungee cords away to another tourer, and got the last two Northern  Tier maps from someone else.  They also warned me against following the maps west (they were going east), and  suggested I take route 2 straight to Williston instead of the back roads.  There are several few small oil wells in the area with none large enough for a pipeline, so they haul the oil around in trucks.  The trucks must use the ACA maps as well - apparently the route is littered with them.  Route 2 has a nice shoulder, well graded, and traffic is certainly fast, but has been good to me so far.  The only car that got close to me was a school bus#$%!

This part of the route doesn’t have many campgrounds, or towns, or people, or much of anything, so I stopped in Stanley, ND for the night.  I used the Internet for a few minutes at town hall, had a chat with some people about the weather, then headed north to find a quiet corner of the town park.  Surprise! Other tourers!  Alan and Grace are on a 4 month cross-country/visit friends trip, and Laurie is headed west from Michigan.  We all shared mac and cheese, chips, steamed asparagus, and plenty of beer - good times, I’m glad I ran into them!  We’re all in Williston for the night after being rained on all morning - time for food, laundry, more food, and some rest.

56 miles yesterday, 72 today + whatever we ride around town, and possibly 90 tomorrow.  I feel great and could have covered more miles during the last two days, but purposely kept it low to take it easy on my body.  So far, so good!  I plan on gradually ramping back up to 80-90 per day, weather, terrain, and campgrounds permitting.

Minneapolis photos

Posted by Amy on July 6th, 2009 - 1 Comment...  

Amy here. Andrew said we had a great time in Minneapolis and he was telling the truth. Believe it or not, I was starting to miss the fellow, so it was nice to get away from NYC over the long holiday weekend and meet up in the North Star state. Though I saw no moose or mutant mosquitoes, I did see my first major league baseball game; on that account I’d still consider the trip a success (even if the home team lost).

We’ll rendezvous again in Oregon at the end of his trip. In the meantime here are a few pics from this weekend.

Lego-land! (Mall of America)
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from atop the Mill City Museum
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from the stone arch bridge
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View more photos from Minneapolis on flickr…