It seems like we finished a long time ago, but today is Friday, the 17th, so it's only been 10 days. After completing the ride, we did go have lobster--all of us. Our incredible good fortune with weather and circumstances continued. We had a couple of different people recommend the same lobster place so we took their advice. Not only was the lobster amazing, but the setting and the weather were fantastic. We watched one of the cooks walk out onto the dock, pull up a large cage of live lobsters, and pull out three for us.
Having Patty along was the best thing about the ride, day in and day out. I think Jerry and I could have gone longer without her restocking our water and food, but it was really great to have her when it was really hot, windy, or rainy.
Favorite riding day: the Going-to-the-Sun road in Glacier Park.
Favorite sights along the way: Glacier Park and Lake Superior.
Favorite cooler lunch sight: Too many great ones to single one out, but one along Lake Superior, and one along Lake Huron stand out.
Favorite state for cycling: New York. That must sound crazy, but the roads and the drivers in the parts of NY where we rode were the best.
My Not-So-Favorites:
Worst riding day(s)--Wolf Point, MT to Glendive, MT--104 miles, 60 or 70 miles into the wind, and a temp of 97 when we got to Glendive. A close second was from Alpena, MI to Standish, MI. A stiff head wind, 100 miles, and 96 degrees at the finish.
Worst hotel: The cabin in Marblemount, WA, but the Scheall Motel and the Running Bear cabins in the UP are close seconds.
Least favorite state for cycling: Vermont. The roads were the worst of any state, and the terrain was really hilly.
Least favorite state for drivers/safety: Washington. The logging trucks seemed determined to intimidate us, if not purposely injure us. One came within 12"-18", and many were within a couple of feet.
Things I learned/things to think about for future cyclists:
Prepare well. We were in pretty good riding shape and we didn't have many physical problems. I had the good fortune of a second bike that I could strip of parts for back-up. I didn't need any of them, but that's a good thing. We also took more tires than we used, but one sharp object on the road could take out two tires in a heartbeat, so no regrets about what we took.
Make a plan and try to stick to it, but be flexible enough to take advantage of opportunity. Don't book hotels too far out--one or two days in advance is usually adequate.
Be prepared for bad weather. I found heat and wind much more difficult to ride in than rain, but I think that's because we had good rain gear and were willing to use it several times.
Take the time to rest. In retrospect, I should have moved the first rest day to Columbia Falls/Whitehorse, MT instead of Sand Point, ID. First, it would have been great to spend more time around Glacier Park. Second, it would have made the space between rest days more reasonable. The 10 days without rest from Sand Point to Bismarck was a long haul.
What you pay for a hotel is not necessarily an indication of what you'll get. We paid $36 for the Scheall Motel, and it wasn't very good. Even though I rate it as one of the worst, it was perfectly adequate--clean and had a shower--that's all we really needed.
You can ride the interstate in some states. In ND, we rode I-94 from border to border. The drivers, especially the big trucks, gave us a lot of room, and the interstate had a lot fewer and less steep hills. On I-94 is where we had the 134 mile day.
Would I do it again? Probably not that route. I don't think I need to see more of Montana east of Glacier, or any of North Dakota. They were part of the whole adventure, but not worth another coast to coast bike trip. What I would do is another ride in the NW, to include Glacier. Maybe start in Anacortes, ride as far as Glacier, then head south and west and end up in Astoria Oregon. I would also consider a ride that followed the shore of Lake Superior. I found it, including Marquette, to be really enjoyable.
Final Stats:
Total miles: 3,420.
Average miles per day: 85.
Most miles in a day: 134.
Days over 100 miles: 7.
Days over 90 miles: 19.
Total time on the bikes: 216 hours, 27 minutes.
Average time on the bikes: 5 hours, 25 minutes.
Longest time on the bikes: 7 hours, 2 minutes.
Days over 6 hours on the bikes: 8.
Flat tires: 2 each.
Weight lost: 19 pounds from the time I started training until yesterday.
Beer consumed: Sorry, that would be TMI.
Final thoughts from Jerry:
It is pretty amazing what the human body can adapt to. If you would have told me that we would do 10 days of straight riding, over mountain passes with rain, wind and conditions that at home you wouldn't ride in, and average 90 miles a day, I would have laughed in your face. In Montana and North Dakota we did many consecutive days of back to back 100 milers (mainly just to get through the endless plains, but also to build up some float in the schedule). Gwen actually told us to slow down, so she could still have a full visit with our friends Karen and Jim in Michigan before meeting us.
The fact that we had no physical problems, including getting sick, is simply amazing. Along with that we really only had two very uncomfortable days of heat or wind and the rainy days could be counted on one hand. We really lucked out on the weather, especially considering that while we were in Washington and Montana the Midwest was experiencing record breaking heat.
For me one of THE most important things that lead to an enjoyable trip and our being able to adhere to the schedule was to have Patty along with us with the car. As Tom said she was always there for us and we usually had to force her to drive up the road more than 15 miles to go relax in some shade and read her kindle, as she didn't want to have us run out of water or food. Because of this, and the fact that she can make sandwiches fast, we were able to keep the bikes on the road and eat real food (not 7-11 stuff) without wasting a lot of time. The trip would be an incredibly different one if we had to support ourselves, (I for one would have needed a touring bike. Even if the trip was a supported trip, having more than two or three riders is like trying to herd cats and with just 2 riders we got to make our own decisions.
I was so glad that Gwen was able to join us at the two- thirds point of the trip. Sharing part of this adventure with her was a highlight of the trip for me, especially since she got to experience a little bit of everything, some beautiful varied scenery in Michigan and New York as well as Ontario, Canada, several rainy days and of course Niagara Falls and the wine region..
Here is my list of favorites:
Glacier Park - Spectacular and different from either the Rockies or the Sierras due to the wild mountain formations and the incredible glacial activity that was so very obvious. This was everyone’s favorite!
Niagara Falls and the Niagara On-The-Lake Region - The Falls lived up to everything I had ever seen or heard about them and more. The boat trip was a highlight and riding a bike in upstream next to the river was pretty special – especially on a Saturday with all the crazy tourists on the Canadian side. A real show – both the falls and the people! The Niagara On-the Lake region was a real surprise with a perfectly restored old village and lots of fun shops and as a bonus a great wine growing region all around, so lots of wine tasting and good food. We discovered Ice Wine which Gwen and I had never even heard of..
Biggest surprise - the town of Medora in North Dakota. We had no idea that this was a big time tourist destination with a top notch live musical performance in a one of a kind outdoor theater every night of the summer. The town and the accommodations were something that Teddy Roosevelt would be proud of, as he fell in love with the area, bought a big ranch nearby, and carved out a big national park in the neighboring hills. I thought it was a movie set when we first drove into town.
Second biggest surprise - the Adirondacks. Being from the west we didn't understand that this is such a beautiful area and is a prime summertime vacation area for all the folks living in the Northeast. Looking at maps, there were few towns or roads shown and I personally was a little worried that we would be in a desolate area - the boonies - with few services, towns etc. Not so, the area is covered with beautiful lakes, nice little resort towns, summer cottages and cabins and lots of boats, fishing, beaches and vacationers. Very nice, with an alpine flavor and interesting mountains nearby. Very nice.
Here is my list of not so favorites:
Roads that have cracks every 25 feet or so. Since we were riding the “Upper Tier” as the Adventure Cycling Maps called it, the roads are subjected to brutal conditions, particularly in the winter. Tom and I originally thought that the cracks were construction joints, but it became apparent that these were not man made but random. UGH. Whether the cracks were caulked or tarred, our butts suffered dearly every few moments, ba bump, ba bump, ba bump.
New Chip and Seal Roads: Riding one of these is the fastest way to numb your fingers and lose at least a mile an hour. Until the cars had pushed the aggregate into the tar so that the surface was really flat, you basically were riding in the top portion of gravel. Delightful! We found ourselves creeping off the shoulder of the road into the main lane so we could get into a track left by the cars just to avoid the vibration and drag. Cars did not appreciate this.
Logging Trucks : Since they drive mainly backroads they are used to difficult conditions, twisty narrow roads and hills, so they basically slow or stop for nothing. I think bicyclists are favorite targets to intimidate and their trucks are the loudest, with bark flying off in all directions. Like Tom said, lots of close encounters. Not unusual to hear fellow cyclists tell of being forced onto the gravel shoulder on narrow mountain roads.
Wind: Headwinds are brutal, but day after day of the roar of wind noise from any wind other than a tailwind has probably affected the tinnitus in my already bad ear. Gwen has noticed this already, Tom just thought I was just trying to ignore him when riding and started saying everything two or three times, louder and louder.
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