Explored Whitefish, Montana Today

Bright and early this morning, bike man and I explored Whitefish Lake by car. Couldn't believe the expensive homes and ranches around this beautiful lake. Lots of big money around here!

After breakfast at the Montana Coffee Traders, we went back to the motel. The bike man cleaned and lubed our mountain bikes so we could take an exploring ride around Whitefish.

Heard on the local news last night that the Disney train would be in Whitefish for the kick-off of the Disney movie "Christmas Carol" featuring Jim Carey. How cool is that?

Lots of families (children) waiting to go inside the inflatable Disney movie house that showed a preview of the movie.

We rode around the city of Whitefish and saw lots of fun shops, eating establishments and these two patient dogs waiting for their owner to come back from wherever. After I took this picture, the dog on the right started growling and barking at me. He did not like the fact that I was taking their picture. The black lab was very laid back and mellow.

Hey, I found the Whitefish Public Library. I'm jealous!!! Didn't go inside, but I'm sure its a beautiful library. I could tell the community of Whitefish supports public library service.

We stumbled across the public beach area on Whitefish Lake. Decided to take a little sitting break and enjoy the beach & water. The temperatures were comfortable today...alittle clouds and lots of sunshine. No rain!

Even the bike man relaxed alittle before heading back to our motel.

I really enjoyed the beach area. After leaving the lake, we headed back into the business district and enjoyed a nice iced latte. Next to the coffeeshop was a pottery shop where the bike man bought four pottery chili bowls.

Now it's time to go do laundry and eat a little dinner. Hope to get a good nights rest since tomorrow night we will be camping at the Whitefish High School. I'm excited about meeting all the fellow bikers along on this trip.

Whitefish, Montana....the Mountain Chalet

We decided to motel-it in Whitefish since we've had rainy conditions the last two days. We were also wanting a nice hot shower! Here's a picture looking out our motel door.

We had a few hours of sunshine late this afternoon, so the bike man and I enjoyed some time just sitting outside.

PS. Whitefish is very bicycle friendly....cyclist everywhere. Mostly touring road cyclists and mountain bikers.

Going-To-The-Sun-Highway...Glacier National Park, MT

Prince of Wales Lodge in Waterton Lake's National Park (Alberta, Canada)

A cyclist riding on the Going-to-the-Sun-Highway mid morning, however, probably not good timing since the traffic was getting heavy by 11 am.

Photo taken looking off the side of the road and down.

Yes, we've been seeing wildlife....here is a Colombian Ground Squirrel. Also saw, a young moose, a mountain goat, and lots of Mule Deer.

We stopped on top of Logan Pass to check out the view. I believe the elevation was around 6,646 ft. Very strange to still see snow in July, but the temperature on top of Logan Pass must have been in the low to mid 40's. Was cold enough for a jacket!

Off to the right you can see the highway as it follows along the mountain cliffs. The sights and views were amazing today, a little scary but beautiful as well.

My daughter told me about all the water falls along the roadway and she was right. The mountain streams are so clear and so clean. I love it (yes, it's God's country).

Waterfalls everywhere you look, big and small. I had a lot of fun today just sightseeing and taking in the beauty of Glacier National Park. For many years I've wanted to come here....and here I am. It's like a dream for me. Despite the cool temperatures, rain and clouds, it's well worth all the miles that we had to drive to get here.

Hope you like my pictures!

We Made It

We made it! The first night we made it to Minot, North Dakota and the second day we drove through Montana on highway 2 and crossed the Canadian border into Alberta and camped at Wateron Lakes National Park. The Rocky mountains in this part of southern Canada are gorgeous.

We are camping very light...just a tent, sleeping bags, mattresses and a pillow. No cooking or food this time, so we are eating fast food (that gets old real fast) and buying small snacks. Just today I found a "real" coffeehouse....thank heavens because I haven't had a strong cup of java for days now and my body has been rebelling!

As we headed out on the first day (Tuesday) we stopped in Zimmerman, MN to visit our daughter, who is living with S & A this summer. A was so gracious and made a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies, a pot of coffee and also served us fresh cherries. What a wonderful mid morning breakfast! I'm so thankful our daughter is living with a wonderful couple this summer and is making Becca feel part of their family. After we said good-bye, we hit the road....we hit it hard! Drove until 8:30 pm that night.

Somewhere in Montana....it all looked the same to me. Near Shelby, MT we started seeing lots of trains. It's a very active train area near Shelby, kind of like all the train activity you see along the Mississippi River, but only more.

Today we are headed back south across the US border and down to Whitefish, MT. Hoping for a shower tonight as we haven't showered since Tuesday morning! I really need a shower.

Weather has been cool, like upper 60's to 70. Rained on us yesterday in the mountains, also very windy here. Should start warming up by this weekend.

PS. Bought a couple Butter Tarts this morning. Canada loves these little sweet pastries....I do too!

Last Day of Work

Hello Kitty!

Enjoyed my ride to work and back home. Was a little miffed however when my helmet mirror fell off as I was going across the Tainter Lake bridge. Of course a car was coming up from behind me. When I had a chance to turn around and go back and get it, I thought for sure the car had driven over it, but luckily it was unharmed. Then my bike computer started zeroing out on me so I couldn't get a pulse rate to register while riding. My husband put a new battery in my chest strap when I got home tonight so hopefully that will do the trick.

Busy day at work trying to do last minutes stuff. I think I will head to bed early tonight so I can be all rested and ready to get up early tomorrow morning.

The bags are almost packed and ready to go.

Montana's Bike Itinerary

Whitefish, Montana....courtesy of Flickr

This photo will help you visualize what type of cycling my husband and I will be doing. This is the dirty, muddy, dusty kind of biking I use to do 10 years ago. I'm a little nervous because my mountain bike skills have stiffened over the years, but this trip shouldn't prove to be too technical as far as the off-road trails are concerned (I hear my husband laughing in the background)! There will be a few areas of rocky, muddy trails, and maybe some steep descents, but hey, nothing says I can't abort off my bicycle when I start to feel shaky or have lack of confidence. There's nothing worse than lack of confidence when you're mountain biking. I'll just try to put my mind-frame back into those days of mountain bike racing and just try not to grip the handle bars too hard!!!!!!

So here's the itinerary:

We take off driving on Tuesday July 7, through Minnesota into North Dakota and into Montana. We have 5 1/2 days to get there before the trip meeting and dinner. As of now we have no real plans, but will just do some sight-seeing for an extra day or two in and around Whitefish. We will be camping right away to get our bodies acclimated to sleeping on the ground in our tent. This isn't a trip for the soft-harded! My one luxurgy is a inflatable pillow my husband bought me when we first started taking bike trips down to Southern Wisconsin. He was tired of hearing my whining and complaining about a sore neck and body. I'm hoping we can have one night in a motel during the bike trip so I can take a private hot shower! Otherwise, showers will be in the campgrounds.

Oh, forgot to mention this is a fully supported trip where Adventure Cycling crew will carry your gear and cater the meals and snacks. That's a first for me since we've always been self-contained on our other bike trips in Wisconsin.

Day 1 Saturday July 11 Whitefish, Montana

Mid afternoon registration and then group meeting and finally a gorging kind of meal! Yippee

Day 2 Sunday July 12 Whitefish to Big Fork 44 miles

Most of the day's ride will be paved and flat, but some gravel sections included.

Day 3 Monday July 13 Big Fork to Condon 62 miles

Scenic and challenging day. Mostly dirt Forest Service roads with lots of climbs!

Day 4 Tuesday July 14 Condon to Seeley Lake 44 miles

Starts out on pavement, goes to Forest Service roads with a short section of single-track after passing by Holland Lake. Get ready for a fun downhill and some rolling terrain.

Day 5 Wednesday July 15 Seeley Lake - Layover Day 0 miles

We rest in a small mountain town. Lots of fun stuff to do like hiking, lake swimming, or go walk around and take in espresso cafes, ice cream shops, antique stores etc. Options to ride on the fun single-track trails around town.

Day 6 Thursday July 16 Seeley Lake to Lincoln 67 miles

This will be the real scenic mountain pass to mountain pass day on mostly Forest Service roads. A nice downhill into Lincoln. Lunch will be served along the Blackfoot River.

Day 7 Friday July 17 Lincoln to Divide Crossing and back (shuttle to Whitefish) 35 miles

We will ride up to the Continental Divide via Poorman Creek and Stemple Pass...some incredible views! After the long climb, its a coast back into Lincoln. The shuttle departs at 2 pm from Lincoln back to Whitefish arriving around 6 pm.

Day 8 & 9 Back to Wisconsin....hope to be home by July 19th, or possibly July 20th