Biking to Minnesota

 I splurged on a hotel last night and found one with laundry facilities. That allowed me to wash both sets of biking clothes, meaning no more hand-washing of clothes for this trip, since I only had two biking days left. Yay! With only 95 miles left, I knew I didn’t have to get a lot of miles in today, so I slept in, enjoyed two cups of coffee this morning in addition to the free breakfast, and got rolling about 9:30. I made it 50 miles to Monticello, intending to camp, but I found out that the “Oaks on the River” campground is for Xcel employees and their guests only. Xcel runs the nuclear power plant in Monticello, and the campground is right across the river from it. Perhaps they’re paranoid. So I splurged one last time, checking into the Days Inn in town.

 It was a beautiful day today. A steady breeze from the southeast unfortunately slowed my progress, but I used the “slow and steady” approach to get 70 miles farther down the trail (called the “Lake Wobegon Regional Trail” once you get south of Osakis) to Albany. Lots of monarch butterflies today, but they refused to pose for my camera. Also saw more pelicans, some swans, and many little birds I couldn’t identify.

 I got off to a slow start after waking up with a splitting headache. I didn’t leave until 11:30, but after that I made good time. In Fergus Falls I had to duck into a Burger King for lunch to wait out a downpour. Still, I got to Ashby, about 55 miles, by 5:00 and am camped just 2 miles down the trail. Did I say trail? Why yes, my last 20 miles were on the Central Lakes bicycle trail, and I’ll be on trails all day tomorrow. That’s the best way to travel, period! It weaves between lakes, and the sight of oak and sumac, and the sound of blue jays and cardinals, really made me feel like I’m home. Three more days of riding.

 I considered doing what the students yesterday were planning, which was to take a shortcut off the official Northern Tier bicycling route and avoid approaching Fargo to the north by just continuing straight east on state highway 46. It would cut out 15 miles. But I quickly grew tired of the heavy traffic and poor shoulders, and decided that the route planners probably knew what they were doing, so I stuck with the official route. I’m glad I did. The roads were lightly traveled and had great shoulders. Consequently, however, I didn’t get as far as I had hoped. I made it to Barnesville, totally gassed after 75 miles, much of it into a moderate breeze. I checked into a motel (two in a row! So extravagant!) and looked for some dinner. So Barnesville is in Minnesota! No more state boundaries to cross! And I have already encountered some very Minnesota things. For one, I saw my first Monarch butterfly! He didn’t sit still long enough for a picture, sadly. Also, the Minnesota accent has ...

 Four weeks completed! Today was foggy and drizzly, but pretty good for riding. All six of us cyclists who stayed at the Honey Hub bicyclists-only lodging in Gackle last night ended up riding farther than originally planned. I went 75 miles to Enderlin (original plan was Little Yellowstone Park, 58 miles); everyone else went even further than their original goal of Enderlin. I know this because we all managed to pile into the only cafe along that whole stretch at about the 50-mile point within a half-hour of each other and compared notes. I wish I had taken a picture of all those heavily-loaded bicycles stacked two-deep along the cafe’s outside wall.

 66 miles to Gackle, ND today. The landscape changes daily, subtly but noticeably. Approaching Bismarck 2 days ago I started seeing more trees, and more kinds of birds: goldfinches, brown thrashers, a red-headed woodpecker. Today I started seeing a lot of lakes, and still more birds: ducks, coots, grebes, a yellow-headed blackbird, and even some pelicans. I got to Gackle in time to see their 4th of July parade, which was a lot of fun. This evening there’s a big gathering at the park, with food. I’m always on the lookout for food! I assume fireworks will follow later.

 A shorter day today, 47 miles to the town of Hazelton. I’m entering a “few services” stretch again, and that, combined with the fact that practically everything will be closed on the 4th, requires careful planning. I’ve loaded up on food and have my next few days planned out. Here there was only one thing open: a bar with pizza and cold sandwiches. I bellied up to the bar, ordered pizza and beer, and chatted with the locals. Half of them recognized me already as “that bicyclist I saw.” I’m camped in the city park, which has bathrooms, showers, and water - everything I need.

 I made it to Bismarck today, 72 miles including all my running around looking for stuff. It was a tiring day. My route included 11 miles of gravel, and in the afternoon a persistent 12 mph east wind made for slow going. I pampered myself by checking into a nice hotel. Last night I camped for free in a city park, but there were issues: fireworks from 10-11 IN THAT PARK while I was trying to sleep, and a locked public restroom in the morning. Maybe I should stick to real campgrounds.

 Not a lot to report today. After climbing back out of the badlands it was back to rangeland and farms. Not too hilly, and the wind was light, so I made it 78 miles to Hebron where I will set up camp in the city park (when it starts to look deserted for the night). My bike maps and the lady I talked to in the library both say this is allowed. No showers, and I have to go to the athletic fields for bathroom and water, but the price is right!

 Today I crossed into North Dakota! 65 miles to Medora, which borders Theodore Roosevelt National Park and claims Teddy as one of their own. I had a very helpful tailwind today (the Great Plains have taught me to always consider wind as a cyclist), enabling me to reach my destination before 2 pm and tempting me to push on another 20 miles to Belfield, but it’s so beautiful here I decided to stop. After setting up camp and showering I visited the national park and rode my bike a few more miles to see a prairie dog town and some views into the badlands. The legs protested, but it was worth it.

 A fairly short ride (48 miles) today into Glendive, Montana. The wind was cooperative: light in early morning, then moderate and from the west in late morning. I arrived just after noon, and considered going further, but I’m still a bit tired from yesterday. So I stopped for a mocha and a piece of lemon bread at a fun (and very popular) coffee shop, and then found a hotel. There’s a dinosaur museum with fossil exhibits close to my hotel and I considered going until I read the reviews. Apparently it’s a creationist take on dinosaurs that challenges science. No thanks. Instead I plan to wander down by the Yellowstone river and have an early dinner at Gunners Ridge Bar & Grill.

 Three weeks in, two weeks to go! I had a difficult 66-mile ride to Circle, Montana today. Difficult because of the wind, which decided to blow from the east today. You never can tell. Yesterday it was from the south, two days ago from the north, three days ago from the west. There were no services at all between my start point and end point, except for a rest area with water, so I really had no choice but to go the whole way. Tomorrow I have more choices, and the wind direction will dictate how far I go.

 It was a long day, 76 miles, but pleasant. I got started before 7 am to beat the heat and the wind, and rolled into Jordan, Montana a little after 4 pm. The Great Plains here are Great Rolling Plains. Strava tells me that I climbed 3000 feet today, but it was mostly pretty gentle ups and downs and not too taxing. I started seeing butterflies again for the first time since crossing the continental divide. Before that I had been seeing a lot of tiger swallowtails and pale swallowtails (one even got caught in my helmet), but since then nothing. Today I saw a lot of fritillaries. I keep hoping to see my first monarch, since I’ve started seeing the milkweed on which it depends, but none yet.

 55 miles today, over the Judith mountains and down into Winnett. It’s starting to look like the Great Plains, but my cycling maps still show elevation profiles, so I don’t think these plains are all that flat. I’m having to plan my days carefully to make sure I have access to water, food, and shelter each day. Towns are really far apart out here!

 I passed the thousand-mile mark today, arriving in Lewistown after a 73-mile ride, meaning I’m halfway through! Lewistown is just about in the geographic center of Montana, so I’m also about half-way through this huge state. I thought I was done with hill climbing after crossing the continental divide, but Montana has more in store for me. Today, according to Strava, I had a cumulative elevation gain of 3220 feet. No wonder I feel tired. Tomorrow I’ll climb up to 4700 feet again as I pass through the Judith mountains. Doesn’t seem fair. The weather has cooperated, though. Cool today, with light winds from the northwest. Hoping for more of the same.

 I was originally planning on riding 50 miles to Fort Benton today. But after pondering daily options for eastern Montana I concluded it would be better to get a little farther today. So I got an early start and had lunch in Fort Benton, then continued another 26 miles to Geraldine, where I checked into a B&B. Wind was an issue again today. It was calm in the morning, but really picked up for my last hour and a half into Fort Benton - and not in my favor! But it was very much in my favor after a 90-degree turn to the southeast towards Geraldine. I narrowly avoided the worst of a torrential downpour, which I could see coming for miles in the big Montana sky. Aiming to reach Lewistown (note: NOT Lewiston) tomorrow.

 Conditions were all favorable today: net downhill, few hills, great weather, wind at my back. I averaged 14 mph on my 56-mile ride into Great Falls, much faster than my long-term average with my weighted-down bike. I ran into my “old friends,” a nice couple I met way back in Idaho who are cycling all the way to Maine. We just happened to camp at the same spot last night. I made a stop at a bike repair shop to replace the skewer on my front quick-release (it had been spontaneously loosening) and to replace front and back brake pads. Hopefully good to go now the rest of the way.

 Over the continental divide today! It was a bit anti-climactic, as the approach to the 5610-foot summit wasn’t terribly steep and you couldn’t see any of the high, snowy peaks that supposedly are nearby. 57 miles all told today. I’m camping in Augusta, Montana, heading for Great Falls tomorrow.

 I visited the headquarters of Adventure Cycling this morning, signed the guest book, had my picture taken, and was given the grand tour. Then I resumed my ride, covering about 80 miles before camping in a city park (only $10) in Lincoln. Highway 200 is not terrible, but not great. It mostly had adequate shoulders, but was fairly busy. The farther from Missoula I got, the less traffic there was, but the shoulders also got correspondingly stingier. Some pretty scenery though.

 I’m spending all day Sunday and Monday in Missoula to rest up, wash clothes, and wait out a spell of bad weather before I continue. While here I plan to visit the headquarters of Adventure Cycling, of which I am a life member and whose maps I’ve been using to plan my route. I hear they serve ice cream to cyclists who are passing through!

 I got an early start, on the road at 6:30, to try to beat the forecast thundershowers. I got to Lolo Pass at 9:00. I ate at Lolo hot springs and then raced down to Lolo, with skies getting more threatening by the minute. I ducked into a McDonald’s just as the skies opened up. But after an hour it passed and I got to Missoula dry. I covered about 60 miles. I’ve met a lot of bike tourers on this stretch of Idaho/Montana, including another guy who started in Seattle! Yesterday I had a good time trying out my German with a cyclist from Germany riding from Kentucky to Oregon.

 I made it within striking distance of Lolo Pass today, about 65 miles. Over the pass tomorrow, weather permitting (thundershowers are forecast). No cell service anywhere along here, so I’m dependent on wifi. I’m using Lochsa Lodge Restaurant’s wifi while I have dinner now.

 A fairly long day today, about 77 miles. I’m at the “3 rivers” area in Lowell where the Lochsa and Selwa rivers merge to form the Clearwater river. No cell phone service here, but fortunately the campsite has wifi. Net downhill (I’m now at 1750’ elevation), but still a lot of up and down.

 Shorter distance today (44 miles) but a lot of elevation gain. I’m camped at Winchester State Park at an elevation of 4000 feet. Sunny and warm today. A highlight: brilliant yellow fields of canola. Another: a hot shower at the campground. Also, I met a couple about my age biking the same route, except they plan to go all the way to Maine, arriving in September!

 It was still cold and windy this morning, but the rain had stopped. My route was oddly shaped (the price I pay to stick to less-traveled roads): west, then south, then southeast, then east. The west portion was straight into the teeth of the wind and I was very slow. Once it turned south it was not so bad (WSW winds), and once I turned back east it was great! It was 68 degrees when I reached Lewiston, and the winds were finally starting to die down. About a 60-mile day. I’m camped 4 miles south of Lewiston at Hells Gate State Park.

 This morning it was 42 degrees in Colfax, rainy, and very windy. I should have just stayed another night in Colfax, but I headed out. After just a few miles riding uphill into the wind I started to regret my choice, and by the time I got to Pullman 15 miles and two hours later, wet and cold, I’d had enough. So there I stayed, in a nice warm Hilton. I’ll try for Lewiston again tomorrow. It will still be cold and windy, but the rain is supposed to stop. Let’s hope!

 Nearly 100 miles today. Probably bit off a bit much trying to make tomorrow’s ride into Lewiston shorter. Rain threatened much of the day and it sprinkled on me for a couple hours. I had to change my planned route and destination when I encountered impassible mud at mile 85. I went northwest to Colfax instead and checked into a hotel, just barely beating a storm that basically blew me into town. Tomorrow should be easier.

 Just a quick update while on a snack break on Day 5. Yesterday I crossed the Columbia over a new ped/bicycle bridge and rode through 40 miles of dry, canyon-like service-free wilderness to Othello. Then continued southwest to camp at Scooteney Park. No cell service there so I couldn’t update last night. Continuing east today.

 A shorter ride today, just over 30 miles. Tonight I’m camping along the Columbia River about 3 miles south of I-90. I took a little time to see the Gingko Petrified Forest on the way.

 I woke up to the sound of rain on the tent. I ate breakfast nice and dry seated in the tent (Grape Nuts with milk and raisins), but packed up a wet tent in the light rain and started off around 7 am. I rode the same unpaved trail all the way over the pass (through a famous >1mile long tunnel) to Cle Elem, where I stopped for lunch. I continued to Ellensberg along old highway 10, being heartily sick of gravel. It was a good choice. Staying in a Motel 6 (nothing but the best) to shower, dry out the tent, and wash some clothes. 71 miles today.

 Didn’t make it all the way to Snoqualmie Pass because I had to take some time at a bike shop in North Bend to find a better way to carry my camera bag. Opted for a gizmo that mounts to the front fork which has straps I can secure around the bag. Wild camping along the Polouse to Cascades State Park trail, about 10 miles west of the pass. Mileage today about 60 miles.

Date of Departure: Wednesday, June 8. Planning to bike over Snoqualmie Pass on the Palouse To Cascades State Park Trail (a.k.a. the John Wayne Pioneer Trail) and camp somewhere near Keechelus Lake, about 75 miles.