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The rounded snowy mountain is called Dome Mountain, an iconic scene of the Kootenai and Cabinet Wilderness.
3 years agoThanks Terry, looking forward to it.
Bud
Hi Bud,
We will be in eastern Montana in about 10 days. The ACA route goes south at Wolfpoint and follows hwy 94 pretty much to Fargo. We will let you know the road conditions when we get there
Terry
Happy Birthday Janet! This blog allows us to experience this amazing cross country bike tour from the comfort of our couch. Thank you and Terry for writing it, and best wishes on your journey!
3 years agoGreat shots! We were in that area a couple weeks ago (road trip).
You might run into RacPat (Rachel and Patrick Hugens) at some point.
For what it is worth........
What I found helpful for preventing cramps is a product by Rainbow Light called "Magnesium Calcium + "; Is available on Amazon and Ebay and I have even seen it at Whole Foods. Being on a bike all day uses up a lot of both magnesium and calcium. Magnesium is also helpful with sleep. On tour, you burn many calories when you sleep while your muscles and system recover from the day of riding. If you find a vitamin shop somewhere along the way, you could always purchase these items individually. The ratio that works for me is Calcium = 1, Magnesium = 2, i.e. 500mg Calcium and 1000 mg Magnesium. On tour, I take three (3) [1500mg Calcium and 3000 mg Magnesium] each in the a.m. and repeat in the evening. Go easy on the amounts at first until you figure out what works for you. I am 6'1" and weigh 230 pounds.
Another supplement I take AND take with me on tour is Flax Seed oil. I get the variety that comes in 1000 mg gel caps. 4 to 5 (4000 to 5000 mg) in the am and 4 to 5 (4000 to 5000mg) in the evening helps me a lot with inflammation (sunburn) in general and muscle inflammation in particular. I ride a recumbent, so, I am unable to say if it would help with saddle sores.
Being 68, my "get up and go" had "got up and went" until I discovered L-Arginine amino acid. One (1) 500mg capsule and I am good for the day, and that is when I am NOT touring. I take this ONLY in the afternoon after I have gotten to my destination. On the first day of my short tour, I took some just before I left, and it acted like a diuretic. I had to stop about every 3 to 5 miles to pee. The pedal time that day was about 4 1/2 hours, and it seemed the supplement had worked itself out of my system in that amount of time. I did not drink much water at all on that day, because it was so cool, and I still had to make all those stops.
When getting to the higher altitudes (above 5000 feet), I find baby aspirin helps. Once upon a time, altitude did not bother me much, but when I got past 64 years, the altitude tends to really take the wind out of me. Taking one baby aspirin a day at high altitude helped me out a bunch.
As to the ACA maps, in 2015 when I last used them, I found them accurate only regarding the names of the towns, finding your way thru and the distance between. Everything else was "take under advisement". Sending in updates was such a royal pain in the rear, it became very clear why the maps are so out of date. ACA wants ALL of your personal information (with no guarantee they will not sell it to a third party) before they will deign to accept your update information. After the Covid situation put so many small businesses in the grave, expect the maps to be even more out of date.
The least toxic sunscreen I have found is a spray on type called KinEsys (spf 50). You may not need sun screen so much at the moment, but as you go east that will change.
Another suggestion I made recently to another cross country rider is in regard to keeping your water cool throughout the day: Find some ankle length white socks and pull them over your water bottles. At the start of the day, soak the socks with water, and then, throughout the day, keep the socks wet and the evaporative process will help keep the water in the bottles cool. The sock will also slow down the direct sunlight warming up the water in the bottles. In a dry climate, I found I had to re-wet the bottles every 5 to 7 miles. It does not take much water to re-wet the socks, but it keeps that water in the bottles cool. The socks make the fit of the water bottle a bit tighter in the cage, but not overly much. I have seen white, ankle length socks at Dollar General.
Marilynne Robinson’s novel “Housekeeping” (also a movie) is set in Sandpoint. In her story her grandfather’s train plunges from that railroad bridge into the lake.
3 years agoWelcome to Idaho...however briefly
Racpat
You are making great progress! I’ll be anxious to hear your opinion of the roads in Eastern Montana. A cyclist we met earlier said that they were not very good for cycling due to a lot of oil field traffic and bad shoulders. However, I’m not so sure that he was very experienced in road riding. ACA actually move the route further south a few years ago because of the Oilfield traffic, so hopefully it is a better route now. Anyway, please comment on the riding conditions in eastern Montana when you get there. Thanks, best of luck,
Bud
Hi Paul
I am glad that you are enjoying the journals. It has been very special to share this adventure with Janet and Ross. I have been a very lucky man!
In regards to mountain passes, we did Sherman pass today and it is the last pass for about a week. Then we will climb Logan Pass in Glacier park. After that we will no have any more mountains until we reach the Appalachian mountains in upstate New York.
Enjoy your summer and hope you get in some nice camping trips this summer.
Terry
Hi Paul
I am glad that you are enjoying the journals. It has been very special to share this adventure with Janet and Ross. I have been a very lucky man!
In regards to mountain passes, we did Sherman pass today and it is the last pass for about a week. Then we will climb Logan Pass in Glacier park. After that we will no have any more mountains until we reach the Appalachian mountains in upstate New York.
Enjoy your summer and hope you get in some nice camping trips this summer.
Terry
We met Woody on the summit of Loup Loup Pass! Racpat
3 years agoFollowing your trip has become addictive to me. I love the pictures of northern Washington state and want to put the area on our RV travel bucket list. I think it must be quite special to share this trip experience with your spouse and one of your children ---you are certainly not cooped up inside on any day---it is all wide open spaces. Q: I'm wondering if after a certain point the mountain passes will be fewer? Take care, Paul Teaford
3 years agoSeems we will miss you in republic. Our plan from Colville is to go south to chewelah across flowering trail to usk.
3 years ago
Yikes! Glad to hear you survived the Highway From Hell. Seems like every tour has some day like that, hopefully this will be your only really awful highway. Best of luck,
3 years agoBuddy Hall