Eureka! It's Mail Drop Day!!

7.23 - Eureka, MT (Mail Drop) - 64

Today was mail drop day!   Duncan went to pick up packages and noted that they needed a dolly to haul out stuff.

Many thanks to my sister Amanda for rocking my care package.  Lots of treats, a fun game we played as kids...and chamois butter - my best friend!

Rest Days are the Best Days - Whitefish

7/22 - Whitefish - 0 miles

We camped just across the bridge from downtown Whitefish.  Our site was adjacent to the lake - a refreshing way to cool off and relax.

Whitefish is very active and a cute mountain town with lots of shops and eateries.

No service project for us - just a day to do laundry, get a massage and hang out.

I really loved this town and look forward to returning someday with Ben.

Logan Pass...Take 2

7/21 - Logan Pass to Agpar - 30 miles + Agpar to Whitefish - 35 miles

One thing I forgot to mention about my flat on the ascent to Logan Pass was that it put me in a three way tie for most flats on the trip - 11 - with Ron and Bethany...

I did get my wish that Monday morning...I would be dropped at the Logan Pass parking lot so that I could pick up where I left off the day before...and I could finish the Going to the Sun Road. Since the van was going up anyway, I was joined by 7 other riders who wanted to descend again.  The hope was that conditions would be much better than the day before.  Due to the rain and weather the previous day, the descent was treacherous and the scenery was mostly masked by clouds and fog.  Also, we were hoping for less traffic given that it was a Monday.

Thanks to Skylar for fixing my spoke so I could descend with confidence.

The ride from camp to the top took about an hour and 15 minutes.  On the way up, music was blaring and spirits were high.

As the van climbed toward Logan Pass, we were on the outside lane...the one with a two foot rock wall separating us from the sheer drop offs to the valley below.  The scenery was vast and AMAZING....Ryan drove and was very chill with one hand on the wheel while he scoped out the scenery to our right.  I tried really hard to ignore the inner voice that kept screaming 'Keep your eyes on the road!!!!''  I have a crazy fear of heights and my heart was racing.

I was so thankful that we would descend going west...with the mountain to our right side...which means that losing control of my bike could likely mean that I bump into the mountain - instead of flying over the two foot stone wall and careening to my death...(queue hyperventilation)

Anyway, we made it to the top, stopped for pics and began the descent.

I was on my brakes a bit..so probably floated down in the mid 20's at best.  The experience of sailing down the Going to the Sun Road was awe-inspiring.   As I gazed at the scenery...firmly planted in the right lane...on the mountain side...the 'safer' side...I felt as if my heart would burst.  I did not stop for pictures until the sheer drop offs subsided - they would not have done the AMAZING views justice anyway.

This descent would be a top 5 travel experience for me for sure.   Others in the top 5 (in no particular order) : scuba diving in the Cenotes of Mexico, snorkeling off Cancun while a hurricane of thousands of neon blue fish swirled below, walking into the Vatican as the sun streamed in on a July morning and rocking to sleep under the stars on the deck of a small sailboat in Tahiti...

I am grateful for my flat tire on the ascent...because it allowed me to descend in near ideal conditions - the highlight of our trip cross country!

Once we left Glacier park, we rolled on to Whitefish to complete our day's ride and settle in for a rest day the next day...

Going to the Rain Road

7/20 - St Mary, MT to Agpar, MT - 50 miles

Most of us went to breakfast at St Mary's Lodge that day.  After we finished, I procrastinated by going window shopping at a few gift shops.
In reality, I wanted to climb by myself.  I just wanted to be able to compare my experience to my last sustained climbing experience in the Applachians and Adirondacks.... without measuring myself against anyone else.  I was also reminded of the book 'Wild' that I had just read - I completely understood why the heroine wanted to hike certain sections of the PCT alone - to prove something to herself. Note: I highly recommend that book!

Anyway, I picked up a new wind breaker while I looked around in town and it was a good thing because I would definitely need it later that day.
The day's mileage would be 50 miles...which included 19 miles from camp to the top of Logan Pass.  As I started the Going to the Sun Road, it was 12 miles to the top.  I saw a sign - 'Rough road next 9 miles',   I chuckled to myself...would it be a rough road?  What about the last three miles?

I soon found that construction season was in full effect.  The next 9 miles would be a mix of dirt and gravel for the ascent.  Thankfully, the descent on the other side would be fully paved.

I got a flat tire and broke a spoke just as I reached the end of St Mary's Lake.  Breaking a spoke is bad because it typically causes a wheel to go out of alignment - so when it spins, it could drag on the brakes pads and be unstable...possibly dangerous to ride.

I had no cell service at this point.

A couple pulled up to take pictures and I asked if they had any tape...which they did..,so I taped the broken spoke to another spoke and then started to work on the flat tire.  Initially I patched the tube, but when I went to inflate, it was no good, so I replaced the bad tube with a new tube from my bag.

While I was fixing my flat, a self contained biker named Roberta stopped to chat and give me a hand. She was from Hawaii and was currently completing her second crossing of the Continental Divide trail.

After we fixed the flat, we mounted the wheel and spun it to see if it was true..it was!
So I wished Roberta well and was on my way.

Two minutes later it started to rain.

This rain would stay with me to the top of Logan Pass.....bbrrrrrr....glad I brought that wind breaker!

The climb itself was not bad at all.  It was different that our climbs out east because the grade was less harsh : 3-8% vs the 5-16% from our first weeks.  I felt strong and enjoyed the climb - even despite the rain and my mechanical troubles.

When I finally got to the top of Logan Pass, I bumped into Justin and Andy.  They told me the van had already left, so I told them that I wasn't comfortable descending with my spoke issue and that I would take a shuttle down to camp (did I mention that I had no cell service that day and had no way to call our van even if I wanted to???)

Given that the next day was only 30 miles, I would see if I could get a ride to the Logan Pass parking lot so I could pick up where I left off...and make it a 60 mile day.

I shuttled down with my bike in the rack on the front on the Glacier Park van...and managed to get some good picks...a preview for my future descent.