Category: RA 2011

Columbia Falls MT to West Glacier MT Nice late morning and a good breakfast of French toast and eggs in Columbia Falls.   Jesse, Jack, Roger and I then started a slow roll up SR486 north out of town.  Roger rolls along fairly slowly on his cobbled Huffy and I was very glad to keep pace with him, make conversation, and manage my sour knee. Roger told me a handful of great stories about past touring experiences he’d had.  One involved an extraordinary 40 minute encounter with 2 mountain lions while he was camping alone.   That would have scared me to

Spring Creek Campground MT to Columbia Falls MT At our remote campsite south of Stryker, MT it rained almost all night.  Before midnight, I was suddenly awakened and immediately thought, Wo! A bear has gotten our food!  But it was only a big RV trailer that had pulled in to our camp clearing, saw us already occupying it, and then had a hard time turning their beastly hardware around.   They even managed to knock over Gary’s bike in the process. The rains finally stopped in the morning so we took the opportunity to pack up.  But man it was cold! 

Rexford MT to Spring Creek Campground MT I’d love to carry on about another fantastic day on tour.  But, no can do. Evening in the crowded RV park in Rexford, MT was not as bad as I might have guessed.  A few drunken patrons leaving the bar, but my earplugs and fatigue attenuated anything else. As usual Jack and I arose late and then lingered.  The team headed out onto the road and Frank even decided to reverse course for a while to see if he’d run into Bill and Roger.  Jack decided to get RA flat #3 before even

Noxon MT to Libby MT It rained all night at Cabinet Gorge RV Park, which I sorta liked from a sleeping point of view.  Fortunately it let up enough to allow us to pack up in the morning, albeit with wet gear stowed in the panniers. In short order, Jesse caught up with us, again.  He’d spent last night in Clark Fork since the forecast had called for rain yesterday afernoon and last night, which was mostly correct, then he’d risen early and pedalled the 16 miles to our camp.  Independence reigns on this tour – for better and worse

Sandpoint ID to Noxon MT Leaving from Sandpoint this morning, I was almost reluctant.  The knee pain I’d experienced Saturday was disconcerting.  If unremedied it could jeopardize the tour for me.  I’ve come to the conclusion that my bicycle frame is too small for me (I’m 6’3” and my frame is 58cm, although you can’t tell everything from just that).  It’s taken me about 6,000 miles to decide that.  Last night I pushed the seat aft as far as possible and raised the seat height just a little more (which also moves it aft). It was already raining when we

Sandpoint ID My motel bed had 4 pillows.  What a thing of beauty. We did everything we wanted during a rest day in the friendly town of Sandpoint, ID.  We slept in, ate breakfast outside by the lake, visited a bike shop and the laudromat (or laundrymat or laundramat), hung around the city streets with Roger, ate ice cream, hung around the gang’s campsite and drank beer (a fresh tasting local brew called Laughing Dog – comes in a ½ gallon glass jug), invested in blogging, and most importantly, rested. In the evening we all got together a found a

Panhandle Campground WA to Sandpoint ID It rained all night at the Panhandle Campground.  The four amigos Frank, Gary, Roger, and Bill all arose early, well before 7AM.   I lay there in my cold tent, comfortable in my warm sleeping bag, trying repeatedly to sit up and force on a shirt. By the time I actually emerged, most of their tents were down.  Frank discovered a small flood in his, something to do with puddling in its footprint.  Bill discovered that a rodent had gnawed through a bag during the night and nibbled some of his food. The rains had

Kettle Falls WA to Panhandle Campground WA The campsite here in Kettle Falls turned out to be a good one for a city park.  No late night local games or mischief, and it even had wi-fi service! I heard the train alarm go off twice last night but it hardly woke me, with earplugs in place.  Lkewise, I knew that our team probably put on a small concert of snoring, including me, but the earplugs are the ticket. The gang pulled out early and Jack and I lingered as usual.  We eventually packed up and found a nearby restaurant for

Republic WA to Kettle Falls WA A morning walk around pretty Republic led us to breakfast at a sports bar.  Service was great and they had a 2x2x2-like menu item and good coffee. Then a morning ride through Republic and south to a rails-to-trails path that paralleled the highway for a mile or two.  From there we started the day’s climb of about 3000 feet with little relief.   Despite the comparitively steep grade (about 4-5% on average).  Just have to put your head down, get real patient, and work at it.  I think our legs are getting stronger and we