To East Glacier Village, MT

June 16, 2024

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Glacier Haven Inn was indeed a haven from the weather. It felted slightly less so after multiple trains passed close to our room, all night long. I didn't set an alarm, as the 40 mph wind gusts were slated to decrease the longer we waited to depart.

I was awake by my usual 7 AM anyway. We had talked about eating lunch at 11 AM when the restaurant opened. Being well fueled for a cold, climbing day seemed like a smart idea. Jacinto wasn't interested in carrying last night's leftovers. What? He didn't want to carry leftovers. Perhaps that climb looks stiff. I didn't suggest he had concerns. Instead, I ate granola with craisins and walnuts, plus a couple of hard boiled eggs leftover from Anaconda. Jacinto had the fried rice and Korean beef leftovers. We were out the door slightly before noon, happy to see the wind was a tailwind.

Jacinto was down the road, never to been seen again until town. I was satisfied how bright his lights were. I could see them for a distance. At the motel in Lake McDonald, one of our neighbors was with bicycling friends, but he wasn't a cyclist. He said with a certain tone in his voice that cyclists are crazy for being on the road. He was a construction worker and knew. Probably he did. The part I really question of our conversation is that he told me we should not use lights or wear bright clothing because that draws drivers attention and they drive towards what they are looking at. We would be safer to wear camouflage clothing. Much later, I thought I should have asked him if that were true, then why do construction workers wear bright clothing.

I started out the day with two layers of gloves, and my Buff pulled all the way up. I had a soft jacket at the ready to layer, and a rain coat. I also had a heavy pair of gloves, just in case. I had saran wrap over my toes, because I wear sandals. It didn't take long to get too hot. There is a small advantage to climbing. Oddly, my toes were sweating! I took off the extra gloves, and the Saran wrap. As long as I kept moving, I wasn't cold.

Far behind me, I could see a bicycle headlight. It wasn't gaining too quickly. Eventually, Alisa from Kentucky caught up with me. She is 68. They are riding the Northern Tier, and have previously ridden the Western Express to the TransAm. Her husband also rides a belt drive bike. He was behind her. I was hoping he would catch up to us, so I could photo his bike, but he didn't. I didn't talk long, because I was getting chilled. But we exchanged contact information. Perhaps we could have dinner together tonight. I took off first. I thought she would pass me right away, but I didn't see her until almost the top of the climb. We took photos together at at the top and talked me.

When I saw the pass sign, I remembered that I had ridden this way before. I rode the ACA North Star route as far as Prince George, at least ~15 years ago. It was an organized ride. I got to the top with another participant, Dave. He said rather bitterly that of course I didn't think the climb was too hard, I had a sail on my bike to help me to the top. At the time, I had a fairing on my recumbent. It is correct, that with the wind at just the right angle, the wind could catch the fairing like a sail. It was certainly windy on Mariah's Pass (if you are a certain age, you will remember the Lee Marvin movie "They Call The Wind Mariah). A storm was rolling in. I was tired at the top, and needed to eat. The leader yelled at me and Dave, telling us we were pussies (direct quote), and that we needed to get moving. I told him if I didn't eat, I wasn't going to make town. Go ahead and go, and I would take responsibility for myself. He wouldn't do it. I slammed down part of a PB&J, and continued riding.

My meeting with Alisa, and the sunny skies was a pleasant memory to overlay over my very clear, but dated experience.

I left Alisa at the top. She was making notes on her photo, writing a personal journal as she goes throughout the day.

I had been trying not to look at the computer and play mental games on how long it would take me to get to the top. Usually I like to run the numbers in my head. How long would it take me to reach the next town, the top of the climb, etc. Today I did that perhaps 1-2 times and then decided I could torture myself with how long my day would be, or I could look around and enjoy the day.

I haven't mentioned traffic. Today is Sunday. I was quietly expecting traffic to be terrible, as it was last Sunday going into Ovando. Either I'm getting conditioned to fast, frequent traffic, or it was better today. We did have a small shoulder on the climb. We lost it on the descent. I had three vehicles today pass another vehicle while I was adjacent. That is always scary, to see a vehicle barreling so close toward me. The worst one was on a bridge, which was narrow and had a railing.

I was really happy today to not have rain, or a strong headwind. The temperature was 36 when I woke up, but 48 by the time we left. Warm enough that Jacinto only wore shorts! I think his thin Mexican blood has finally thickened up. The further I rode without poor weather conditions, the happier I was. Today ended up being a great riding day. It was climbing all day, but a gradual climb that wasn't torturous from being too steep. There were enough breaks in the traffic to look around and enjoy the views.

I was about four miles out of town when my phone rang! Imagine that. It was Jacinto checking on me. He wasn't used to being the first one to town. He had been to the store. Jacinto said it was really a coffee shop with a few items. No milk, no V-8. They did have a salted nut roll, Ironically. No salsa to go with Jacinto's chips. We are off to dinner now. I can hear Jacinto's stomach growling from the other bed!

I was almost happy to discover this flat tire in the morning. That means I didn't have it on the road yesterday. That would have made the day even more miserable! Plus, we had a delayed start this morning. It gave me an activity to fix the flat. Two wires, together.

Depart photo at noon. The better to beat the wind.

Alisa, her husband, and a friend, are riding the Northern Tier. She says they got caught in rain and hail yesterday going into West Glacier and that she is not taking her foot off the ground (to the pedal) if the forecast even suggests rain tomorrow!

This was a nice, steady climb. I never had to stop because my thighs were burning. Perhaps the Logan Pass climb was good training?

As soon as I dropped over the top, the blue sky opened up. Hurray! Sunshine makes my ride happier.

I thought this was a giant wind fence. Further reflection made me wonder if it's to stack hay against.

We are still in bear country. I did not see a bear crossing the road.

Our rooms are slowly getting slightly nicer, and slightly cheaper.

Jacinto's bike looks so small in comparison.

All of the beginning of the ride had these dark, threatening clouds. Only after reaching the top, and dropping down, did the skies clear.

More rafters! I saw three boats full. I wonder what sort of gear they are wearing to keep warm.

Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 543 miles (874 km)

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Genny FoxGlad you didn’t have rain or terrible wind today!
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5 months ago

Kelly IniguezTo Genny FoxI was almost
Giddy when I realized we were going to arrive dry.
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5 months ago

Rachael AndersonGreat write up of the day! That’s very interesting that Jacinto not wanting to carry leftovers. I’m glad the day worked out well.
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5 months ago