ManifestDestiny2010Redux

6/19 Up to Glacier

We woke and packed our stuff.Pete and Aidan headed out a bit early to catch the rays and chill. We rode out along Route 35 which would take us along the east side of Flathead Lake. On the way north I stopped and visited my Cousin Tina and her family at her house. Goody Will and I rode North until we found Flathead Lake Brewing Company, where I put back two beers and we got back on the bikes. The Porter and IPA combo made me sluggish on the ride and we soon stopped for food and rest in BigFork?. We ate Mexican Food and then I took a nap in the sun as Goody played the Uke. Alcohol and riding do not mix well for me. We started riding again on the sunny day and stopped got some Mountain Dew Throwbacks (all natural sugar FYI) and took Montana Hwy 200 north. We rode fast on the narrow rode and soon hooked back up with Route 2.We climbed a bit through the foothills of the Park and excitedly approached West Glacier. At West Glacier we stocked up on some food and then rode into the park where we found a nice bike path that lead us to the busy Apgar Campground. We grabbed the disc and went and chilled on the beautiful Lake McDonald before going to bed.

I left Polson with a more legit back rack set up.

Riding Along Flathead Lake

Pete

Aidan

Short Bike Path in Glacier National Park

Lake MacDonald

Feasting at Apgar Campground

6/18 Rest Day in Polson

We did some major resting and recuperating in Polson. After purchasing my ukulele in Moscow and riding in the rain I discovered I needed to find a new setup for my gear. I had my aunt ship home a few books (sorry almanac) and by non-waterproof back sack that slides onto my rack so that I could close my panniers all the way and I put my sleeping pad and uke on my rack with bungees. ). One of the books I shipped back that I hadn't used was the Five Tibetans by Christopher Kilham. The Five Tibetans is a series of five dynamic exercises that only take a few minutes to do and make you feel amazing. I do it all the time now and have to give it a plug. It is a great workout to incorporate to bike touring. We all did laundry, which was a major score after a rainy day. We watched world cup soccer, played some ukulele and ate lots of food. We tried to fix a neighbors walmart bike but it was too spaint. We talked to my cousins Tina's husband Bernie who informed us that North Dakota usually has a strong westerly wind. But that in his days flying back from North Dakota he has experienced the occasional tailwind. Aidan went on a ride over to see some dam. I rode to the hardware store bought some bungies, went back to the Safeway, bought a case of Big Sky Brewing Variety Pack and carried it with me back to the house. We drank some good Montana Beer and ate heartily. I felt very American.

Repair Station

Goody and Pete do laundry.

My Uncle Gary and Aunt Susan

Goody plays the Uke

Aidan biked out to some dam

Some dam and a tree

6/17 A long ride into Polson

We awoke to a gray day and made our way into the town of Thompson Falls, where we ate at the local diner. We found Carrie and Ashley who had chosen to take the Thompson Falls road the night before. We told of our epic adventure the night before and said goodbye as they were heading to Missoula and taking there own route the rest of the way back to New York. We hoped we would see them again. We ate some great grub and saw Wayne's Wife at the local breakfast stop Minnie's (I think, maybe Mother Lode). We continued on to the local hardware store where I bought some gloves and socks. Wayne showed up in the store with Will's Iphone that he had left in the Cabin. Score! We said one last goodbye to our friend and then went outside to meet a new one. Aidan; Pete's cousin who finished up his last classes at UC Santa Cruz and then was driven out by his parents to meet us. He was ready to ride the rest of the way to New York with us. And what a perfect day to start. Aidan sported a 1970s 10 speed Univega which probably couldn't have handled Coopers Pass. But it was ready for Rt 200 through Plains and Paradise and the serene landscape of Western Montana! We rode down the valley along the Clarks Fork River a bit weary from the night before but lively in spirit from our fortitude and new companionship. I remember admiring how colorful all the rocks were in this region. Not your normal boring black and gray side of the road gravel but lots of color. We stopped for some burgers in Plains where we first able to witness Aidan's ability to talk to other human beings. We rode and rode along the river all the way down to Dixon where we turned north on the 212. We were a bit haggard at this point and daylight was running late. Aidan decided to take it at his own pace and we forged on ahead. A random dude stopped and told us we could stay at his trailer park but we were on a mission to Polson. But we started north on the busy US 93 as the sun went down. It was a tough ride made no more fun with all the traffic, but luckily we found a bike path that took us the rest of the way into Polson where we found my Uncle Gary and Aunt Susan's home. We ate hamburgers and waited anxiously for Aidan who showed up an hour an a half later. Aidan's Dad had a sixth sense moment and sensed his son was in trouble and found him on the road 5 miles outside of Polson. Aidan was all good though and we made sure he ate a lot after he arrived and then we all went to bed.

The Clarks Fork River

Cars are even less fun in the Rain

The rest of the ride was long, we were a little spaint from the day before. But we made it.

6/16 Cooper's Pass

We woke up and cooked pancakes over an open flame and discovered that a raccoon had torn a hole in our boxed wine. We used the restrooms at the park facilities, and spotted a very attractive grandma jogger, and made our way back onto the trail of the Coeur d'Alene and burned some sweet grass. We crossed Chatcolet bike bridge and road along the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene.

"We took the advice of a friendly Ranger on the Trail and stoped in the Snake Pit in Enaville. In the Old Brothel we warmed up on Hot Buttered Rum and filled our stomaches. As we met a friendly dog, we name Aslan, who followed us for a few miles down the path. I don't think I have ever seen a happier dog as he trotted beside us."

Our original plan was to take the Couer d'Alene river Road up to Thompson Pass from Enanville but Will looked on his Iphone and found a "shorter" route that had us staying on the bike path for longer. I was cautious and voted against the new route and Pete agreed with me. Will and Goody wanted to take the new route so we tossed a coin to see which way we would take. Fate lead us down the new route so we got back on the bike path which now followed I-90 and was less scenic than before. We took Idaho 4 from Wallace, ID (the Center of the Universe) over the Couer D'Alene Mountains, the northernmost part of the Bitterroot range. We travelled up Burke Canyon, home of silver mine wars back in the late 19th century. We went past old ghost towns of Woodland Park, Webb, Gem, Frisco,Black Bear, Burke, and Mace, which featured a few old homes and barking dogs. Burke Canyon is very narrow and the Tiger Hotel in Burke has a stream, a road and a railroad that runs through it. We found a sign that warned that the road was closed for bridge repair. We decided to go on ahead and see if the road was still passable and were happy to discover that the closed bridge was in fact a very passable two foot wide wooden bridge over a bubbling mountain creek. The road soon sloped up to over 10% grade with many large rocks jutting out of the dirt. Finding a passable route through the rocky maze was an all consuming mental task. It was the most challenging riding I have done. It was an extreme effort to maintain in my lowest gear riding out of the saddle. The bumpy ride ripped one of my panniers and caused Pete to snap a chain. Soon the road leveled out and we checked our physical map and discovered we were headed up Cooper's Pass 5802 ft. At the snake pit earlier we had failed to recognize that the "shorter" route included this pass instead of Thompsons Pass 4852 ft. We had no option but to press forward as night approached. The road remained passable until the very top where we hiked through the snow. We geared up and descended in the night on roads with over a 17% decline. We had to stop to give our hands a rest from braking so much and let our rims cool down. We made it back to Thompson Pass Road with 15 miles to ride to the town. We rode silently for 7 miles without seeing a car until we saw the neon lights of a bar, the Wild Coyote, where we stopped for some comfort. We walked and in and were delightedly greeted by the proprietor Wayne and a business man from Texas with his wife. We drank merrily and impressed the locals and visitors alike with our insane biking feats. The businessman assured us that cap and trade works but what Obama wants to do isn't cap and trade. He was very adamant about this. He promised us a Power Point if we were interested. We talked with Wayne the proprietor and local sage, his wife(whose name escapes me), and the bartender on many topics including American history, the meaning of life, and using everyday herbs to increase vitality and treat diseases including cancer. Wayne owned a trailer park across the street and allowed us to stay the night. It was one of the craziest days off my life.

Aliens are here

Will reads, Dan is confused, Pete smiles.

I retrieve the sweet grass from my bike. We had received the sweet grass as a gift the previous day and were told by a Couer D'Alene tribesman to burn it each day for good luck. It seemed to work.

Riding over Lake Chatcolet

This is not the best way to waterproof a pannier. n00b.

We ate at the Snake Pit in Enaville

We met a dog and named him Aslan outside the Snake Pit. He ran with us for a long while until we had to leave him behind. It seemed like he wanted to follow us the rest of the way.