Life is a Highway... but not all highways are paved!

Fudge? Maple Walnut of course!

Aragorn: Gentlemen! We do not stop 'til nightfall.
Pippin: But what about breakfast?
Aragorn: You've already had it.
Pippin: We've had one, yes. But what about second breakfast?
[Aragorn stares at him, then walks off.]
Merry: Don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.
Pippin: What about elevensies? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?
Merry: I wouldn't count on it.

Lake louise

Wow they are burned and thin..worn around the edges. Steel legs with more than a month of pedaling. We had fun! 2 days at the Paradise Bungalows

Slower traffic keep right

If you haven't had a dream like this, you've undoubtedly seen it on TV. The dream has the world moving around you in a high-speed blur while you are moving in slow motion. This is what bicycle touring is like for me. I'm traveling at a pace that most of the world can’t really wrap their minds around. The world around me is hopping in their cars and whisking away to their destination at about a mile a minute. By contrast, I’m plodding along at about one-sixth of that speed. What the motor-tourist can do in an hour could easily amount to a day’s effort on a bike. It’s like being in a different time zone. Every now and then the speeds synch up long enough to buy a Snicker’s bar or shooting down the backside of a mountain pass and taking the whole lane… Taking the lane because at 40 miles per hour I need a greater margin of safety to avoid pot holes, road debris, and the edge of the pavement, but also because I’m pretty much doing the posted speed limit. But these are fleeting moments and suddenly it’s back to being like a scene from the classic movie, “The Time Machine” or “The Matrix”.

Sad Day as the Tour Ends!

We did it!! It was so much fun spending time together! Thank you all!

Lake McDonald and the bikes at the top of Logan Pass

Oh Canada Oh Canada

Greetings from Jasper

Arrived on schedule but a bit damp after a couple of days of drizzle and cold weather. From here we turn around and head back south tomorrow through B.C. Today we recharge and enjoy. 500 miles down and 4 major passes done and about the same left to do.

St mary's to prince of wales..only 47 miles

Its just the rain..the headwind and the mountains! But we made it! All 22 riders. Today a black bear crossed the road in front of dianne and I. It was so close to us! Luckly he did not look both ways before crossing! I dont think he even saw us.

alberta lunch break

half way!!!

we made it to st mary's today to Canada

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Another place we didn't stay

The hostel in Banff was very nice, but not quite as photogenic as this place.

Trans Canada Highway headed north

We will take the Bow Valley Parkway which parallels the highway all the way to Lake Louise.

The Prince of Wales Hotel

Ken and I didn't stay here.

Sitting on top of the world

Sulpher Mountain Banff

Took the gondola ride

Busted!

The hostel in Banff has a pub and wifi.

Lunch spot in Bannf

linda is setting up bikes!

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womantour together

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linda is hard at work!

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the big rie begins

we will start the trip with a nice 11 mile ride along lake mc dowell. no phone service so you will have to wait for ride pictures. i am going to the sun.

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the big ride begins

we will start the trip with a nice 11 mile ride along lake mc dowell. no phone service so you will have to wait for ride pictures. i am going to the sun.

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hungry horse montana

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Day one

Day 1: Rendezvous in Whitefish for a rental bike fitting at 12:00 noon and an orientation at 2:00pm. Then we’ll enjoy a short warm-up ride along the lakeshore to the Lake McDonald Lodge. Built in 1915, the lodge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 11 miles.

Back at last..

I flew in from washington dc the airlines had lead me to believe i had a direct flight! Well that was not true. The connection was 2 hours late. The plane arrived and then there was a problem with the cockpit door..another 45 mins. Then the crew cant fly and we wait for new crew. It was afafter 2am when the plane landed. When i saw a camping sign in Hungry Horse i went for it. I drove over the dam still trying to find camping. Finally a gravel road to the right. I take it. The drive was a bit spooky lots of dead trees. Now i see its a steep mountain with a road cut, no place for the tent. So i find a wide spot in the road and park. I rearrange the stuff in the car. Set the ice chest outside and d blow up my air mattress. I sleep till sunrise..peek out and wow i can see a wonderful lake below me. I go back to sleep for a while, i hear on vehicle drive by, much later i hear a sound like the bike when i am coasting did ssomeone spin the back tire of my bike? Then i hear footsteps in the gravel comming up the road. They are at the car now and i decide to stick my head out of the sleeping bag and here is 3 deer, a mom and 2 young ones looking in the window at me. This was my night ata hungry horse dam.

Life is a highway

Turning west toward Banff

Sunny and hot but we made it

A new high

Hot and sunny but we made it!

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hungry horse montana

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my 2am camping spot!

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Morning in Alberta

Long day of riding yesterday, over 70 miles but this place was a pleasant surprise and a great place to spend the night.

Glacier National Park

This is the view at lake mcdonald. I am going to ride the bike up the going to the sun road! I start my tour on Monday!! Can't wait

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Crossing the border

Divided we stand

We made it to the top of Logan Pass in good time but didn't have phone service on the other side in Rising Sun.

The Day was cool to start along the banks of McDonald Lake. The climbing started exactly as expected and grade didn't seem as steep as The Blue Ridge Parkway.

Sunset at Glacier

Neill and Ken are spending their last night at Apgar. At sunrise tomorrow they will take on the Going to the Sun Road!

Postcard from the edge

Lake McDonald, Glacier NP, Montana.
Tomorrow we ride over that!

Sunday Morning ar Glacier

This is the view from the Village Inn in Apgar! Wow is the only words I can come up with, it was great. I picked Ken up at the airport, we went to check in at the hotel so we could unload his gear. There was no way to fit Neill into the car. After we checked in we returned to the airport for Neill.
The RodBike as we call it, Neill's new Ultamate travel bike from Rodriguez

The story of this bikeSeveral years ago, the ultimate bicycle traveller, Willie Weir came to us and asked us to build the ultimate touring bike. A bike that he could take to the Balkans, Cuba, and other out of the way destinations around the world. His bike had to have very low gearing, very reliable componentry (there aren't a lot of high tech bike repair shops where Willie travels), and be durable enough to travel on some very rough roads. Plus the the bike would have to easily pack up into a suitcase for convenient transport. The Ultimate Touring Bike, or UTB, was born.





I am leaving Glacier.. have to go to work for a week! I will return on friday night! This next trip will be longer as I will do "My Tour"