Author: Deb

Today we had just a short ride to West Glacier where we will spend the next four nights camping in Glacier National Park.

The campsite is sweet! Lots of privacy, trees, bear box available and close to a bike path that leads to the Visitor Center and Village (good for charging devices but unfortunately poor cell and WiFi connection).

Apgar Campground has a limited number of sites for biker/hikers and we were able to snag one. They are $5 a person a night and not crowded at all since it’s early in the season. Super inexpensive!

Shooting for riding up Logan Pass tomorrow!

We ran into Melissa again today a NT thru biker from Seattle. She’d stopped to talk to Kiki another solo female cyclist who has already put in over 3,000 miles. Amazing, right?

And… Tom took his turn cooking tonight. It was marvelous!

#acaNoTier Whitefish, MT |A Day of “Rest”

Our day of rest in Whitefish meant only that we didn’t cycle to a new location. It was actually a very productive day and anything but restful.

Finally we were able to find a Catholic Church and we got to hit Mass up. We’ve been doing the daily readings most days but to get Communion felt like getting back to our normal.
Second breakfast (our NEW normal) that included huckleberry pancakes
New tires for my bike. Gotta love the name of them: Marathon. Aptly named for a couple of runners I think. Since the bikepacker racers are still in town we did all the labor on our purchases ourselves and finished still smiling even though we goofed on one of the tire rotations and we had to redo.
We also bought a front rack so I can carry front bags. Thanks bunches to our bigs, Anne and John for coordinating. They will overnight the bags and warmer gloves, General Delivery to West Glacier, MT where we will be two days from now.
Did a short shakeout ride to Safeway for food, fuel and bear spray (not to be confused with hairspray which is what I’m really needing). Yep some Paydays mighta also jumped in the basket also.
We talked or FaceTimed with most of our bigs and their littles and checked in with Mamaw and Aunt Lee Lee.
Finalized cycling and campsites for the next four days.
And finally, we re-visited Great Northern Brewery and the Farmer’s Market across the street for food and bevvies, finishing the night with more ice cream.

And in case anyone is wondering, our streak of doing 100 push-ups a day and a three minute plank continues. Wonder how long we can keep that going. PS: I wasn’t doing any before we got here. #ouch

Having eleven days and a little over 700 miles complete we came up with the bicycle traveler truths. They all apply to our ride so far and many to life. Maybe even your life.

You always ride down into a town and climb up out of it.
Everything tastes good when you are truly hungry.
When you change the tire make sure to look for the rotation arrow on the side wall before mounting the tire.
Trust the locals over the map.
Kettle Corn can always be found at a Farmer’s Market.
Eat local, drink local.
Rely on family, friends, and followers. You can’t do a journey alone.
Yes, you CAN do one more climb.
I should have brought those warm, waterproof gloves.
Don’t believe the media about people. People are very generous, kind and always have a story to share. Lean in and listen.
You only need one pair of whitey tighties.
Huckleberries taste good on everything.
God has something to say to you if you listen to Him.
Deb can always tell when Tom needs a Snicker Bar.
Sometimes you just gotta have faith in the equipment. When you are flying down hill just trust your bike.
Showers are way over rated but appreciated when actually needed.
Rok straps are indispensable.
Montana brews some pretty good beers.
Bike shops care about riders and not just selling a product.

What might you add to the list?

#acaNoTier Eureka to Whitefish, 59 miles | Tobacco Road

We’re not sure where this day went but before we knew it, we were in Whitefish with just under 60 miles in and more hills tackled.

Although the day start chilly it was sunny! Yay!

Tobacco Road, the way Adventure Cycling mapped the Northern Tier route was lovely – some climbs to keep us warm and get our hearts and legs working right away, nice road surface and very little traffic. Just the way we like it.

Plus the bikepacker racers were on our route for a while. Tom chatted with a husband and wife, one from the U.K. and one from Denmark.

We also met Pierre, a French Canadian chemist who is bike touring around the area on an extended trip while his biologist wife finishes up work in the Rockies.

Before we knew it we were in Whitefish looking for The Downtowner where we will lay up a day to clean bikes, go to Mass, get new tires for my bike and get some supplies for the next couple days. And ice cream. Maybe twice.

We confirmed some disappointing news today, however, that Logan Pass is not open to through traffic at all, not even bike traffic. Not sure what that means for our next few days but it might cut out the trip to Canada and a little over a 100 miles of our trip. 🙁 We’ll see what the next couple days brings.

Not sure if anyone can resonate but sometimes it’s hard to take a day off when you’re building momentum and feeling good. Praise God we feel stronger every day, safe and well loved.

#acaNoTier Libby to Eureka, 69 miles | Now Montana… Be Nice

The day started like this…

And ended like this.

After another day of riding in cold rain, western Montana decided to throw in some high winds and much more elevation today.

The wind actually pushed us UP a couple of climbs which was fortunate but the way it changes direction in the mountains without notice is not something these Hoosiers are used to.

With four layers on, our bodies were staying pretty warm but our fingers and toes were numb. Also shelter wasn’t available. There is no way we could stop because without the body heat the peddling generated we’d get even colder. If there is such a thing as a hot mess in the cold, rainy conditions that would be me. lol (Not Tom)

Keeping the bikes between the rumble strips and the pavement edge with impaired vision due to wet eye glasses was another challenge.

After the rain ended the wind increased even more. We found a sheltered area to fire up the stove to make some hot tea, have lunch and the sun came out. For a minute.

As we approached Eureka there was rain surrounding us but not on us. The moment we crested the rise to turn right into town and find our camping spot for the night a rain/snow squall popped up and we dashed onto a parking lot which coincidentally was a motel also hosting riders in this wicked crazy event: self supported bike packers racing along the continental divide, Canada to Mexico. Yep we quickly booked a room and ended our day of cycling.

Critter sitings included another osprey, some deer and a fox that showed up when it started pouring, cute little guy.

All is well in western Montana but I sure wish she’d start playing nice.

Heading to Whitefish tomorrow and a day of rest. Yay!

#acaNoTier Clark Fork to Libby, 72 miles | Idaho We Love Ya, But We Gotta Leave Ya

Because we are on to Montana! And we’re gonna be here for a while.

It may have rained most of the day but it wasn’t like the Montana mountains and river views hurt the eyes.

Shortly after we left Clark Fork we took the Heron Alternate route to avoid logging traffic which also provided plenty of rural views.

The route really got interesting at the state line where the only way you could tell you were entering a new state was the road surface turned to gravel. See Tom’s pic above.

Hilarious. Touring road bikes hauling weight riding on gravel. 🤣

The rain started shorty after second breakfast and it rained most of the day. And whoa it was chilly.

But it was our wedding anniversary and we knew we had a warm, dry place for the night.

The Huckleberry B & B didn’t disappoint either. Ellen and Keith warmed us up with a nice glass of cab and made a fire in the fireplace.

We swapped life stories and then set out to find dinner and bevvies to celebrate eleven years! The Cabinet Mountain Brewery completed another day for which we are most grateful.

See the vid below for our ride recap:

Happy Anniversary to us!

#acaNoTier Newport to Clark Fork, 65 miles | So Long Washington – Thanks for the Memories

Well hello Idaho! Washington we will miss you dearly for you are where we started but dang it’s fun to cross a state line and start another map!

Today was epic for both of us. We both feel like we are getting stronger physically and also working well as a team.

Last night we camped in a mosquito infested area and went to bed without showers (nothing new) with multiple layers of sunscreen and bug juice on. #yuk

We just don’t think about the yuckiness of cycling over 80 miles hauling bags in hot weather, cooking outdoors and then getting in a sleeping bag.

We got up early, did our pushups and planks and got the he11 out of Dodge in search of coffee and a meal. As we were just three miles out of Newport, mission accomplished.

McDonalds did NOT disappoint.

After a good hour, 45 minute session and ordering food twice, charging up all devices, bathroom duty and planning the next three days we considered it a worthy reason to get a late start riding.

Next stop was the Safeway to get 2-3 days of provisions and finally we were on our way.

The ride today was remarkable – the bike trail through Sand Point, circling around half of Lake Pend Oreille, mountains as our constant companion and finally our first hotel stop.

The views were once again spectacular. Sometimes it doesn’t even make sense to take pics.

The Clark Fork Lodge couldn’t be better. Gizmo the doggie greeted us when we arrived. There is a laundry next door, a tavern within walking distance, a kitchenette in our room (to give all of our kitchen gear a good cleaning) and a clean shower with no visitors (human or animal).

Some highlights of the day include spotting four osprey (different locations) and a bald eagle, chatting with Martin, a Slovakian who has been touring the western US for 2.5 months (in the vid notice he carries a large bear canister and bunch of bananas), and we caught up with Mick again – our fellow cyclist from Virginia. He shared that he has cycled all over the world including Australia, New Zeland, and all over Europe. At 71 years of age and the amount of travel he has experienced, he has such perspective. I hope we meet again so we can learn more from him.

So tonight is our first hotel stay. And tomorrow may be our first experience with rain. Stay tuned…

#acaNoTier Colville to Newport, 82 miles | Short on Pics; Long on Miles

Tom’s turn to post:

We were off for a destination or campsite near Usk, WA for a 70 mile ride. Beautiful countryside riding. We had a few climbs during the early part of the day, but the ride was mostly flat with some rollers. This was a very remote ride with very few services and cell connection, but was my favorite ride to date.

At about mile 25 we found a lodge store/cafe to buy some provisions and some snacks. Next stop Ione, WA at mile 36 where we will grab lunch. Unfortunately once arriving in Ione, WA, the restaurant was not open 😔. So next stop, Usk 35 miles away. (Tom is getting a little hungry and needs a Snicker Bar 😁)

We reached our campsite destination and find it is closed because of flooding of the Pend Oreille River from too much snow melt. So on to Newport for another unplanned 15 miles. We arrived at Pioneer Campground and found our friends Dave/Dan who invited us to set up a tent on their site which is what bicyclers do.

Another highlight was meeting Mick, a robust, old timer who was also riding NT. Interesting fella that demonstrates a lot of courage and perseverance.

From Deb: Today (Thursday) was the first opportunity to pray the Luminous mysterious. Keep your prayers coming, and updates too.

Also Tombo saw an elk and her calf yesterday on the road. Couldn’t get a pic as she quickly ran away.

#acaNoTier Republic to Colville, 64 miles | Boom! Sherman Pass

Having Sherman Pass behind us, we have completed the four major mountain passes in Washington! Yah baby!

There will be more elevation but nothing like these until Glacier.

Whining Alert:

Yesterday the struggle was real for me. My body was achy and beat up by the heavy bike, I couldn’t find my dang brush anywhere and my rear light was missing.

There are three safety non-negotiables in a long distance bike ride and I’d lost one of them.

Helmet
Helmet rear view mirror
Blinking red helmet light

I found the light (and the brush which didn’t make a diff with my hair), cozied up with some butt cream and took a couple Advil and today I felt like a new person.

#whiningover

Tom rode his “even-heavier-than-mine” bike down the steep dirt road from our Warm Shower host. Check out the vid of me trying to get my bike down as it’s getting away from me going down the steep grade.

Believe me, Tom would be in Montana right now if he didn’t have to wait for me.

Early in the day we hopped on a nice, although short, bike path through the woods and away from traffic. Then all of a sudden, party over. The long, slow accent began.

A thirteen mile climb might seem awful but we are getting stronger! Each pass has been so different in terms of scenery, grade, traffic, etc. Today we encountered the logging and mining trucks. Determined to maintain good relations with the truckers, our hands were a-wavin’ to them all morning.

We reached the top before noon, had a snack of peanut butter crackers, fresh broccoli and Cliff Bars and were off toward Colville for a Bar B Q sammie and some coleslaw.

Again the pics don’t do Washington justice. What a gem she is. I’m eager to get to our first state line but will never forget the people who helped launch our journey, those who’ve helped us along the way, and the awe and wonder in God’s great gift of creation. All truly remarkable.

We also came across an interesting undergarment on the side of the road, did our first bit of “grocery shopping” in a real store for provisions for the next couple days and found our first bike hostel where we met David and Dan, also Northern Tier thru-bikers.

Tom did a sun dance in gratitude for our perfect weather and I donned fresh cycling clothing for benefit of Tom. Life is good! Geronimo! Let’s go east!

#acaNoTier Riverside to Republic, 60 miles | Something Old, Something New