Wind, Grass, Sun, Repeat

I rolled out of East Glacier a few days ago, and began a hilly descent past Browning, Montana. Browning is a depressing little town, with an abundance of condemned looking trailers and litter snagged in the grass along side the highway, near signs advertising deals on fireworks.

The Rockies are much more magnificent looking from this side. They seem to jut up out of nowhere. All this sharpness and cutting contrasts with the rolling grassy hills. This picture doesn't do it justice, but it gives you an idea.


The wind was actually a bit scary to bike in this day, gusts nearly pushing me off the road. I raced ahead of some incoming weather and had a nice little lunch in Cut Bank, before finishing up my day in Shelby, Montana.



I rolled into the Lake Shel-oole campground, and as I was paying for my site, a woman walks up to me saying ,"wait!" then she asks if I'd like to sleep in her and her husband's RV! It was windy, and they were worried. I assured them that I had been camping since I left Seattle, and I was doing perfectly well. I did however accept an invitation to dinner, which was absolutely divine, with steak and mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. Alice and Larry Preville, thanks! You can follow their travels at: www.theprevilles.wordpress.com

They told me they thought, "I had a lot of nerve", to be biking all by myself. I've never felt so proud.

Yesterday I was really slowed down in the morning by a mean headwind. After stopping for ice cream, I put in an earphone and listened to some Explosions in the Sky to get my motivation back up. I guess it worked, cause I made it all the way to Havre, MT (that's over 100 miles from Shelby!).

The scenery is pretty but repetitious out here. I did see these buildings, who reminded me of old friends.


Havre is the biggest town I've been through since I left Seattle, with nearly 10,000 people! Today I am taking a day to relax, do laundry, get my biked checked out, and maybe go to the Clack Museum, which has artifacts found when they were building the Hi-Line, which runs parallel to US-2.

Spirits high, happy to be here. I realized the other day that I'm doing exactly what I feel like I need to be doing right now. There are only a few other times in my life where I had that sense. I think I'm the type of person who tends to focus a lot on the future. What I need to be doing to get somewhere or something. Achieve a goal. Now all I think about is pedaling, the scenery, and the feeling of the wind on my face. Oh, and my loved ones. I think about them a lot, too.

I'm off to do my laundry now!

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Location:6th Ave,Havre,United States

Kicking Butt Over The Continental Divide

Today I decided to stop for the day in East Glacier, after biking over Marias Pass. I must be in a lot better shape than when I left, because the pass was a total cinch!

Here are some photos-it was absolutely stunning.






Plus I saw mountain goats. They're the white specks. I swear they're not rocks.



There were large stands of dead trees. Can anyone explain this?



It did not look like fire. Is there a blight or a beetle killing the trees?








After the pass I finally saw the mythical Couple On A Tandem, who I had been hearing about from people since I left! They bulleted past me on the downhill, but we managed to scream hello over the wind.

Now I'm eating at a place that makes huckleberry lemonade, which may be the most delicious thing I've ever drunk. It makes up for the food.

Thats all for now. I think I have a gradually downhill trajectory for the next few days-I'm excited!

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Location:Montana Ave,,United States

A long day and a shower

Today I biked from Dickey Lake to West Glacier. I am pooped. I'm not sure if it's the altitude or something else, but biking today was rough!

My Adventure Cycling maps are very good at keeping you off the main highway as much as possible, but I was cursing to myself at the end of the day today when it lead me to a road of which 3 miles were gravel. Uphill gravel biking with a full load, after you've already biked 60 miles can really get a girl down, let me tell you.

I had the craziest fated moment today in Whitefish. I had stopped there for lunch, and as I was cycling out of town I stopped at a light behind a guy who was also solo touring. We started chatting, and it turns out he's biking from Ann Arbor!! I've been debating the best way to get there (my maps don't cover it), considering I don't know which highways are good for biking, etc. He had all sorts of info that he emailed me! What luck.

Now I've splurged on a motel before going over Marias Pass tomorrow. Now that I'm clean, I can tell how much my clothes stink-you win some, you lose some, I guess!

P.S. I found a taco truck and ate a burrito the size of a newborn. Mmmm.

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The Sky Really Is Big Here

Well I have one bar of service, so maybe I can post today...

I set out from Sandpoint a few days ago, and had the most lovely ride through the rest of the Panhandle and on into Montana





I camped in the foothills of the Cabinet Mountains, of which I especially like Ibex Peak, primarily because I am wearing Ibex bike shorts, which makes me think if Nathan, who gave them to me (hi, babe!). Ibex is the tallest-see photo below.



I got eaten alive that night at Bull Lake. By mosquitos that is, not bears! But the site was very pretty.



The next day I biked through a very very hot sun to Rocky Gorge campground, on lake Koocanusa. I biked by the dam that created the lake on the way.



There are almost no people or anything out here, it is spectacular. However, I was able to have a nice long chat in the campground with the grounds host, Eric. He and his wife are from Bremerton, actually. He's quite the character. His t-shirt said, "sorry, I'm not here right now, I've gone to my happy place". Plus, there were no bugs! Awesome!

This morning I awoke to ominous skies and a drizzle. I hemmed and hawed about whether I should stay put for the day or take my chances, and decided to go for it. Everything was going fine, but then the sky got darker, and darker, and then darker. Then I looked out across the lake, and thought, "what the eff is that?!? Oh, it's a SHEET OF WATER MOVING TOWARDS ME. Rain gear! Rain gear! As I was putting on my gear by the side of the road I nearly had a heart attack when an earsplitting CRACK of lightning and thunder hit. It was basically like that for the next 25 miles, where I stopped with relief in Eureka. I had some lunch, and by the end of it the skies had cleared and now it is positively gorgeous. Go figure.

I decided to stop for the day at Dicky Lake. I ran into the campground host when I stopped by Fortine to get a cool drink. He is a sweet old man named Wardy (strange name, but that's it). He gave me a sweet deal because I'm on my bike. Two picnic tables, right on the lake, right next to a bathroom and changing room. Two bucks!

Everyone has been so sweet and accommodating to me here in Montana, it is really great. Every campground manager has always made sure to check on me and see if I need anything.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to make it to West Glacier, where I will treat myself to a motel for a night before I go through the big pass.

Here is me, relieved and almost dry!



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Hellooo, Idaho.

Soon after my post yesterday, it began to rain. Luckily it wasn't too chilly, which would just have added insult to injury.

I wheeled into the Panhandle campground on the shore of the swollen Pend Oreille River, and set up the tent in the rain...again. I was the only camper there, and as I was paying for my site I got to chat with Mary Lou, who manages the campground with her husband. They live in an RV on the campground and have a permanent tent set up outside just for dining in (picnic table with flowers and everything). I think they have a pretty sweet gig! Here is a shot of the river and my (well, Nate's) tent.



This morning I awoke to a glorious sun, and had a wonderful ride through some of the most beautiful areas I've seen thus far. Now we're talking!






On my way I ran into a cyclist going the other way. He was coming from Connecticut, and said that this was about the third day if sun he'd had in 2.5 months (so I really can't complain, I suppose:))!

An important piece of advice he gave me was to not stop in Browning, Montana. He said that, himself included, every cyclist he's talked to who went through there got hassled. Done and done.

Now I'm in Sandpoint, relaxing in the K2 inn. I got my tires pumped up at a bike shop, went grocery shopping, and took myself out to dinner.

Random tidbits:

Looking in the mirror, I am shocked by my horrendous tan lines. I also have a strange bite on my right thigh that I am minorly concerned about.

One funny/gross thing that I realized today was that I was gathering dead bugs on my arms/chest just like your car does on a road trip. I mean, they're small bugs, but GROSS MAN.

Well that's all for now, I'm not sure where I'm headed tomorrow yet!

Oh yes, one more thing. I've finished the first section of my map, so I get to start on a fresh map tomorrow. Progress, progress!

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Location:Main St,Sandpoint,United States

What day is it?

Just a quick note here, while I have reception. I haven't had much of anyone to talk to since leaving the Methow, and it's starting to get to me a bit. I've had fun too, though.

After leaving Tonasket, I biked over Wauconda pass. I stopped for a bite in Wauconda, and I met a man who was heading to Coleville to be a judge at a rodeo! He told about what goes into that sort of thing, and I told him a bit about my trip so far.

After making it over the pass, I went about six miles up Hwy 21 and camped at Curlew State Park, which was lovely.



The next day (yesterday) was pretty rough until the end of it. Going up Sherman Pass was a heck of a slog, with little/no reward at the end. The pass has no view, plus it was freezing cold and raining.




I was nearly in tears coming down the other side of this into Kettle Falls, I was so miserable.

The bright spot in the day was making it to the Bacon Bike Hostel, outside of Coleville. It is run by a couple who just wants to help out bikers! For free! Nothing asked in return. They let bikers stay in the top floor of their home. I happened to be the only one there, so I basically had my own house.



Warming up with hot cocoa.

Today I made a friend as I was biking away, I hope he didn't follow me too far!



Perhaps not his best side...

Now I'm about 20 miles from my stopping point, where I probably won't have reception. Tomorrow I hope to make it into Sandpoint!

Thinking of my friends and family, Muah muah. Happy Fathers Day, dad!

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Location:Elizabeth Ave,Ione,United States

Loup Loup, leaving home, The Junction Motel

This morning I bid a very fond farewell to Nathan, and continued on my journey towards Michigan. The day of rest and relaxation did me very well. I biked out of town towards Loup Loup Pass. Here is a shot of some lovely irises that were growing next to the road:



I felt strong and confident as I went up Loup Loup. I made great time, and was amazed by how much easier it was than what I'd already done! At the pass, a previous biker had left a little note for me:







The terrain is very different here than on the west side of the mountains-the trees are a lot thinner, and there is evidence of semi-recent fires:



After lunch at a taco truck in Okanogan, continued on. I had planned on stopping at about 65 miles at Omak, but it was only 2:30pm when I got there, so I kept on rolling and rolling. I went through Riverside, a teensie weensie town. I stopped at a gas station and and relaxed with a Squirt, as the locals checked me out and chatted with me about my trip.


For some reason there was a giant metal rooster out front, which I like very much.



After arriving in Tonasket, I checked my map only to realize that there is no camping here! On the up side, I wasn't too sad about being forced to check in to the Junction Motel and have my first shower since leaving Sedro-Woolley. Pee Yew!

Tomorrow I may stop in Republic-a bit of a short day, but I don't feel a great need to do my last two mountain passes in Washington on the same day.

Missing my family and friends, wish I could fit them in my panniers...

Onward!

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Location:Tonasket Shop Rd,Tonasket,United States

Resting in The Methow, bike repairs, Nate!

Hi! So I made it successfully over Rainy and Washington passes yesterday (even ahead of schedule! I beat Nate to the cabin). It was a bit of a slog up Rainy, but I felt strong and up to the task. I also felt damp, as it had been intermittently pissing rain on me the day before, and my shoes were still soaked through. I was happy that I was able to set up camp in the rain and then stay toasty and dry inside. I fell asleep to the sound of raindrops, after reading the first chapter of my assigned summer reading on my new kindle (thanks Smith Lab, you guys are the best!).

Anyway, here are some pics from the passes. I was pretty pooped, so I didn't make much of an effort to get the best shots.





Rainy pass
After Rainy pass there is a quick and steep 1.5 mile drop before a 3.5mile slog up to Washington Pass-you can imagine how much I was cursing that downhill (knowing I was immediately going to have to go back up it, it's hard to enjoy it).
Here are some pics from Washington Pass:






After the passes was the steep descent into Mazama. I met Nate on the side of the road, and he walked the quarter mile with me back to the cabin that his family has partial ownership of. Nate proceeded to stuff me full of fresh wild-caught salmon that he cooked on the grill.


Me scrutinizing the wine (it was very good, actually).



Stretching out my tired legs.

Today I am taking a rest day with Nathan at the cabin. We stopped by the grocery store this morning and I restocked my clif bar store, as well as batteries for my SPOT. By the way, I don't think I'll be using the "track progress" function, as it requires my phone to be on all day. Because I don't know when I'll be able to charge my phone I prefer to leave it off. I'll turn it on in the eve for a bit so I can send out a check in/ok message. Sorry mom! Also, the SPOT uses more battery power than it advertises...

We also stopped by a bike shop today, where they tightened some screws in my brake levers. One of them was starting to point inwards instead of straight ahead-not good!

Tomorrow I'm planning on leaving town and heading over Loup Loup Pass to camp in either Omak or Riverside. The next day I'll bike over Wacounda Pass and camp in Republic, then the next day go over Sherman Pass, when I'll finally be done with passes until I reach the Rockies!

I'll post when I can, and you can check my the shared page for my SPOT to view my check in messages in the mean time (I think those get posted there, too?. See link in previous posts.

Onward!
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Made it!

Will post more tomorrow


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Location:Unnamed Rd,Entiat,United States

Sedro-Woolley, Hills, and Chinese Teriyaki

Man. What a great day to begin my epic bike ride. As I rode out of Seattle on the Sammamish River Trail, the cottonwood was blowing in the breeze and collecting into tufts that floated on the water. The geese doodling around in the river made it picture perfect. Although, I didn't take a picture. Sorry! But here is a picture of my bike all loaded up:

 
I actually started started my bike ride in Golden Gardens. My dad took a funny video of it. I wanted to start with my wheel in the water at the boat launch, but it was so slippery that I had to gingerly walk up the launch instead of bike. I'm hoping that he will be successful in adding the Rocky theme in the background. I will post for sure if he can.

My dad actually took several funny videos of me during the day. He drove ahead of me and brought me a cinnamon roll near Lake Washington, then met me for coffee in Snohomish, and then for chips and skittles in Arlington. We're now enjoying the amenities at the Three Rivers Inn in Sedro-Woolley. We went out for dinner at the Chinese Teriyaki (?) ("dine in or take out!") joint next door. I think I ate most of a chicken. This was my fortune (it seems fitting):

At first I thought it said, "You will be overcome by difficult times", and I was sad.

Well, the plan for tomorrow is to bike to the Colonial Creek campground, in the foothills of the mountains. You can follow my progress tomorrow at my SPOT shared page, I think it worked pretty well today. It skips some of the details of the route, but you get the idea. Here's a picture of what it shows of my route today:

That's all for now, from now on I'll be using my phone to post!

And Here We Go

I had grand plans for a post documenting what I was going to bring, but with actually doing the packing, I didn't find the time in my schedule.  It is amazing how many tiny things there were to do that added up to me not finishing packing until around eleven last night. Yeesh.

Well, I'm up now, and Nate is making me my send off breakfast before he drives me down to Golden Gardens to meet my dad for the start of my epic journey. Orion the kitty senses something is going down, and is scampering hurriedly around the apartment making kitty noises.

The plan for today is to bike 85 miles on a mixture of the Burke Gilman Trail and WA-9 to Sedro Woolley, where I will be able to meet up with my Adventure Cycles route map. My dad wanted to start the trip biking with me, but due to back trouble he has resigned himself to being my cheerleader for the next 24 hours or so. This consists of driving a few miles ahead of me and then waving as I go by. Tonight we're sharing a room at the Three Rivers Inn in Sedro Woolley. He'll say his real goodbye tomorrow morning, and I'll start having to actually fend for myself!

I've got my GPS device, (my "SPOT") up and running (supposedly, it is confusing to me). I am going to turn it on now, and it should start tracking my progress. If you're interested you can check out the shared page that should add little points to a map as I go. I'm uncertain how this is going to work in practice for numerous reasons (batteries wearing out, not getting signal etc.), but we'll see! 

HASTA LUEGO, SEATTLE!

Test iPhone blog

Testing out my iPhone app for writing blog entries.



Here is a pic of me and Andrew at my goodbye party last weekend. More about that later.

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The Journey Here...(Almost Ready To GO!)

Well, well, well. It seems like I've been blabbering to all my poor friends and colleagues about this trip forever, but when I look back, its only been about four months. That was when I decided that the time for this sort of silliness was now.

After hearing of my plan, my friend and colleague Andrew helped to steer me towards several very pleasant people who would give me advice for my upcoming trip. One of them happened to be his sister-in-law, who thoroughly impressed me with the wealth of her bicycle touring experience (solo female touring, at that), her "you-can-do-it" attitude, and her general coolness. She also gave me advice on gear, what to bring/not bring, and bikes.  Next, Andrew introduced me to a someone (my age, has my same job, works at the same place that I work...weird!) who biked solo cross-country, and then finally to an in-the-flesh bike mechanic/bike tourer. It was only through the help of the latter that I was able sort through all the touring bikes in my price range (1000-1400$), and settle on the first bike I've ever bought myself: the Surly Long Haul Trucker!

You can see here that I've added racks strong enough to bring my family with me if they so desired

I ended up buying my bike from Counterbalance Bicycles, who is staffed by helpful, knowledgeable, unpretentious, and all around very good people. I really can't say enough good things about this shop. I would definitely recommend going there.

I had been biking to work (not very far, but a big hill in the way!) for the last 9 months or so, but after I got my Surly I started to do longer and longer rides in preparation for my trip. Here are some pictures from some of my training rides:

Golden Gardens

Magnolia

Above Snoqualmie Falls, on my way over Snoqualmie Pass

Making it over my first pass (with gear!)

These last two photos are from my shake-down training ride. I biked 70 miles from Seattle through Fall City, Snoqualmie, North Bend, and then up and over Snoqualmie Pass, where I camped with my lovely partner Nate. He had been hiking in Snoqualmie pass that day, and then met me in Hyak. We biked a few miles down the bumpy John Wayne Pioneer Trail and camped (and then I biked home the next day). I brought the camping things that I'll be carrying with me for my journey, but Nate brought the little luxuries that I won't be packing with me when I leave (chips and salsa, and the french press):

Nate

French Press! MMMMMM

In order to educate myself about how my bike works, and what I can do to fix it when it breaks (or, more importantly, prevent it from breaking), I took several classes at Cascade Bicycle Club. They have great classes which teach you about the mechanics of your bike, how to maintain it, and how to replace and fix things on it. That being said, after I "adjusted" my derailleurs in class, I had to get them redone by someone who knew what they were doing.

Ok, I think thats enough for now. As I pack up my gear I'm going to document what I'm putting in each pannier and do one more post before I set off. Cheers!

An introduction of sorts

 I've never had a blog before, but this seems as good a time as any to start one. In fact, it seems like a better time than any other time before to start a blog, at least for me. The main reason is that I am planning a bike trip. A very long bike trip. Much longer than anything I have ever done before-which isn't saying that much-and there are sure to be adventures along my way that I would like to share.

This trip was originally going to be done with my bestest friend in the whole world, Brittany. The whole thing was really her idea. She's pretty awesome. This is a picture of us in college.

I'm wearing the giant wax lips. Yeah. Thats right.

Brittany can't go with me this summer, but I've decided to forge ahead and go anyway. I know she'll be with me in spirit. My dad is going to be joining me for at least part of the journey, and that'll be awesome. This is my dad:


Very cool dad.

So the trip: I'm planning on biking across the northern part of the states, beginning in Seattle and ending up in  Ann Arbor, MI. I'm going to be starting graduate school at University of Michigan in the fall, so I am hoping the be able to find a sweet apartment once I get there. I can't wait to go to apartment showings and be able to say that I biked to them...from Seattle.

I am going to be following maps from Adventure Cycling, which is a fantastic organization and resource for anyone interested in bicycling. They publish maps specifically for bikers, marking the locations of campsites, motels, grocery stores, bike shops, etc. in addition to regular map stuff like roads and elevations. Plus, the routes they publish utilize the prettiest and most bike friendly roads around America.  Here is a map of all the routes that they publish maps for in the US:

People have frequently asked me over the last several months, "why are you doing this?", and I'd like to quote my pal George Mallory and say, "because it's there"! In contrast, I would like to NOT take a cue from George Mallory in that he ended up frozen on a mountain for 75 years.

In the spirit of not meeting some unfortunate demise on my trip, I've done quite a bit of preparation. That is going to be the subject of my next blog post, which will be along later this week. Cheers!