Eureka MT to Whitefish MT
52 miles
Travel Time 5 1/2 hrs
Saddle Time 4 1/2 hrs
Last night Denis had brought up biking together this morning since we would be on the same road for first 9 miles. But I got up at 5:15 and when he woke up he mentioned that he wanted to wait until 7 when grocery store opened because he would be riding in wilderness for next three days. I told him I wanted to get going, so I blew him off. So much for me spending time with new people on this journey!
I took three Advil with breakfast but as soon as I started riding, my knee started acting up. It only hurts when I pedal. I kept rethinking my decision not to stay for a rest day in this comfortable house, next to a decent town, with a host who is doctor! But I pedaled on. We had checked on line and the snow storm from last week had dumped three ft of snow on Going to Sun road, followed by avalanches. No one knows when they will open the pass. I wanted to get as close to there as possible to hear from the locals the real story. There is another route around this mtn, but I would really like to climb this peak.
I passed some cyclist coming the other direction, heading to Alaska. They suggested staying in Whitefish because it is a great town and has a bunch of warm shower hosts. I figured I would get there and make a decision of holding up in this nicer town, or going the extra 40 miles to base of the mtn.
I was going to make the call once I spoke to the people at Glacier Cycling. This bike store was started by a cyclist who was going xcountry 20 yrs ago and just stopped here because it was too beautiful to go on. I also had my friend Marc ship me his back up battery charger to this store, since mine has been acting up. And I was going to discuss tires with these guys.
Well, 5 miles outside of town I get a text from my childhood best friend, Jon Cohan who lives in CA. He had been following my blog and he offered up whether I wanted to stay with his friends in Whitefish. Well that made the decision easier!
I got my package at Glacier cycling and had them replace my back tire which had worn down a lot carrying my extra load. (Luggage!). I’m saving the old one as a back up and I gave the wrong size spare I had been carrying to the guys in the shop. They are also tuning my bike.
I also learned from these local bike addicts that you are allowed to bike to the summit of the mtn after 6 pm when the snow clearing teams aren’t working. You just can’t continue on down the other side! Things are looking better!
Pics include Denis and hosts hanging talking cycling and pic of the park where I sat and had my conf call
I’ve got to say I’m a little jealous of your trip (not the cycling part though!) You are meeting so many great people and seeing such beautiful places! Hope the knee eases up! Stay safe!!
Ken I must say I look forward to each days story!!!
You are king!!!!!
Ken – I hope you get to “going to the sun road”. It’s absolutely gnarly, cut right out of a vertical rock face. Suggest your leave your saddle bags off for that ride. Trust me.
I look forward to your blog each day. Photos, photos, more photos, if you will.
You are my hero! Yessir, I mean it.
PS – I thought you were half way thru this journey, and sadly, thought that I’m half way thru reading your blogs. I looked at the US map, and happily, realized – you’ve got a shit ton of miles to go, and lots of blogs for me. Hehehe.
Go baby, go, but please linger when you find a special place, glacier is one, of that, I guarantee. be safe, please.
So glad you made it to Whitefish! Enjoy, enjoy. I agree with Ron to leave your “luggage” behind when you ride up Going to the Sun. David says when you get to the Visitor’s Center, take a hike to either Hidden Lake or the Garden Wall, or both. Leave a carving on a tree and we’ll look for it when we’re there in August. Have fun!
Luggage?? Sure Ken. Maybe it’s the 5 hours of saddle time every day!! Haha!!
Ok, so you were already staying with a doctor, did you get the knee checked? or are you waiting for a witchdoctor! NOTE this snippet of an article on Cycling Knee Pain (yep! sure did look it up) “A number of things have to be considered when addressing cycling knee pain, but the most important question will always be whether the athlete is exceeding his ability to recover. With continued over-training, adverse symptoms are bound to set in and it will only be a question of time until small nagging pains turn into serious chronic problems. Be smarter and listen to your body sooner.
On top of that the individual anatomy of the cyclist and the bicycle fit also play a crucial role. Only when the bike is adapted to the body of the rider can cycling knee pain be prevented and performance maximized”
Hmm….. to beautiful to go on… How does “Whitefish Fuirst Insurance” sound?!
At least your cycling is going better than our softball… 🙁
“It only hurts when I pedal” -so constantly is what you’re saying! Take a break while you can choose too and before you are forced to . For into bed and picked up my book and then said oh maybe Mourn wrote on his blog and rushed to read today’s entry
*fell into bed; Ken not mourn / (nIce spell check….)
All I thought of when I saw the title of this entry was “Is whitefish salad supposed to crunch?” – which is from the Odd Couple. Thought I would share.
I did not forget you. This will be a trip you tell your grandchildren about. PS Allen is doing a good job in your absence. Look forward to more stories.
Ken’s funniest blog comment so far: “…as soon as I started riding, my knee started acting up. It only hurts when I pedal.”