Two Wheeling West

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
view on flickr»

Montana
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Laurie, Lucy, Me, Grace, Alan, Barbara
view on flickr»

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.