Gig Harbor Washington to Bar Harbor Maine 2001

Garcia discovered 3 broken spokes once we got to camp last night. He had spares and Gridley replaced them but he still had to stop at the bike shop this morning to get it trued. I'd ridden so much slower then them yesterday that I decided to cruise ahead.

I cheated a little and followed the highways instead of backtracking to a back road. There was so much glass and traffic on the road that I probably would have been better off to play fair. I took the next detour and was glad I did. First I found some more granola at a health food store, then I had a wide highway all to myself. I decided to take Gridley's advice and adjust my seat slightly. It felt pretty good and I think I started moving a little faster.

Flathead River.

The next backroad included 4.6 miles of gravel. It wasn't bad as long as I went slow, and it was so beautiful that I was happy to go slow. I stopped on the bridge that crossed the Flathead river just down from the confluence.of the east and west forks. It was so gorgeous and peaceful, I could have stayed all day. I was a little sorry when the gravel ended and more so when I turned onto Hwy 2. A few more miles took me into Glacier Park where I followed a bike path through the woods to Apgar, the commercial entryway to the park.

Apgar.

It was only noon so I had to kill 3 hours before bikes are allowed back on the Going to the Sun Road. (They're prohibited from 11am to 4pm between Apgar and Logan Pass.) I met Sean in the woods and we hung around awhile. He was very agitated about not being able to ride till 4 and said he felt like a captive. We ate lunch in the restaurant and watched for BOBs. Gridley finally showed up after 2. Garcia and Kathryn rolled in, laughing, about 3:30. They'd had a very leisurely day.

We were waiting for 4:00 like the start of a race and were very surprised that there were no other bikes. The ride along the lake was beautiful. Kathryn had gone the long way and Gridley waited for her awhile to make sure she knew to stop at the store on the way. She never showed. After a calculated shopping trip (we didn't want to carry an ounce more food over the pass than necessary), a Park Ranger pulled Garcia over. He told her that Kathryn was already at the campground and was worried about us. She's become quite the speed demon.

There's a great campsite reserved for non-motorized campers for $3 each. I made the Lipton Cajun Beans and Rice I'd been carrying for days. Mmmm, my favorite campfood. Gridley broke out the Oreos and milk. We're really roughing it.

Weird Woods.

Kathryn and Garcia disappeared while Gridley and I took a walk in the woods. We decided we'd get started as soon as it was light like we did on our hike up the mountain in Joshua Tree last year. He set his watch for 5am. Kids better get back soon or they'll be in for a rude surprise in the morning.

Kathryn's Daily Grease.