Days 63 & 64

The days before I flew home were spent exploring Anacortes and the San Juan Islands. I found a shuttle to the airport (thanks for taking care of that for me, Karissa. You're awesome.) and a bike shop willing to ship my bike.
I met some really great women whom I ended up camping with my last night. Barbara and Donna gave me a ride to my shuttle. Barbara fed me and paid my fare for a ferry ride. Donna accompanied me on the ferry boat ride and we explored Friday Harbor together. She also drove me and my bike to the bike shop.
When I was leaving Friday Harbor I again ran into someone I knew. Lily was awaiting her ferry to British Columbia. We hugged. She commented on how clean I looked. I laughed. It warmed me to see her again. I was so glad. It felt right.
While spending time at Washington Park I ran into Joe. He hugged me and congratulated me. It was great to see him. I also got to see my Dutch friends again. They didn't recognize me all cleaned up either. It was nice to tell them goodbye as well.
I mostly relaxed and reflected. It was a good ending to my summer. Back to work and reality soon. I was going to miss riding every day.
I caught my late night shuttle to Seattle and caught my flight home to Pittsburgh.
The End.

Washington Park where my journey ended

from the ferry

from the ferry boat

Day 62

85 Miles

Lily and I both decided we would say goodbye to each other in the morning and ride our separate ways the last 80 or so miles to the coast. So that is what we did. We got up, packed up, hugged and said our goodbyes. I said goodbye to Han, Hans, and Robert on my way out of the park.

The ride was easy. My start was early. It was going to be a hot day. I approached my first stop for the morning I passed Juno resting outside a coffee shop. Lily was probably enjoying a nice cup of coffee. That didn't interest me anyway. I moved on to a convenience store. I got some snacks for breakfast and the day. I was sitting outside just relaxing. I was watching the rafting company next door to the gas station get their rafts ready for the day. While sitting there a cyclist rolled up. His trailer was fully loaded. He was talking to the operator of the rafting company. They both struck up conversation with me. They were trying to get me to go on a rafting ride. It was an hour long and free. It actually took a bit of convincing. Finally I said okay. When Lily came by I asked if she wanted to as well. She took some convincing too. Before long Lily, the newly met cyclist, Garret, and I were in a van heading up river. We picked up a family of three along the way.

Our guide was a nice guy. We took a slow leisurely ride down the river. There wasn't much for rapids, but it was nice to see the mountains from another perspective. It was beautiful. The water was so clear and cold. The change of pace was relaxing. One set of waterfalls could be followed from the glacier capped mountaintop cascading all the way to the river forming hundreds of falls. It was incredible. 

The ride took about an hour. We all tipped our guide and prepared for more riding. Garrett was riding the around the North Cascades and wherever else suited his fancy. He was riding up to Rainy Pass and Washington Pass that afternoon. He was facing a tough very hot ride. I wished him well. I said goodbye to Lily again. She set off. I set out shortly after.

The sun was hot and riding wasn't always easy. The wind offered little cooling effect and much resistance. I made a couple small stops, mostly just for water. I did stop for an hour outside a senior center. It was closed but it had several outlets on the outside of the building. I sat in the shade and let my phone charge while I ate some lunch.

I didn't have a map but had a general idea of where I was going. My last rest for the night was about 20 miles from Anacortes. I ate a hot dog and a cheeseburger at a gas station. I doubled checked Google maps. It was early evening. I should be hitting Anacortes shortly before the sunset.

The last leg of my journey was mostly flat. The weekend roads were busy. I was tired but nothing could have stopped me from pedaling. I was a little confused by the roads. I followed the main road, which turns out to be one of the only ways into town. I crossed a huge bridge that made me a little nervous even though I was on the sidewalk. It was high and the wind blew across it. It provided an amazing view though. There was water, wooded islands, boats, and snow capped mountains all in the same picturesque view. On the other side of bridge I found a bike route. I followed it even though I was unsure of where it went. I deducted that as long as I was going West, I couldn't really go wrong at this point. The path lead through the back side of the town and went across a bike/walk way. It was another visual treat. 

As I rolled into the actual town I got a little disoreiented and didn't know where to go. Eventually, I decided to head toward the ferry terminal. I needed to look into a way to Seattle anyway. I arrived at the ferry terminal and walked inside. It was almost time for the last ferry to depart to Friday Harbor on the island of San Juan. There was only a handle of people in the terminal. Oddly, enough I knew one. Lily was waiting for the last ferry. We high-fived and told each other how awesome each other were. Then I hugged her again and said my goodbyes again. I grabbed some information on the ferry schedule and headed toward a local park.

Washington park sat on the water. As I rolled toward the beach the sun hung low over the water. It was ready to set. I wanted to take a picture but my phone had died before I made it to the park. I walked to the water's edge with my bike. I dipped Upstate's tires in first before dipping my toes into the water.

I did it! 3,525 miles (give or take a few), 11 states, Countless flats, Dozens of hardships, Hundreds of smiles, Exactly 2 months to the day, and here I was touching the salty waters of the Pacific. I have crossed a continent. I wanted to talk to my loved ones. I wanted to shout, to brag, to cry, to smile.

I found an outlet and plugged my phone in. I called my friends and family. The time change meant it was almost midnight there. Everyone was sleeping, but I left messages. 

I found a campsite and set up my tent. It was dark in the wooded campground of the park. I went to bed feeling pretty amazing.  

Day 61

  

69 Miles
My alarm went off at 4:30 am. It was still dark and it was decided that the 5:30 might be better. I looked at the stars for a moment before closing my eyes for another hour. When the alarm went off again we got and ate and packed. This took a little longer than usual for some reason. But I was a little excited. The bike barn had provided a full charge to my electronics. This meant that I could ride up this mountain with music in my ears. I was pumped for this challenge. I was so ready for this. This would be my last big challenge.
We set out. Just before Lily pulled too far ahead of me I noticed it. My tire, my front tire, was a wobbly flat mess. Ha. What were the chances? I hollered out to Lily. Luckily she heard me, or she would have been up the mountain wondering why it took me six hours to climb the mountain.
I took my tire off after cutting it free from my zip tie jungle. I tried the scab patches. No luck. Lily gave me her spare tube. This made both of us nervous. We had no patches or spares between the two of us. Lily rode ahead while I reassembled my zip tie jungle and put my tire back on.
Lily had run into our Dutch friends. They gave her an extra patch. Thank goodness. We rode to a little store/cafe. It was a cute place. I couldn't resist a chocolate turnover. I treated Lily to one too. Despite the flat, it was a pretty good way to start the day.
We set out again.  It was a Saturday afternoon. The mountain was very busy. I was passed by numerous Spandex Road Jockeys. I must say I was proud of myself for keep up a pace with a few of the road cyclist, and I was fully loaded. Oh yeah! All the people coming down the mountain were smiling. There were so many cars. I had some sluggishness and muscle soreness a few miles in. I took some Tylenol. I carried on. It was mostly wooded at first. With some really great music in my ears I just kept pedaling. I was beginning to wonder why I was pedaling so hard and wasn't even going uphill yet. This is when I pulled over for a quick snack of crackers. I looked down the road I had been pedaling up. I really was pedaling up. I had been climbing very steadily. I hadn't even noticed. I stood under one of the waterfalls along the road to cool down. I kept riding. My legs were getting tired. Right around 25 miles into my days ride I approached the king of all switchbacks. That was one heck of a curve. It was also steeper than the grade I had been riding. I rested briefly before tackling this. It wasn't too bad. I stopped at the top of that part to take some pictures. A man riding his bicycle up stopped to talk to me. He talked about touring. And he gave me more good news. The pass was just up around the next bend, less than a mile. Excellent news! I rode up.
As I reached the pass Michael Franti's "Say Hey" was in my ears. I had the biggest grin. I felt so amazing.
Lily was riding up from an overlook near the sign. She had been down there for a little bit but not too long. We hung out there for a little while. There were numerous cyclists reaching the pass from the other direction. It was something like 50-70 people in the staggered group. They were riding from Seattle or some such place. We were talking to driver of one of the group's support van. They gave us cold bottled water. That was a nice treat.
The next pass was 3-4 miles away. This involved about 2.5 miles of downhill. This would be a piece of cake. I put my headphones back in my ears and off we zoomed. The stop at Rainy Pass was brief. From here on out, it was all downhill. I would be dropping from almost 5000 ft of elevation to sea level over the next day and a half. Even uphills should be fairly short and easy.
I'll describe the ride down the mountain momentarily.
Lily and I ran into the Han, Hans, and Robert on the way down the mountain. It would be a leap frog with them all the way down. They bought Lily and I ice cream when we reached the end of our day.
As for lodging for the night, it was a Saturday night. This meant all the campgrounds were full. We were contemplating wild camping. Our Dutch friends decided to take a campsite that was closed and take it up with the Ranger whenever they came through. Lily and I scoped the taken sites for non-family campers in small numbers. We approached two guys that seemed pretty cool. They were camping at a fairly large site and it was just the two of them. We straight up asked if we could camp there. They were really cool and said of course. The guys were rock climbers. Really great guys. We ate dinner with them and socialized. Lily patched my inner tube from my morning tire and I replaced it with the spare one she had given me. She got to have her spare tube back. After hanging out with the climbers I went to bed early. I was filled with accomplishment.
Okay. Now back to the ride down the mountain...
I stopped frequently. I was filled with so much adrenaline and confidence. I really felt I could accomplish anything. The view was so gorgeous. Everyone the entire trip had been telling me I should be traveling West to East. The reasons were always about traveling with the winds. Well, I don't care what anyone else says. The East coast is beautiful, especially in the autumn, but I just don't think that the beauty could match what I was seeing. It was the perfect climax to my trip. The mountains were snow capped and the run off created hundreds of waterfalls. As I zoomed down the mountain I could feel the waterfalls before i could see them. The cool air wafting from the crevices pushed against my skin and I knew the glacier waterfalls were close. Then I would see them and hear them. The sun was bright, but I rode mostly in the shade of the mountain. I took a shower beneath one of the roadside waterfalls. The lakes were a spectacular green color. I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for my entire journey. Again, words cannot describe the beauty I saw. Pictures still barely capture a portion of it. Here are some pictures to fill in some of the words...

Lily!

The water really was this color.

Day 60

50 Miles
The morning came at just the right time. It wasn't hard getting up. Today's mountain was a lower elevation than the Wauconda Pass of the day before. And today's pass was fun to say, Loup Loup. I was pumped for my ride.
After a quick stop at the local gas station for some chocolate milk and other breakfastness, I set out. Lily, feeling much better pulled out far ahead of me early on.
The ride started out fine. The sun was shining and I could tell it'd be a hot day. This mountain was not as easy as I had hoped. Some of the grade was the worst I had encountered in some time. It was much harder than I wanted it to be. I made several stops on the way up.
I saw the three Dutchmen slowly gaining on me as I climbed. They were encouraging when they eventually passed. Robert stopped briefly to show me how much more I had to ride. We were about a mile or two from the top. With another word of confidence he rode on. I pushed on, steady and sometimes very slow. But eventually I made it to the pass. It was definitely the biggest challenge of the mountains so far.
Han, Hans, Robert and Lily were all chatting and resting when I arrived. We hung out there for awhile. I actually ate twice. We all chatted and got to know more about each other. We also talked to some people on horseback. This added even more to the cowboy old west feel I'd encountered repeatedly in Washington.
The ride down the mountain was leisurely and uneventful. This western side of the mountain had more trees. The road we were following followed a river. Lily and I were looking for a place to swim. We didn't find anywhere. I imagined the water was freezing anyway.
Lily and I stopped at a grocery store in the very touristy town. The town had an Old West store front facade. To me, it felt very faked. I preferred a more authentic look. We rode on toward the next town. We were even considering pedaling a portion up the next mountain. I was of course further behind Lily. I found her talking with some other cyclists outside of a camp specifically for cyclists. It was still early but we decided this would be a good place to camp. The Bike Barn was a great little set up. Jim and Jan greeted us and told us about some of the amenities. There was an outdoor solar heated shower. The barn house a fridge and sitting area. Oh, and there were outlets galore! I immediately started charging all my devices. Lily and I set up camp behind the barn. The couple who we had been talking to decided to stay elsewhere. The privacy and promise of a clear sky at night meant that we both opted to go without the rainfly. I took a nice shower in the well enclosed solar shower. It was still light out and I went to sleep. It had been a tough ride. Tomorrow was the last mountain. I was pumped, but ready for sleep. At dusk I heard another cyclist arrive. It was Joe. I was too close to sleep to get up and socialize. I enjoy seeing the stars when I did wake up in the night. It was cold throughout the night. I donned my wooly hat and cuddled far into my sleeping bag.

Day 59

 74 miles
My alarm went off early. Lily heard it, and talked from her tent. She told me she had a terrible headache and maybe we could sleep a bit longer. I was happy to oblige. I got up around 8. I checked on Lily. I dug out my headache medicine to help ease her migraine. I ate and packed up slow. Lily told me I didn't need to wait on her. But that seemed silly. It was almost 10 when Lily finally felt ready to set out for the day.
It was warming up quickly but the air was dry.  The first few miles didn't involve much climbing. When the climbing started Lily was only a little bit ahead of me. But I caught up to her. She was pulled off the road. Juno had a flat. What a morning for her! I waited until she had it patched and was getting her wheel back on before I set back up the mountain. She still beat me to the top. I wasn't far behind this time. This climb wasn't bad. It went fairly quickly. My visit to Wauconda Pass was brief. At 4310 ft elevation it was the easiest pass I would ride. We started down the mountain. There was quite a bit of wind. We stopped by a small store/cafe a bit past the pass.We ate a long lunch there. Lily was feeling better but still felt the affects of her migraine. I could relate.
We continued down the mountain. The scenery was great. It varied from desert to plains to rocky peaks. There were lots of abandon homes and farms. The landscape lent more to the "Old West" feel that I had been experiencing. I never realized how "Old West" Washington was. I enjoyed some great downhill. It was curvy and fast. It was almost like a really long roller-coaster. I grinned the whole way. I took the lane when I could and enjoyed the pedal free ride.
The town at the bottom offered another short stop. I enjoyed a sugary soda. Yum. I don't care if it's commercial and cliche. There is nothing like an ice cold Coca-Cola after a long ride. So refreshing. We decided to keep riding. We had a small tail wind.
The scenery provided more desert landscape and towering hills. I enjoyed the view thoroughly. The road was freshly paved. But there were tires blown and strewn about everywhere. I passed the town of Omak. It was busy as the local tradition of the Omak Stampede was going on. There was lots of camping, but it was full up and looked pretty rowdy. I continued on. Lily slowed down and we started looking for a place in the next town. We had heard that there was free camping in the next town. We asked a local and he directed us to go into town and across the river. This seemed reasonable. We set out. Before rolling into town I had to get off the bike. I had a flat. I couldn't help but laugh. Upstate always had to do what Juno did. I decided to just walk the two miles to the park instead of changing the tire along the way. Lily offered to walk with me. But I thought it was silly. She eventually rode on. I ran into my Dutch friends and spoke to them a bit. They pointed me to the park. When I finally arrived at the park Lily was all set up. She was sitting at the picnic table with her patch kit ready. To repay me for being so kind in the morning when she had her migraine she wanted to repair my tire for me. I wasn't going to complain. However, the inner tube had not one hole, but two. This meant that after the repair we both were without patches. We were three days from the coast. What were the chances of another flat anyway? I thanked Lily repeatedly.
As the sun set there was also a storm in the distance. This of course made a rainbow. It was an incredibly bright rainbow. The angle of the setting sun made it look like the rainbow was shooting straight out of the mountain over yonder. It was a beautiful ending to the day.

Day 58

 48 Miles
My alarm went off early. I woke Lily up and we got ready. I was quite excited. I was going to climb a mountain with my bike! We were the first of the cyclists that had camped in the park to leave. The ride started with a brief downhill. Then it was all uphill. I didn't mind the ride.  The mountain was wooded and I enjoyed the shade. There was a slight breeze between the trees. I liked the smell of woods and there were plenty of babbling mountain brooks to appease my ears. The logging trucks increased as I climbed. This was of course because the logging roads increased higher up the mountain. I couldn't really hear the trucks until they were almost next to me. I could feel them right before they rattled next to me.Then I left the smell of wet cedar wafting behind them. There was a tinge of orange to the aroma.
  I was doing pretty well. I'd been riding uphill nearly an hour. I thought I must have been getting close to the top. I wasn't. I was about 9 miles into my ride. I saw a sign for deer for the next 7 miles. The top had to be there. My calculations were still off. There were pull-offs for slower traffic. Did you know it is illegal to hold up more than 5 cars in traffic in Washington state? It is apparently so.
About 20 miles into my ride, still climbing mind you, I spotted in my rear view mirror a speck, a yellow speck. The yellow speck was catching up to me. It was Joe climbing the hill at pace slightly faster than mine. This was good incentive for me to just keep pedaling. Sometimes I sang to myself "Just keep pedaling. Just keep pedaling." I wanted to make it to the top before Joe. It was a bit of a pride thing. I wanted to keep up my pace. I didn't want to stop pedaling. I didn't want to stop at all.
At about 26 miles there was an overlook. I opted against pedaling to it. It was straight on to the summit for me.
I made it to the pull off at the summit. It was cold up there. I pulled out my long sleeve button up. Lily wasn't at the summit. It took me almost 4 hours to climb the 26 miles. My pace was slow to say the least. I wondered where Lily was. Maybe she was at the overlook. I wasn't going to ride down just to ride back up again, even if it was only about a quarter of a mile. I ate and read the historical facts about the region.
Eventually Lily rode up. She had been at the overlook waiting for me.
We took pictures of each other next to the Sherman Pass sign. After another quick snack we set off down the mountain. I wasn't far behind Lily; at 30+ mph I really had no reason to be. The curves were fun and I raced down the mountain grinning. The views were gorgeous. I pulled off at one of the overlooks. The area I was looking at had been devastated by forest fires in the 80s. It was a sad sight, but beautiful just the same. I rode a little slower down the mountain taking it all in.
At the bottom of the mountain was a cute little town with a genuine western feel. I couldn't find Lily at the usual stops. The convenience stores were void of her and Juno. After riding up and down the main strip once or twice I decided to stop moving. Then I saw the library. Of course, that's where she'd be! She was. After she finished at the library we went and did laundry. It was a tiny laundromat with no coin machine or soap vending. We used camp soap, put our quarters together, and did a load of laundry. My clothes smelled like peppermint.

I had made it to town before 2 pm. A short day was in order. We heard about free camping in this town. So we looked around. We found a park. It was busy, but there was a pavilion. The sun was hot. Lily seemed out of sorts and grumpy. I was still pumped from the ride. I suggested maybe getting a pizza or something. It meant no cooking. We deserved a treat. We crossed a freaking mountain! So we got a pizza. And we ate all of it.
Lily still a bit out of it went in search of ice cream. She came back without ice cream and with information. We were not at the park that had free camping. That park was really the fairgrounds about 2 miles back from where we'd come. Reluctantly, we rode back the 2 miles. Joe and all three Dutch men were there. We set up. I scrounged up the rest of my quarters. I took a shower. Then I went to bed. Did I mention I rode up a mountain?

Day 57

Park where we all camped.

68 Miles
We were up early. I don't recall waking up at all during the night. We set out after a quick breakfast. I had water on my cereal, in case you were wondering. The first stop of the day was at a small store/museum. The store wasn't open when we got there. Outside there were some pictorial histories of the area. It was all very fascinating. We spent more time there then we would on a normal break. I did manage to get my phone charged. Outlets were far between out here. I didn't have any service, but I was glad to be getting a little charge.
After leaving the museum we started a climb up a giant hill. Its curves were plentiful. I was getting a real taste of the kind of climbs that I would get over the next week. It was a slow steady climb. I didn't even use my granny gears. I was feeling pretty proud of myself. After the initial climb there were a lot of ups and downs. There was lots of newly chipped pavement. This wasn't the best conditions for riding. It added extra friction and slowed momentum. Also, it made me more cautious because stopping would be more dangerous with loose gravel. At one point I passed a bar where I spotted several fully loaded bicycles. I didn't stop since the riders didn't seem to be outside. They were probably riding East anyway. This proved wrong as while stopped along the side of the road to eat some crackers I was approached by three gentleman on the previous spotted bicycles. They introduced themselves. They were from the Netherlands. Their names were Han, Hans, and Robert. They were riding from Maine to Washington. I chatted for a bit before they rode on ahead. I ate some more crackers and set out. The dutch men were pulled over eating at one point I waved and rode past them. There was a great downhill into the next town. I zoomed down the hill. It brought a smile to my face.
I found Lily with a little work at the next towns grocery store. We bought a little food and headed to the next town with the idea that we would find a place to camp. When we got to the next town we looked around for places to camp. We went to the library. Lily got super excited when there was a loaded bicycle outside the library. The bright yellow panniers were hard to miss. She was about to go into the library the owner of the bike showed up. Joe was from Thailand and was riding all the National Parks. He directed us to a camp where he was camping.
We found it and set up camp. Shortly after the Dutch men showed up. Lily chatted with them. Then Joe showed up. The Dutch men already knew him. There was some talking and planning by all parties of where the next day would end.
Tomorrow would be the first of five peaks. I was finally excited. And I was just days away from the Pacific. There were less than 400 miles left in my journey. It's strange how that number once seemed so big. Now it seems like such a tiny one.
I found an outlet after dinner and fully charged my phone. I finally had service and made a few phone calls. It was nice to hear some familiar voices.
I went to bed excited for the next few days.

Day 56

87 Miles

We both woke up at 5 am again. It was light out thanks to the time change. We headed back half a mile to the gas station and ate breakfast. Thank goodness. Cereal is so much better with milk instead of water.
We set out with a nice early start to the day. The ride started nicely. The roads were lined with forests and the smell of cedar prevailed. W had been mistaken. The hill in Bonners Ferry was not the big hill that the locals at the state line were talking about. We encountered the mentioned hill a few miles into our morning ride. It took a long time to climb it but it was conquered. I didn't even stop on the hill. I was quite pleased with myself.
Lily was waiting for me at a convenience store. It was going to be a hot day. We found a Radio Shack so Lily could get new batteries for her camera. Then we breezed through Sandpoint and bid each other another "See you at the border".
We did meet up at the border. I was in and out of Idaho's panhandle in less than 24 hours. It was a brief stop. We pedaled on. We did stop at a campground with a creek running behind it. We went swimming. Well, Lily went swimming. I went wading. The water was freezing. That stop was short too.
The rest of the ride was flat and beautiful. We started looking for a place to camp at around 70 miles into the day. We encountered a tail wind and rode more than planned. We saw a gentleman outside on his lawn. It looked like his home was part of a farm. We briefly discussed it and Lily approached the man. He was elderly and hard of hearing and she had to ask him more than once. But he obliged to let us camp on his lawn. Shortly after we set up the man's wife came out. She offered us food. We couldn't say no. She invited us in and gave us water and tea and cookies. Her name was Delores and her husband's name was Jack. They owned an open range ranch. Delores told us stories about the ranch and the surrounding area. Delores made us cheeseburgers. I have a feeling that it was from their own cattle. The cheeseburger was the BEST cheeseburger I have ever eaten. No joke. It was THE BEST CHEESEBURGER EVER. I'm a terrible vegetarian. Lily was a terrible vegan, at least that night. After the burgers, Delores made us ice cream sundaes. It was amazing. It was like having a grandma for a few hours. Delores also insisted we took showers. I don't know if this was because we smelled, which was very possible, or if she was just being generous. Regardless, I took a shower. Delores insisted it I couldn't be clean because I didn't take nearly long enough in the showers. I guess battling with 3 minute showers had made me unaware as to what was a lengthy shower and what was not. I retired shortly after my shower. I went to bed clean full and content.

Day 55

97 Miles

My alarm sounded at 5 am. It was still dark but I woke Lily as we had discussed. We packed up  and ate and set out shortly after 6. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Paul woke up before we left. I'm glad we got to tell him goodbye and see you later.
It was a Sunday morning. The winds were minimal, as was the traffic. I enjoyed hills despite the chill and drizzle in the air. We hit the first town at 10 am. 40 miles under our belt this early was awesome. We were both completely psyched. We set out for the next town.
After lunch at the next town we told each other, "see you at the border." We were finally about to leave Montana. We set out eager and full of excitement. Then came the hill...
We opted to keep to US-2. The ACA maps went some other way. This hill was probably the reason. The sign at the bottom mention tire chains. Crap. That meant some serious grade. It was only about 2 miles up, but there was some serious grade with some serious switchbacks. The shoulder was less than adequate for comfortable passing by the trucks on the tight curves. I pushed myself and only stopped briefly for a drink. I found Lily on the other side of the hill outside a bar talking with the locals.
We sat outside and talked with the locals for awhile. They were an entertaining bunch. We hadn't quite made it to the border. The bar was on the Montana side of the border. The Welcome to Idaho sign was viewable from where we were sitting outside. Also, an exciting bonus that I wasn't expecting until Washington, time change! We got to change our clocks back an hour. It meant that it wasn't 2:30, it was 1:30! Awesome!
We asked about the terrain. All down hill until Bonners Ferry. Then there would be a big hill. We were okay with that.
The ride down the hill was most definitely sweet. It was a beautiful ride. And Idaho smelled like cedar. The air was dry and hot. Despite the heat I smiled. We had hit 95 miles when we reached Bonners Ferry. We searched around town (which had a wicked fast downhill into it). We couldn't find any grocers or convenient stores. I finally asked. A girl pointed up a giant hill. This must have been the hill they had been talking about. We climbed the hill. I used the sidewalk, which I hate doing. But it seemed the safest option. It was a big ass hill! At the top of the hill was a grocery store. We shopped and asked about places to camp.There were no good suggestions.
We rode up a ways and saw a ranger station. We looked at the map outside. It was of little help. But we thought maybe we'd just camp right there. Then I spotted a guy walking around one the ranger cottages. He was on the phone. Lily went to approach him. He seemed elusive. But eventually she caught up with him. She asked if we could pitch our tents in his yard and that we'd be gone in the morning. Kyle told us it was no problem. He was kind and obliging. We set up there at the ranger station.
We ate. We talked. We laughed. Great day. Lots of miles. Smiles. Sleep.

Day 54

 

58 Mile
We all woke up early. We didn't get on the road very early though. This was disappointing. I really wanted to get some miles in. The coast was so close. And I was losing my fear of mountains. My confidence was building.
When we finally set out. We stopped at the first town we came upon. There was a quilt and fabric fair of some kind. I explored a bit while the others were getting supplies. We all ate. More time passed. It was after noon when we were ready to go again. We stocked up on water. Shops and stops would be far between.
We encountered some big hills, and wind. The wind was actually terrible. The hills we were riding were forested and surrounded a large reservoir. It reminded me a bit of the Kinzua Reservoir. Even though the ride against the wind was terrible, I took it in stride. I wasn't letting it break me. I was accustomed to a slow pace. Although, one instance in my day's ride included having to pedal downhill to not lose momentum. The wind was stronger than the momentum gravity was giving me. I had to help gravity get me down the hill. It was work. I did catch a slight tail wind at one point. I relished it. I met up with the rest of the crew. The wind seemed to have broken their spirits. It was decided we should find a campsite. We talked to a few climbers and they suggested a National Forestry Service campsite a few miles up the road. We found it and split the cost. It was an amazing view over the water. Oh... And water...
Lily and I went swimming. It may or may not have doubled as bathing. Lily and I talked about our goals to get to the coast. The guys wanted to follow the ACA maps. Lily and I wanted to cut out the extra roads and head straight towards the mountains. We decided we would split off and meet the guys in a day or so.
After swimming we all cooked our dinners. I finally ran out of cooking fuel. But my food was delicious. Lily shared some of hers with me.
The sun was setting shortly after I laid down in my tent. I opened the fly and let the warm glow fill my tent.

Day 53

38 miles
Sleeping in was spectacular. I loved it.
I hung out around the State Park. I wanted to take a shower. It was 4 quarters for 3 minutes. I had 3 quarters. Oh well. I would have wanted more than 3 minutes anyway.
 I packed up after awhile. I stopped at a nearby convenience store. It was a little misty out. I just relaxed. I saw a couple of touring cyclists and spoke with them briefly. I smiled when I saw the Nutella stuffed in their pannier's mesh pockets. The touring staple food was in such an easily accessible pocket. It only made sense. I ate it every meal. And truth be told put on foods that most people wouldn't dream of doing.
I got a call from Lily at about 11 am. I met up with Matt, Paul and Lily at the nearby grocery store. The Flaming Wheels High Road Bike gang was reunited. After some shopping and rejoicing we headed back into town. Paul headed to the bike shop, the rest of us headed to the library. Paul neeeded a new chain and cassette (that's the gears on the back tire). I was sure Upstate needed some new parts and care as well, but it since I was only 10 or days from the coast I figured Upstate could wait.
 We had a goal of 50+ miles for the rest of the day. This was ambitious considering it was about 3:30-4 when we set out again.  The road was curvy and the shoulder narrow. There were numerous trucks zooming by us. It was a little too close at times. I of course was always at the back of the pack. So I was surprised to see Paul waiting at a cross roads. He wanted to veer off on a side road to follow the Adventure Cycling maps. It was longer but it would take us off the road with the trucks almost clipping us.
The ride was easy and mostly flat and Paul slowed to my pace so we could talk during our ride. The alternate route proved to have some beautiful views. It was especially gorgeous watching a storm roll in. We donned our rain gear. The storm was brief. And we continued on. It wasn't too long before another storm was rolling in. I stopped to put on my rain gear again. But as I was ready to pedal on I felt the rain. But it hurt. It hurt a lot! I took cover in the trees nearby. Paul followed. The marble-sized hail was coming down plinking hard against my helmet. I was beginning to think I'd end up with bruises or welts from the constant pelting against my skin. Paul spotted a wagon trailer nearby. He crawled under it. I followed. We were under for a few minutes before it finally stopped. After taking a few pictures to document the event we pedaled on.
We ran into Lily and Matt a short time after. They had taken the other road and had been waiting for nearly an hour. They were worried about us. They hadn't run into the storm at all.
We rode on, but it was getting late. We decided to search for somewhere to camp for the night. We stopped at a little store in a "town". Towns seem to be a school and/or a post office and a store out here. We asked around. We were presented with a few options, but eventually opted to find our own place to camp. We came across what seemed to be an abandoned State Park station. We thought it looked like a good place to camp despite being posted as closed. We were worried about animals and moved all our food far away from us. They regaled me with their tales of Glacier. I was a little sad that I hadn't gone with them. But remembering my headaches and the way I enjoyed the mountains I was glad I went solo.
We agreed to get up early. I was asleep around dusk with another headache.

Day 51 & 52

Day 51
49 miles

I woke early. The air was cold. I packed up immediately. I headed out early, eager to experience more of the Rockies.
I rode around the outside edge of the Glacier National Park. It was mostly downhill. I stopped almost every 500 ft. I was taking pictures and taking it all in. I felt bad for the motorists driving by. They only stopped at the pull offs. They missed so much beauty rushing by at 55 mph. Sometimes my 15 mph felt too fast. How could anyone not want to see this by bicycle?! Sure, by foot one would be even more capable of taking the scenery in, but bicycle seems the best way to take it slow, but not too slow.
I can say that for the first time on this trip, my camera was less than what I had hoped for. I left my good camera at home to save weight. I was wishing I had just taken on the extra. But even if I had had the my good camera, the clouds were low and the haze from the nearby fires made the hills dark. Still, I got some beautiful pictures. See....

I got another headache about 3. I was holding my head at the side of the road for almost an hour. I was sitting in the hot sun. I would have moved to the shade, but my head hurt so bad that I just had to sit still until it passed.

I rolled into Whitefish around 4. I enjoyed a cold drink and rode around the town. My brother had a friend in town. I was hoping to find a place to sleep for the night. Julie got a hold of me a short while later. I told her I was just looking for a place to pitch my tent. She gave me directions to her mom's house. It took me awhile to realize this though. She was in town for a bit of a family reunion. Julie and all her siblings were in town and at her mom's house. Despite this, they all welcomed me. They let me take a shower and even offered to wash my clothes. I let them. They also fed me some delicious dinner and talked with me about my trip. 

After dinner, Julie decided she would take me up Big Mountain.She borrowed her brother Seth's car. We headed up the mountain. The gas gauge read low but we risked it. She pointed things out as we rolled up the mountain road. There was some antique car gathering going on. Hundreds of Model T Fords were in the area. I had seen them earlier throughout the day and night before as well. The Model T's chugged up the mountain slowly. Soon we were rolling to a stop and the antique cars were passing by us on the curvy road. We were out of gas. This was only the third time on this trip that I had been in a car. I found the adventure amusing. Julie called her brother and brought some gasoline up. After that we were on our way back up the mountain. It was just before sunset. It was beautiful. I was told that without the haze the Glaciers on the mountains to the east could be seen. It was still beautiful. We rolled down the mountain and drove around town. I got to see more of the town. It was a really cute town, even if it was a bit touristy. We drove to the lake. It was shaped like a fish. It was a really pretty lake. The whole area was beautiful.

Julie and I headed back to her mom's house. I sent up my tent on the back deck. They gave me the cushions from the lawn chaise.

Before heading to bed I went inside and hung out with the whole family. I felt like I was intruding. But they still made me feel welcome. What a great bunch! Julie, Michele, Kristin, Lisa, Seth, and especially Janice, thank you so much for all the hospitality!

I went to bed warm and cozy.

Day 52

No real miles

I slept so so well. It was amazing. Upon waking up I was offered breakfast. I enjoyed some yummy Shredded Wheat with honey. I packed up and thanked everyone. Julie hugged me and wished me well.
I texted Lily and Matt early. I didn't really know when to expect to hear from them. I headed toward town and explored some more. I hung out at the library for a bit. I found a State Park. It said the camping was full. I would wait to see if it was still full later. I didn't know if I would be seeing the gang this day or the next one. I really enjoyed my day in the town relaxing, even napping in a local park. I did feel a bit like a bum, but at least I had clean clothes.

I heard from Lily around 5. The Flaming Wheels High-Line Bicycle Gang would be riding into town the next day. I headed out to the Whitefish Lake State Park. It still said that the camp was full. As I'd been lucky many other times, I headed down the road to the park. When I arrived, I was assured the regular camping was full. However, they had a hike/bike site. Sweet! It was only $7. I headed down to my site. I was next to a family of adults. They were kind. I set up on my tent on the gravel covered site. I headed down to the lake. The water was cold and I opted out of swimming. But I did enjoy the views. The cheapest camp sites always seem to have the best views.

The gravel site turned out to be really comfortable. I passed out early to the sound on a train clinking and clattering nearby.

Day 50

89 miles

Despite getting up earlier than 7 it was after 9 before we all set out for the day. The ride started down a beautifully steep hill. There's nothing like a little pinch of adrenaline to start the day. The ride wasn't hard from there. It was a slow climb to higher elevations. I barely noticed the climbs. I was of course far behind the other three in my group. The gap was especially large because we didn't come to a town and store 34 miles. Our stops were usually only 20 or so miles apart. This doubled the gap. My gang was waiting nearly half hour before I caught up with them.

The town was on a reservation. The signs of poverty were everywhere. Aside from the very touristy facade that you encountered on the main strip the town was a bit rough. The main strip provided tourists with a sense of the west and set them up for the National Parks. Most people probably had no idea what was behind the souveneir shops and gas stations. We encountered a few shady characters that asked a few too many questions to make any of us comfortable. We were going to go to the library but rode past it when we were chased by some fierce looking dogs nearby.

We did however find a Post Office. Lily and I both shipped off a good ten pounds of gear. I was trying to lighten my load before I tackled the mountains. Also I was becoming aware of how difficult it would be to travel back by plane with all the gear I was carrying. I sent back as much gear as I thought I could spare and that would fit in the flat rate box I had decided to use. Incidentally, I saved quite a bit of money. The postal worker took pleasure in telling me how much I had saved.

We all ate together. We joked around a bit before I said my "I'll see you soons".They were still pressuring me to ride to them. I can't say I wasn't tempted. Nonetheless, I parted ways with the gang.

The sky was hazy. I heard people talking of a forest fire somewhere nearby. The was a slight amount of drizzle at one point as well. The temperatures were cooler as well. I had a goal of another 50 miles. This was a rather ambitious goal considering it was already 3 pm. But it wasn't long before I was climbing big hills and glimpses of the Rockies. Even with the hazy sky I could feel their beauty standing above me and all around me.

I rolled into a very very touristy village about 6 pm. I debated long and hard before deciding to continue on. I was worried I wouldn't find anywhere to safely camp before dark.
I must have had a tail wind because I thought the climbing would be much harder. In fact I honestly thought I was losing elevation for quite a bit of the ride. And before I knew it, I was at Marias Pass. I was at the highest point of elevation I would have to travel that day. I had been slowly climbing higher and higher for the previous two days. And suddenly, here I was at the Continental Divide. My fear of the rest of the mountains quickly disipated.
It was after 7 at this point. I was 25 miles from where I was aiming to camp. It would be dark soon enough. I talked with a mountain biker about the terrain ahead. It was of course all down hill. I rolled down the mountain at a leisurely 18-25mph. I stopped when I wanted. I took in the mountains.
I was glad I was by myself for this ride. I enjoyed some quiet moments of reverance. I breathed the air. I felt the cool air on my skin. I looked at the towering rock around me. I listened to sounds of nature. And I listened to the sounds of man's creation. A train clanked along the side of the mountains. The metal on metal echoed out and created a chorus that sounded like tinkling crystal. It was a beautiful song. I listened to it until the train had faded down the mountainside.
I felt a tear or two. I was overwhelmed with appreciation for the beauty around me.

I reached the place I hoped to camp. They were closed. But I knocked on the door to the home of the owners. They told me they were full up and closed, but when they realized I was on bike they offered me a spot on the far side of the campground. The gentleman told me, it would cost me though. I said okay. And he offered me the more than fair price of free. He reached out to shake my hand. We agreed on the price of free. We did shake on it. I thanked him and set up camp.

I talked to the owners adult son for a bit. He had the usually curiousity about my trip.

I ate a quick meal and settled in for sleep. I was filled with humility and gratitude.
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few thousand that I can't begin express.

The Rockie Mountains in Montana.

that sign always made me very happy