Idaho!... Now Wyoming!

So long Montana, it's been a beatiful ride. I just crossed into Idaho today through Red Rock Pass which also happens to be my sixth CD crossing. It was a short climb (in comparison) but I was being chased by a thunderstorm the whole afternoon. It finally caught up to me on the last five miles into Macks Inn, ID but blew on through quickly. I'm sorry to see Montana go, it seems like the wildest and most remote part of the trip if only in my mind. The Alaska of the lower 48.

Turns out Idaho only lasted for 2 days. The memorable parts were riding along an old Union Pacific railroad grade alongside the Warm River. This part is locally referred to as a 'recreational trail'. Translation: ATV trail. The small tires make great little washboards that are perfect for mountain bike misery. The scenery made up for it though. 

 

Crossing into Wyoming was much less dramatic than the Idaho border. You could miss this gunshot sign in the woods if you weren't crawling along at 6mph. I have to say this road, the stretch between Ashton ID and Flagg Ranch WY, was probably the worst yet. Washboards and large loose rocks made for a long 30 mile stretch. BUT, it did get me into Grand Teton NP by the evening. 

Which is where I am now. Well actually Jackson Hole (very nice library) just to the south. While I haven't felt quite as isolated from people as I thought I would for most of the trip, rolling into this very popular NP has made me realize I was. So many people! The last time I was here I was 12(?) so I don't remember that much about the whole area, just that we saw a moose, but it seems more like a resort than a national park to me. Being on a bike has really allowed me to see how almost everything caters to the automobile. Drive, stop at overlook and maybe get out for 2 minutes, drive to the next overlook and so on. Most people don't actually spend much time IN the environment, just watch it through the windshield. My route brought me around from the west side of the mountains, so I got to see them from both sides. Impressive either way. I was a little worried about getting a camp spot for the night since I hadn't reserved anything, but their sites are huge and it wasn't a problem.

Tetons from the west

Tetons from the north

One of many I've seen here in the park

 I can also thank the last two campgrounds I've stayed at for one, keeping me awake at night with RV generators, and two for waking me in the morning to the sounds of a Harley patrol rolling out. Rolling thunder right. 

Backtracking a bit (I realize it's been a while since I've posted here) I was also in the fine city of Butte MT for a day. My visit happened to coincide with the annual Evel Knievel festival! One of those serendipitous things you always hope for on a ride like this. Butte was his hometown and he definitely still has a presence there.

Me and my boy Evel

Turns out the the Evel festival is kind of a mini Harley rally (not really surprising). Maybe a little local warmup for Sturgis in August. It was a great time watching guys do stupid things on motorcycles. The Wall of Death act was great, a little pit of testosterone and gasoline (as seen below). It's like one of those wooden roller coasters, you know they're safe, but you still think it might fly apart at any moment.

Afternoon and evening thunderstorms have become the norm. There's so much space out here and the vistas so big, you can see them coming from a long way off. That also allows you to see the whole thing (sometimes) which makes them seem more intense. I do love a good storm, so no complaints here. This is one that ended up going around us for the most part as we camped beside the Lima Reservoir (we being myself, Kyle, and Lauren). I only spent that one night with them, and haven't seen them since, but we may cross paths again. Such is the Great Divide. 

 

 I'm running out of time here at the library, so now for random images:

He's talkin to me

Headwaters of the Missouri River

The ol double

That's how they roll

Sunrise on the CD

Adventure!

 

Helena

Public internet at last! It's been a challenge finding libraries number one, and second finding one open on the day I happen to roll into town. I've been out in the wilds of Montana for 11 days now and pedaled about 400 miles. Helena is the first and maybe the biggest city (?) I'll visit so I'm going to spend a day here taking in the historic sights and hopefully a brewery tour.

For the past few days I have been pacing, and usually camping with two other groups doing the GDR. Mike and Amy from England who are planning to do the entire route, and Tess, Lynn, and Chuck who are doing this section down to Butte. It's been nice having people to talk to and share dinner with after long days in the saddle. Yesterday was the hardest day yet, as I summited two continental divide passes. Typically the suggested day's ride only includes one long ascent, then directs you to a campground to rest up for the next day. I wanted to get a little more time here in Helena, so I pushed on up mountain #2. I think total climbing for the day was around 4000 ft. Last night was also the first fire I have had the entire ride. I'm usually just too tired to mess with it, but it was a great complement to the full moon over Montana. I might have even done a little howling.

Mike and Amy





Campsite at Cedar Creek

There has been only one thunderstorm the entire time out here and that lasted for all of 30 minutes. It's been nice not having to get out my rain gear at all. Some 30 miles further south, that same storm produced very strong winds and knocked over quite a few trees along the route as I saw the next day on the ride through. Glad I was a day behind that.

Overall, I've been very surprised by the friendliness and hospitality of folks along the way. Two nights ago we camped at a B&B in Lincoln free of charge including the luxuries of a hot shower and flush toilet. This is the longest I've spent 'on the road' and the first time without a car. It's a great feeling of freedom packing up everything you need in the morning then seeing where you end up at the end of the day (with a general plan of course). When I return home I definitely think I'll make an effort to accommodate travelers along their way (Blacksburg is on the transamerica bike route). A cold beer from a stranger at the end of a long day on the trail is worth its weight in gold.

Also, at the same B&B... check out this treehouse! It's their summer home while they rent out the main house for events.

 

I still haven't seen any bears! I did see a pair of elk at a lake I camped at on night 8. Besides deer, those are the only large animals I've seen so far. The good news is I still have 2150 miles to go.

Clearwater Lake at sunset



This next bit will be a bit random as I'm just going back through the journal looking for observations worthy of remembering.

On day 4 a group of about 7 motorcyclists passed me on the road. The last one stopped to chat for a minute. The best part of it? The introduction:

'Hey, where you headed?'
     'Mexico.'
'Yeah, us too.'

Just like it ain't no thang. Where else, but on a trip like this would something like that be so ordinary.

Logging out here is so easy. All the trees grow perfectly straight!

If you want an old truck, come out west. They are everywhere and usually in good shape. No road salt in the winters will do that for ya.



I swam in the Blackfoot river which I've always had an affinity for but never seen.

One step closer to a jetpack for everyone.



Here is some random scenery from the trail. I try to take one representative shot of the terrain everyday, so at the end I can watch it all change in a matter of minutes.

Tricky bit of singletrack

Beautiful bit of singletrack

Equine roadblock

 

Close to a CD divide summit

Atop a CD summit
  



Cowboy! (s) still exist!



Montana!

The biking has begun! I've been in the saddle for 4 days now, so everything is still new and there's plenty to talk about. Some first impressions:

It's easy to fall in love with the West if you like being outdoors. Everything is set to a grand scale including the adventure. My first day of riding was from the train station in Whitefish up to the border crossing at Roosville. I took the quickest most direct route, highway 93, which turned out to be full of log trucks and RV's flying by at 70mph. It seems like the local party happens in the mountains every weekend. Everyone hooks up their big ass camper trailer or boat to their big ass truck and hauls ass for the mountains. Most know what they're doing, but it's the tourists (and there are plenty of them here this time of year myself included) who've never even towed a lawn mower that can really scare you. I had a couple of nervous moments that first day up the highway. This parade happens every weekend and the closest thing I can compare it to is gameday in a college town but instead of heading for a piece of asphalt to party, they go to the mountains.

Here's me and my rig at the border on day 2. So if nothing else, at least I started this Canada to Mexico trip right and started in Canada! With food and water fully loaded, I'm pulling about 60lbs. plus the daypack on the bike rack which adds another 6 or 7lbs. So hills can definitely be slow going.

 

Physically, I'm getting used to long days in the saddle by now (will I be able to have kids?) and my legs aren't too sore. The first big climb happened at Whitefish divide at the end of day 2. Up until this point I had been on paved roads and pretty close to civilization. It was nice to finally hit dirt and set the tone for the majority of the remaining route. First night I had to worry about Grizzlies as well, so I had to string up a bear bag with all of my food in it. This can be a real pain trying to find a branch to get a rope over in a coniferous forest (very dense and lots of close branches). Guess it's probably worth the effort, though I would like to see how well the spray works... not really.



 

 

Haven't seen any large animals yet (deer don't count). No bears, elk, sheep, etc. I have seen plenty of birds though. Two nesting osprey on day 1 had their nest on a power pole right next to the highway. I don't think they see too many bikers come their way because as soon as I got near, they both left the nest and circled me until I left (but didn't care a bit about the cars and trucks whizzing by). The highlight of the trip so far was two nights ago when I was camped at Red Meadow Lake. I spotted a bald eagle across the lake and watched him for a little while. He then left his perch and flew directly over me, about 15 feet off the ground. I could hear the wind past his wings. America! The only thing that would have made it better is if he dropped a fish into my lap for dinner on his way by. Here's the best shot I could get with my little camera. 

 

Day 3 introduced me to the kind of road I'll be riding for the majority of the trip. Lots of rocks and washboards! The fingers on my right hand started to go a little numb. We'll see if that persists. This is the climb up to Red Meadow Lake with a peak in Glacier National Park in the background. I would have liked to get into the park and do some hiking, but when you're on a bike you can only go so far for side trips. I can't figure out how to rotate this image at the moment... I'll work on that.



 

 

Until next time, I've got 40 miles to put in today.



Chicago

New city for me. Now one of my favorites. In typical Midwesterner fashion (the ones I know anyway), Karen was a great hostess and showed me only the best of. It wouldn't be the best of without deep dish pizza. I can't validate Karen's claim that it was the best in town, but I can say that it was damn good and the best I've ever had in Chicago.

 

On the must see list is the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower actually, but then you wouldn't know what I was talking about). 103 floors up for an awesome view of the city. They also have an outcropping on one side made of glass so that you can literally step out into thin air. That was fun.

 

We also got lucky and got scored some tickets to the Cubs vs. Sox game that night. It was a makeup from an early season rainout and it was great to see the crosstown rivalry. Too bad they are both terrible this year. No matter, it was a big league game and always a good time. Beers only set us back $8 each (I've seen worse). It was a close game until the 8th when the Cubbies blew it open and won big.

 

 

 





 I think the favorite part of the city for me were the L Trains (I do love me some trains). It feels like you're in a boat floating above the cars and roofs below. Most other urban train systems I've been on (mainly NY and DC) put you in a tunnel. Dark, depressing, dirty. Even as a first time visitor, I found I could get my bearings as a result or being able to see where I was going in the city and around the buildings. Also the steampunkish steel girder construction of the tracks was excellent. So, if you're planning a city transportation system, my recommendation is elevated steel tracks.

 

One of the last things I did before I left was a visit to the Field Museum. Lots of cool stuff, but the highlight was definitely Sue. She's the most complete T-Rex skeleton ever found. Yeah Kendall.

 

 

 

One last bit of business for today. Here is a list of post offices I'll make sure to visit as I pedal south. If you want to send any goodies they will be greatly appreciated and probably devoured on the spot. Anything should be sent 'general delivery'. This means they will hold it until I stop by to pick it up. Here is the format to use:

 

Chris Roberts

General Delivery

Town, State, Town Zip + 9999

 

The 9999 after the primary zip code lets them know it is general delivery. Packages will be held up to 30 days. So here's the list (for the first half of the trip) and my projected arrival date there.

 

Seely Lake - 3172 Mt. Highway 83N - Seely Lake MT 59868 - July 16

Lima - 700 Peat St. - Lima MT 59739 - July 26

Pinedale - 413 Pine St. - Pinedale WY 82941 - August 4

Rawlins - 106 5th St. - Rawlins WY 82301 - August 7

Steamboat Springs - 200 Lincoln Ave. - Steamboat Springs CO 80487 - August 11

 

Thanks in advance!