Going to the Sun

David & Bill were up well before the crack again of dawn this morning. It was a warm night without air conditioning at the place they stayed last night. David sent me a text message this morning saying that he soaked his shirt in cool water and wrung it out before wearing it to bed, and this made it cool enough to sleep comfortably.

They made it through Logan Pass by 9am this morning - well before the 11am cutoff for bikers on the busy Going to the Sun Road through Glacier National Park. Who-hoo! Way to go, guys! They accomplished this despite a few set backs. Namely, (1) David got a flat tire early on in today's ride and (2) road construction brought the already narrow, winding road down to one lane (sometimes gravel) at times. But they had all the tools necessary to fix the tire, and the road construction didn't slow them down too much. They said the climb over Logan Pass wasn't as tough as they feared - a steady 7-8% grade at times, but nothing they couldn't handle. They couldn't stop talking about the incredible beauty of Glacier National Park.

When they called about 12:30CST today, they had made it to the eastern edge of Glacier and had stopped for first lunch. Their plan was to make it to Cardston, Alberta (Canada) this evening. Tomorrow they'll pedal back into the U.S. to Shelby, Montana.

Originally, their plan was to make it as far as Minot, ND. But their mileage plan was a bit aggressive for mountain riding with so few towns to stop in, and they decided at the last minute to take the scenic jaunt up into Canada. This left less time to make up ground on the flat land. They've amended their Amtrak tickets so that they'll catch the train in Shelby, Montana instead. They'll catch the train in Shelby on Saturday around noon, and their train will roll into Minneapolis on Sunday morning.

I just heard from them about an hour ago, and they've made it to Cardston. They abandoned their plans to camp this evening when they got to the campsite and the folks in the office gave them a different story than when they had called ahead to make reservations. The office staff said they couldn't share a campsite, even though their one-man tents aren't much more than the size of a sleeping bag, and the cost was more than they had been quoted. So instead, they went up the road and found a room for the night at the Flamingo motel, where the staff doesn't speak much English, but they are very helpful and kind. David described their room as palatial - more like a suite, since they each have their own bedroom.

No pictures this evening, since they're in the extended network in Canada. But I'm sure they'll pass along some photos from Glacier as soon as they're back in the States.