Author: Greg Pezoldt

Today, there was no putting off riding to Wast Glacier. But not until Joe and I went out for breakfast.

The weather wasn’t perfect but it wasn’t supposed to rain so off I went right at noon. The route was good since I did not ride on the Hwy. And when I did get to the Hwy, there was a nice bike path that paralleled it. Sweet.

The park service was striping the roads so they had long lines of traffic stopped right at the gate to the park. For this reason, they did not charge park admission.

I took a swing through the Apgar campground which is the first campground as you come in. I was looking to see if any other cyclists were there. I didn’t see any. Plus it was my plan to ride further up the road to Sprague Creek CG anyway. I wanted to get as far up the road as possible to shorten tomorrow’s ride up to Logan Pass.

Next I went to the visitor’s center to get the lowdown on riding up the Pass. They gave me the same information that Matt had given me two days earlier. That the roads would be closed at Avalanche Creek to vehicles but bikes and hikers could go 8 miles up the road to the “Loop”. Then we would wait for the park road crew to finish their work for the day and they would open the upper gate. It was an ideal situation even thought I did not plan it that way and it was plain luck it was going to play out that way.

At Sprague Ck, there were two other cyclists there so it was fun to share stories with them. They were going in different directions than me so I would not see them after tonight. I went to sleep that night thinking of nothing else besides the climb tomorrow.

Someone we met had said we were going to have 4 days of sunny weather. He was wrong. Natalie and had planned to ride into the park but not until later in the morning. So we went to breakfast. The sky was already clouding up so I thought I would give it until noon to see if it was going to rain. It did!

Natalie decided to take off for the park since she was going to meet some friends. I decided to take a rest day instead so it was the end of the fellowship of riding together. Natalie was a really fantastic riding partner. Most of all, I never heard her complain about a single thing. Not hills, not rain, not even hail storms. I really do wish her the best and that she finds some new riding partners.

The rest of my day was spent catching up with Joe. He says he is getting antsy for some new adventures and maybe doing something altogether different. It was fun talking with him about all of the possibilities that are out there. I feel certain that he will figure it out and it will be exciting.

The weather is going to be better tomorrow so I am almost sure I will be back riding tomorrow. Glacier National Park and the Rocky Mountains await.

The day started rudely. The city park in Eureka had a sign that the sprinklers came on at 7:30AM. We were assured by a fellow camper that the sprinklers had not come on the previous day. Well, the sprinklers did not come on at 7:30. They came on at 5:30!!! This was a major bummer since the day was sunny and we could have packed the tents up dry. Oh well.

We did let the tents dry as much as possible before we left. We started on a nice side road which let us skip an 11 mile section of Hwy 93 which was great. We did encounter some road congestion, Montana style. A herd of cattle decided to cross right in front of us. I gave them a wide berth after remembering a similar encounter my friend Matt had when a cow took issue with his bike and trampled it into submission. Yes, a wide berth indeed.

We eventually had to return to Hwy 93 and had to ride on it for about 30 miles. We took a lunch break in Stryker, MT population 26! There wasn’t much there but they did have a Post Office which is where we had lunch.

About 6 miles past Olney, we again were able to finally get off the Hwy again. The back road into Whitefish was nice and we had the added benefit of running into some local cyclists. Matt and Anise gave us the low down on Glacier Park and cycling over Logan Pass.

Once in Whitefish, we ran a few errands. Then we headed to my friend Joe Lichatowich’s house where we were going to stay at, get a shower, and wash clothes. The shower at Joe’s House was FANTASTIC! Almost a religious experience. OK maybe that is an exaggeration but it really was great.

We went to dinner at Bonzai, a local brewery. Good food and better beer. And then a good nights sleep….. not in a tent or sleeping bag.

The morning brought the prospect of rain with it. Linus and Katie never showed in the campground the previous day so Natalie and I were on our own again today. We were ready to ride ride at 9:00 when Natalie noticed she had developed a flat tire over night. She replaced her tube and we again were ready to ride….. at 9:30.

Today had the potential to be a harder day than the previous few. We were expecting more hills and that proves to be true. Our progress along Lake Koocanusa was slow but steady. It was overcast with occasional drizzle and a developing headwind. But the promise of little traffic was also true. it took a while to travel the remaining 37 miles of USFS 228 but we made it fine. After a total of 47 miles we had encountered exactly 16 cars and 2 motorcycles.

We stopped in Rexford briefly to get some water and I also had a coca-cola. Then it was on for the last 8 miles into Eureka. We got here at 4:00. We camped in the city park with a couple of other cyclists who are traveling the Continental Divide Mountain Bike route. And I thought my bike was heavy! I am not complaining anymore.

Natalie and I had dinner at the Front Porch restaurant. Normally I wouldn’t mention dinner but the Eureka burger is worth a mention. It is sausage and shrimp on a regular hamburger. It was awesome I have to admit. If you ever get to Eureka, give it a try. Mmmm.

Tomorrow it is on to Whitefish. Glacier National Park is coming up real fast and our thoughts center on the big climb up Logan Pass 6664 feet high and the continental divide. But is a story for another day.

Leaving camp around 9:00 Natalie and I set out ahead of Linus and Katie hoping see them in Libby, Mt for lunch.

After about 14 miles we were sorry to have to turn off of Hwy 56. We turned onto US Hwy 2 and followed the Kootenai River. We stopped to see the Kootenai Falls which were impressive. After a good lunch in Libby we headed out on Hwy 37 towards Eureka. We continued along the Kootenai River and the day was proving to be another fantastic day of riding. As we got close to the Kootenai dam we had to make a choice on whether to stay on Hwy 37 or to take the west side road option of Forest Service rd 228. USFS 228 was promised to have little to no traffic but was longer and more hills. We did not hesitate to take 228. We had to climb above the dam but reached our campground without further difficulty. It was the McGillivray campground located on Lake Koocanusa. Lake Koocanusa gets its name from Koo(tenai Tribe)- Can(ada)- Usa (as in USA).

Put another nice day of cycling in the books.

We had a relaxed start to the day. We left our campground at 9:30. Linus and Katie like to stop a lot it seems so we only covered 7 miles by 11:00. We finally got on track after that and got some miles in. We had an option on roads to take just outside of Clark Fork, Idaho. We chose the Heron Rd option since it promised less traffic. It was a good choice…. for Idaho. After about 10 miles we came to the Montana border. We were met at the Montana line with a gravel surfaced road. Not exactly what we were expecting. I proceeded slowly and cautiously with my narrow-ish tires. Luckily, the gravel ended after 2 miles and we were back on pavement.

We took a turn onto hwy 56 which followed the Bull River. It was stunningAnd to my brother Jim, it looks to have some fishing potential too. It is a good looking meadow stream.

Hwy 56 embodies what bike touring is about. Nice scenery, low traffic, and a moderate grade to the road. WOW! It was a nice 50 mile day and we all felt really good at the end of it all.

We camped along Bull Lake and I mean right on the lake shore. A truly great camp site.

After sleeping at the Bonner’s Ferry fairgrounds, I rode the Sandpoint bus back to town. Natalie was going to be checking out the city for the morning so I met up with her. I checked in with the bike shop and everything was in motion for getting the ole Fuji back together.

After lunch, Natalie hit the road heading for a campground on Lake Pend Oreille. I would see if I could make it but it would depend on when my bike was finished and the weather which was a bit unsettled.

My bike was done at 2:45! The guys at Greasy Fingers Bike Shop in Sandpoint deserve a medal for their work. I still had to get back to the fairgrounds to take down my camp but got out of town at 5:00. I road pretty fast (or as fast as the heavy beast would go). I got to the Sam Owen camp ground around 6:30 and found Natalie on the Skipping Stone Loop. At the campground, the neighboring campers, Larry and Paula offered left over hotdogs to me which sounded better than cooking some pasta.

So I ended up riding about 15 miles in the evening thus “Day 14” instead of “Rest Day 2”.

Right at dusk a couple riders showed up. Linus and Katie were bound for Maine too so it looked like more partners to ride with.

It was great to get the bike back together and be on the road again. I hope the troubles are behind me now.

Note: if you have not read Day13- Preface, please do so first.

The started out really good. Sunny, cool but not cold temperatures, little to no wind, gently rolling terrain, nice scenery through the evergreen forest along the Priest River. Nearly perfect.

We would cross into Idaho today. It would now be an interstate tour. It took all of 0.65 miles of riding to get to the Idaho border.

We were only going to ride 30 miles today to Sandpoint. I was going to visit a bike shop and have my chain replaced since I was having trouble shifting gears due to the less than lateral stiffness of my current chain. About mile 12 it happened. The crunching noise only a cyclist knows when his chain is wrapping itself around the derailleur and getting caught up in the wheel. My bike came to a very sudden stop. The chain was bound up I had to take the wheel off, remove one of the derailleur pulleys, and tug with all of my might to free the chain. Mission accomplished. Once the wheel was back on the bike, the second problem became apparent. The wheel had been badly tweaked. So bad it would not spin without rubbing on the chain stays.

I tried opening the brakes, but still no go. I resorted to actually removing the rear brake pads altogether. That did the trick, the the wheeled wobbled so bad it looked I was riding a clown bike. But on we went.

After about 8 more miles the bike again seized up again. This time, the rear derailleur exploded. We found most of the parts but needed a small bolt to assemble it again. We could not find it anywhere on the Road. Natalie had some extra parts and one screw had the right threads to jury rig it back together. But I ended up breaking a few spokes this time. One spoke actually pulled through the wheel rim. The wheel was now unfixable. But on we went.

About 5 miles from Sandpoint, the derailleur exploded again. We found the parts but I was only going to be able ride one gear into town. Amazingly, I made it. The bike is now in the bike shop getting a new chain. And a new rear wheel, a new rear derailleur, a new rear cassette, a new front triple chain ring (so long Biopace), and a new bottom bracket.

The good news is the new wheel will be much stronger than the original with 36 spokes instead of the original 32.

Tomorrows agenda is uncertain. I think the bike will be ready mid afternoon so I am not sure if I will ride or not.

I am camped at the fairgrounds which I got to by public transit. For free.

It was still a good day.

It was always my plan to replace my chain in Sandpoint. Really, it was!

We woke up to blue skies again this morning, but we weren’t to be fooled by that again!

We got a pretty early start today. We were looking forward to a fairly flat 50 mile to Newport along the Pend Oreille River (pronounced Ponderay). The weather started mostly sunny, but a cold wind. The profile was pretty flat which was fantastic after all of the climbing over the last 5 days.

About 11:00 we stopped for a roadside lunch. My lunches are typically peanut butter and jam on a bagel. We had an overlook of a large field adjacent to the river. And we saw a moose crossing the field. That was great since Natalie wanted to see some wildlife besides deer (we also saw a wild turkey with a baby chick this morning too).

Later that afternoon, we ran into the group that had helped us yesterday. They were 3 men hand cycling across the country. Two were vets and the other had most likely suffered a non military spinal cord injury. They were flying along on the flats but understandably were slow on the climbing sections. They had family support to carry gear and help with the inevitable flat tire and what not. They were a great group of fellow cyclists and that is how they wanted to be thought of. But inspirational to me. They are talking about Fairbanks to La Paz next year. I will try to get their blog info so we can follow them too.

Back to business now, we pulled into Newport before 3:00. We got our tents set up, I had a few long hot shower and bought some food at the Safeway. And guess what? It started raining! Not bad though.

So far, I estimate that I have pedaled about 650-660 miles. All across the state of Washington. But that changes tomorrow.