June 13, 2024
To Lake McDonald, MT
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Today's ride was planned to keep our legs loose for the big climb up the Going to the Sun Road tomorrow by riding a short day. I asked for a late check out, noon would be fine. That gave us one more opportunity to reduce the food I cooked last night. We didn't set an alarm. What an easy life!
I still woke up at 7 AM, but lazed around. I had granola with a chaser of goulash. That's an interesting combination. We still had enough food left for two more meals. Jacinto carefully put the full plastic take out containers in the very bottom of his pannier, where it was flat.
We stopped at the grocery store for a 1 lb. container of peanut butter, craisins, and walnuts. Four road bike riders passed going downhill. Off we go. There was a bike path for five miles exactly out of town. Then we were on busy Highway 2. There was a shoulder, the road surface was good. It was basically flat, we made good time. There was a rumble strip, but the shoulder was wide enough it wasn't an issue. Until it was! We went through a narrow spot with a guard rail. Suddenly our shoulder was narrowed, there was the rumble strip, and a big chunk of retread tire. I was going 25 mph downhill. 25 mph is not a good speed to hit rumble strips! Here's a little test of how the green bike and I work together. We did just fine. No bad stories here today.
Jacinto led us over onto a section of old Highway 2. It lasted perhaps a mile, taking us to the edge of West Glacier, where a bike path appeared. I went through an underpass, came out the other side, and there was Jacinto, stopped to talk with Jim, Genny, and Amber! We talked for a few minutes, and could have talked much more. Amber's husband, Rich, was down the road with their support vehicle. They wanted to catch him. We agreed to talk later. They were soon gone.
The entrance gate for Glacier was just outside of town. I was prepared with our motel information. Specifically, it said on my email that entrance into the park is included with our room. However, the ranger at the gate said that is not correct. We need to pay $20. each! We aren't old enough for the senior pass yet (I can buy one later this summer). I had seen the crew pull away just as we were riding up. I was quite sure they had lifetime passes. I asked the ranger if we could get in with our friends. Four people are allowed to get in per pass. We were good to go, although I could tell she was exasperated with us.
Pavement heading into the park was brand new. Traffic was light. It seemed a majority of the vehicles passing us had bicycles on back. Dwayne from the motel said that he parks at Trail of the Cedars Trailhead, and then rides the rest of the way. It is just past Avalanche Trailhead. That is where cars have to stop, at this moment. Word is that bicycles can go as far as three miles from the top. We shall see if that is still true tomorrow.
We have some confusion about if the no bicycles on the road from 3-6 PM applies right now. Genny thinks it would apply, because cars are allowed as far as Avalanche Trailhead. Our neighbors at the motel had no clue about the closure. They are from Missoula and are here to bicycle tomorrow, but they are driving as far as they can before riding. So, if there is a closure to bikes, they don't care because they have a vehicle.
We all got settled in our rooms, and are walking over to the Lodge for dinner at 5:30. We are carrying leftovers, and there's no fridge in our room, which is a huge negative. We still want to go to dinner with the gang, as we have only two days with them. At the moment, our leftovers are in the sink on top of ice. High tech.
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5 months ago
5 months ago
...But I'll be riding in California for several days starting this Saturday, so it might happen :(
5 months ago
5 months ago
Today's ride: 22 miles (35 km)
Total: 439 miles (707 km)
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5 months ago