Sep 06

Glacier National Park Cycle Road Tour

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The adventures of Ken and Russ 01SEPT11 to 05SEPT11

Logan Pass

01 SEPT11 Finished call that went overnight, with few calls. I was able to sign out to Sneller Moreller and then take off.  I met Russ at his house and we took off at 8:15am. When we got to Whitefish, we had dinner and then stayed in a total dive of a motel. Drive was 570 miles, taking 9 hours.

Heading toward West Glacier

On the road to Essex

Izaac Walton Inn

 

 

 

 
Train headed to Marias Pass

02 SEPT11 Parked car at Columbia Falls Airport, and took off. Stayed at the Isaac Walton Inn in Essex, MT. 3297 Cal, 719 meters of ascent. 4:24 time 85.5 km. This hotel is a historic building that housed railway workers in yesteryear who maintained the tracks in winter. It is now an elegant hotel, where one could watch the trains go by, just west of Marias Pass.

03SEPT11 Essex to  St. Mary via Looking Glass Hill Time 6:35, Distance 96.7 km, Ascent 1534 meters, cal 3883.

Marias Pass

View from Looking Glass Hill

Marias Pass went quite smooth, about 400 meters of climbing, and we arrived in East Glacier Park at about 11:30, so had lunch there. The route immediately started climbing up Looking Glass Hill. The views were stupendous, but the road had no shoulder, was busy, and persistent 6-7% grade, another 400 meters of climbing. The rest of the trip to St. Mary was three subsequent climbs, finally exhausting me, but Russ was handling all okay. The final 8 km descent was glorious. We stayed in a small budget hotel in town.

04SEPT11 St Mary to West Glacier via Going to the Sun Road across Glacier National Park. 873 meters ascent, 3143 Calories, 4:44 time, 73.5 km. Seven miles of this trip (not counted) was via a mandatory shuttle bus along Lake McDonald. This was moderately strenuous after a very strenuous day. Russ handled it well, but he was performing the first Touring time trial up Logan Pass.

Headed West on Going to the Sun Road

Peak seen from Going to the Sun Road

Near the top of Logan Pass

 
Logan Pass

Peak seen from Logan Pass

 

Logan Pass

Descent from Logan Pass

Western Going to the Sun Road

West end of Going to the Sun Road

05SEPT11 West Glacier back to Airport, and then drive home.  37 km, 1:43 time, 1222 Calories, 169 meters ascent.

We returned by way of route 2, which left a mile of tight canyon road, very suited for photography, except that there was no shoulder on the road so it was impossible to comfortably stop. After returning to the car, we were able to drive home in reasonable time.

 

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Jun 08

Selkirk Loop

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The Selkirk Loop Bicycle Ride 02-06JUNE2011

Russ A. and I had been planning this loop for quite a while. We had other loops in mind, such as going to Glacier National Park, but realized that the snow conditions were not permissive of a ride anywhere we wished. There is a website that promotes this loop (www.selkirkloop.org), so we decided that this would be  perfect choice. We drove to the start of the loop in Newport, Washington in a driving rain, hoping that the weather would clear. We stayed in a cheap motel and took off the next morning. Here is a map of the loop, and then our Garmin statistics…

03JUNE – Newport, WA to Bonners Ferry, Idaho, riding time 4:21, 101 km, 295 m ascent, 3755 calories – mostly cloudy weather, no rain; stayed in a hotel in Bonners Ferry

04JUNE- Bonners Ferry to Gray Creek, B.C., riding time 6:29, 125.5 km, 949 m ascent, 4872 calories – perfect weather, stayed in our tent at an RV park at Gray Creek, on Lake Kootenay

05JUNE- Gray Creek to Salmo, B.C., riding time 4:56, 88.54 km, 848 m ascent, 4098 calories  - again, perfect weather. Hard climb noted out of Nelson.

06JUNE- Salmo, B.C., to Newport, WA, riding time 7:33, 147 km, 623 m ascent, 5864 calories, we took the LeClerc Road variant, which was very flat, along the Pend Oreille River. The weather was perfect, but we drove back to Tacoma that evening, noting a very hard rain on the drive from Newport to Spokane, WA.

Total stats: 23:19 hours riding time, 462 km (287 miles), 2715 meters elevation gain (8907 ft), 18,689 calories burned off. We essentially accomplished the loop we wished, though it took us a little less time than anticipated. The only significant plan alteration was that we hoped to go to Kaslo and New Denver on the extended upper loop, but the weather did not look like it was going to stay perfect long enough for us to enjoy an entirely dry trip, and thus gave reason for doing the standard Selkirk Loop rather than a variant. Besides, we needed an excuse to return. Also, Russ had an injury to his thigh on the second day of riding, which suggested that it be best that we not push matters too hard.

In all, it was a delightful ride, and I had a wonderful time with Russ, and am already planning our next touring trip. It would be helpful if we knew what to expect in towns, and maps like the Adventure Cycle Association would be nice to have for all towns. Some towns on the map were essentially ghost towns, others had stores and motels and other provisions, and it was impossible to know what to expect along the route. This made it harder to plan for stops. Here are some photos of the trip…

Russ with the Selkirks in the background

Me on my loaded Co-Motion bicycle

Lake Kooteney in British Columbia

Lake Kooteney scene

The Glass House - built out of embalmers bottles

Lake Kooteney

On the Ferry crossing Lake Kooteney

West Arm of Lake Kooteney looking at the town of Nelson

Our hotel in Salmo, B.C.

Russ humping up a long steep hill out of Salmo

Russ and I in Metaline Falls

Last day - along the Pend D'Oreille River

So, we’re back. Tired, but, it was a wonderful trip.

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May 26

Spring 2011 Bicycle Trips

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28-29APRIL – Amtrak trip to Portland with Russ A.
05-10MAY – Trip to Lexington, KY, and rides with Peter T.
19-22MAY – Trip to Dayton, WA with Russ A. and Pete

The itch to ride continues, but the rains continue unabated. Our Spring started out with a delightful visit by Scott & Lee Pyles, who direct the mission and hospital that we visited in Cameroon.

My first adventure was with Russ. I needed to pick up some furniture at Lew’s house, so decided to take the Amtrak down to Portland, ride the Touring bikes from the Amtrak Station to Oregon City, rent a U-Haul there, pick up the furniture, and ride up the Clackamas the next day. We had a moderate amount of rain on the trip, but our equipment held up quite well.

Russ in front of the Hawthorne Bridge, Portland, Oregon


The next trip was to Lexington, KY. The first day was spent at the hospital, learning about how Peter put together a multispecialty clinic. The next day was a trip from Lexington to his farm in Stanford. Peter figured out a route that took Tate’s Creek road south, crossing the Kentucky River in a Ferry boat, then proceeding along multiple backroads until we reached his farm. Unfortunately, I had to keep my camera in a backpack that I wore on my back, making it difficult to easily take photos. The total ride was 83.7 km, took us 4:36.
Once we reached the farm, the camera came out. I did some mountain biking around the farm. After we returned to Lexington the next day, we did a 25 mile ride up to the Horse Farm north of Lexington.

Attention Walmart Shoppers - here comes Peter. This rig gets him just about everywhere!


The family plot on the farm - completely rebuilt by Peter.


Morning on the farm.
The day before returning home, Peter worked out a loop ride in Northern Kentucky, titled the Ridges of Grant County. That was 32.5 km, taking 1:30. That afternoon, we went canoeing on the Elkhorn River. I did not bring my camera on the canoe trip!
Peter on the ridge.

An old flour mill, still in operation, powered by a water mill


Back home, Russ and I got the itch to return to Dayton. Pete went with us (not Peter), and Howie acted as our SAG vehicle.
19MAY 116.6 km, 4:54, 4483 cal, loop taken from Dayton down to Walla Walla and back via middle and lower Waitsburg road.
20MAY 111.4 km, 5:00, 1078 m elevation gain, 4256 cal burned, riding northward to the Snake River.
21MAY 89.2 km, 4:07 718 m elevation gain, 3054 cal, going from Dayton to Starbuck, and then south. There was much steep climbing, but we had a horrid headwind which ultimately exhausted all of us and we aborted early.

Early green wheatfields, stretching beyond the horizon


Wheat fields as far as you could see


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Sep 02

Im Vaterland mit Fahrrad

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It was time to go to Germany, and discover the world of bicycle riding in Europe. Dr. Peter Tate was to meet me in Berlin with his bicycle, and I was bringing my Novara Element with the intention of leaving the bicycle with Onkel Herbert. Daughter Diane was able to get away from work and go with us, and she seemed content to take care of herself when Peter and I were out riding. Our plan was for a Blitzreise, spending three days in Berlin, three days in Leipzig with Herr Doktor Kretschmar, and three days in Krefeld with der berühmte Herr Doktor Feucht. Diane left us after Berlin to go see a friend in Frankfurt, and we met again in Krefeld. The trip included much learning about how to survive with a bicycle. It was especially the case with learning how to travel on public transportation with a bicycle, like riding the Bahn. Once arriving in Berlin, the first order of attention was to assembling the bicycle, and then to going out to get some Döner. We were able to take Peter on a walk around Berlin in order to show him the main sites, like the Bandenburger Tor.

21 AUG 20 km ride around Berlin– riding a bicycle around Berlin was easier than expected. Bicycles need to observe the same rules as cars, though they usually have special bicycle paths for bicycles. The rest of the day was spent taking a long walk with all three of us together and Diane as Stadtführerin.

22 AUG 108 km ride to Potsdam from Berlin, with bypass to see Sans Soucci and to loop around several lakes in the Potsdam area. This was a long ride, and the weather was perfect. On this trip, we learned how confusing it could be to try to find your way around, and we often went in circles. Streets are not often clearly marked, and they frequently change name for no good reason. To make matters worse, I was depending on a gps card for my Garmin Edge that would give me streets in Europe. The gps unit refused to accept the card, and so was left without a reasonable means of orientation and poor maps. I couldn’t have been more upset. Needless to say, the ride was awesome, and the palaces around Sans Soucci were overwhelming in their size and grandeur.

24 AUG Dresden. 4:30, 81 km3500 cal, 120 m– Peter and I arrived in Leipzig on 23AUG, and was picked up at the Hauptbahnhof by Dr. Kretschmar, whom I met last year while in Cameroon. He arranged for us to stay at a Ferienwohnhausrun by one of his friends. We were able to meet his parents and to have supper with them. The home-made sauerkraut was awesome. They also took us on a quick tour of Leipzig. On 24 AUG, Karsten, Peter and I were able to take off on our bicycles to the Elberadweg. We drove about 1 hour to our planned start, and off we went. The route was unbelieveably well cared for, and many people were on the road. It was fascinating to see a very large number of quite elderly people out riding their bicycles. We passed through the towns of Meißen, where the famous porcelain comes from, Dresden, and on. As we rode up stream, the canyon walls got steeper, and more impressive. There were multiple castles and elegant palaces along the way…. Nothing like one would ever see in the US. We then stayed in a very large Herberge, which looked like an old castle with a Turm, and nestled on the side of the canyon wall.

Peter and Carsten

Meißen

Peter in Dresden

Frauenkirche

Semper Oper

Our hostel was the upper right white “castle”

25 AUG. Konigstein to Neuhirschstein 90.6 km 5:17  3593 cal, 215 m ascent– the next day, we first rode 10 km up the Elbe to Konigstein, making a fairly steep climb up to the largest fortress (Festungen) in all of Europe. It was overwhelming. The trip back along the Elbe attempted further variations in order to see different things. At the end of the trip, it was very sad for me to have to say goodbye to Carsten, as I really appreciated seeing him and family again. I’ll definitely want to see him again in Cameroon, as well as spend time with him again in Deutschland.

Königstein

Königstein

Summer palace in Dresden

End of the ride in Hirschstein

26-27 AUG — we took the Bahn from Leipzig to Krefeld, and then rode our bicycles from the Krefeld Hauptbahnhof to Herbert’s Haus. The next day, Diane, Peter and I rode the regional transport to Düsseldof. We also spent much time looking for a bicycle box in order to sent Peter’s bibcyle back to the US on the airplane with him. We finally found a box for him at the Rückenwind bicycle shop.

28 AUG Krefeld to Ossenberg and back.   5:42,  100.7 km     3673 cal, 127 m ascent. Today, Peter and I took off on our bicycles to ride up the Rhein. The bicycle path was reasonably well marked, but the road was not in nearly as good of shape as the route along the Elbe. Also, since we were in the  Ruhrgebiet, we saw a huge number of very large factories. At the end, the weather got us, and we were caught in a squall. Peter wanted to stop for a beer, but I just wanted a warm shower and dry clothes.

It’s been hard saying goodbye again to so many friends. Carsten, Herbert, Katja and Hannes and Peter. Having left a bicycle with panniers at Herberts Haus, I now have no excuse not to return to Deutschland for another ride. I’ll either do the upper Rhein, the Schwarzwald, or perhaps something over in the Franken/Spessart area, heading to Prague. Hopefully, the next trip might be a little longer, and focused on just one region, to prevent spending a lot of time just getting from one place to another.

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Jul 30

North Cascades Bicycling 26-29JUL2010

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26JUL2010   Total travel time 2:49, 68 km, 120 m ascent, 2958 cal.
I finally have been able to break away for a week to do some cycle touring. Russ A and I were dropped off in Darrington by Lucas, who rode about 40 miles with us. We spent the first night in the park lawn of Newhalem, having grabbed dinner at the country store, which closes about 5 pm. We were able to order some cold sandwiches, and even a beer. I was then able to finish Pat Buchanan’s book, and finish writing a review for this book on Betsy’s iPad, which she so graciously let me borrow. I’m beginning to love these little devices, as they are perfect for travel, since all I need is some word processing, and occasional Internet connection on WiFi. It is awesome at holding a charge. I thought that I’d never like the bugger, but I now prefer this over my laptop for travel, which is heavy, an energy monster, and not as versatile in many ways. I especially liked the iBooks option, which is a color improvement over the Kindle. The General (Pat C) had a Kindle on our ACA trip last year, and I was quite interested in it’s ability to provide availability to multiple books.

27JUL2010   Time 8:40 distance 120.3 km 1594 m total ascent, 6680 cal
Today was a most challenging day. We started from Newhalem, WA and rode to Winthrop. In the process, we needed to cross the North Cascades, and the pass is not an easy one. Actually, there are two passes, Rainy and then Washington Pass. After completing Rainy Pass on fully loaded touring bicycles, we were getting pretty beat. By the time we arrived in Winthrop, we were exhausted. It didn’t help that the last ten miles was greeted with a very strong head wind. Russ and I survived, especially owing to the spectacular scenery on the Passes. We might be invalids tomorrow!


28JUL2010   Time 3:11, distance 67 km, ascent 166 m, cal 2259
As one could see, today was an easy day. We needed it after yesterday, and today was also quite hot, especially in the afternoon. So, we rode from Winthrop tp Pateros. I am now looking out on the Columbia River. We went swimming in the hotel pool to cool off, and am able to relax. We’ve encountered a number of foreign cyclists on the route who are hitting the North Cascades, and it is interesting how much this part of the world attracts everybody else, yet this is only the second time I’ve ever been across the North Cascades highway. The cycle ride itself was reasonably flat, but the heat was still oppressive, as we followed the course of the Methow River before it flows into the Columbia River at Pateros.

29JUL2010  Riding time 4:40 distance 93 km, ascent 381 m, 3250 cal.
Travel today was between Pateros and Wenatchee, WA. The route followed the Columbia River all the way, though it was rolling hills, some as much as a persistent (2-3km) 5% grade. We started at 6 am in the morning, but by 10 am the heat was already quite sweltering. I couldn’t have ridden too much longer today because of the heat. The morning was absolutely gorgeous with sun glowing on the sides of the cliffs beside the Columbia River. We passed multiple fruit stands, affording us an opportunity to purchase fruit for the road. Peaches never tasted so good! Finally, in Wenatchee, we were able to catch the Trailway bus back to Tacoma. We wanted to take the train, but they would not allow us to check on our bicycles in Wenatchee, so, we took the bus. At first, Mr. Sourpuss at the checkout counter told us that we could not take our bicycles, but a very nice bus driver let us stick the bicycles In the luggage compartment anyway. So, it was a fantastic cycle trip with a fantastic friend.

I again did not take nearly enough photos. There isn’t much diffent that I’ll need to do for further road trips except to get in better shape. I hope that the issue is simply that of being a novice in cycle touring, and the more I do cycle touring with friends, I’ll be able to plan better, and utilize the time to not force mileage, but to enjoy each mile ridden. This will take time and experience. Further mid-summer trips should be planned for the coast, and not in eastern/central Washington. Maybe we could do part of the Pacific Coast route next summer.

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