Ken's Bike Ride

Lake Macdonald MT to East Glacier MT
64 miles
Travel time 6hrs
Saddle Time 5hrs

“What do you do when it rains” is a more frequent question than I would expect. But the answer is obviously, you get wet and you pedal. Today’s ride was all cold wet rain. I decided not to take any major stops and just push through to the end so I could take a hot shower. My warm shower opportunity was out of town so I’m staying at as motel that advertised strong wifi, so that I could send yesterday’s pictures. I’m writing this to you now as I sit at the RV laundromat cleaning and DRYING my clothes.
The picture of the hotel is the Lodge I rewarded myself with last night, which included a steak dinner and a buffet breakfast.
My ride for these next few days is called the High Line because it follows the trail line.

A few short stories from the last few days:
1) the Bike shop in Whitefish was unable to fix a little shake in my back wheel. They said because it is a custom wheel (extra spokes) I probably need a new wheel. I put them on the phone with Paulo from Julio’s bike store in Chappaqua. Paulo answered their questions and the bike store said they couldn’t do it without a special parts order. I called Paulo back after I left the shop and he said it isn’t as complicated as they said and if the bike was in his hands, he could fix it. I was meeting Joel Lockwood at another bike store in town so I had Paulo speak with that store owner, and the next day the problem was solved.

2) I got an email from a Lehigh classmate of mine, Eric Galcher, that he had read about my journey in the alumni bulletin. He checked out my blog and determined he would be at his vacation home in Whitefish the same time as me. We met for beers at a small new micro brewery

3) I had some good karma going my way this morning. As I was biking towards the exit of the park, I saw another cyclist coming the other direction. We met right at the intersection of two roads. We did the standard chit chat and then we headed off. But we were going to the same exit, but going in different directions. We discussed it and since he had slept right next to that intersection, I trusted his judgement. He was correct. I had forgotten that I had made a right turn when entering the park. If he hadn’t been riding by at that moment, I would have gone a mile in wrong direction!

4) today I crossed the continental divide leaving the Rockies behind me. Now all I have to is get into a tuck position and go downhill to the Atlantic Ocean! It was amazing how the landscape changed immediately after passing the continental divide. New types of trees, new rock formations, new lolling hills, and Native Americans!

I have stopped at East Glacier even though I could have gone a little further. The next town, Browning, has a bad reputation and multiple people have told me not to stop there. The town after that is 50 miles. Too much for me on a rainy day. Hope to hit Harlem MT in next two or three days.