39 results for author: Sarah

Day 20: Big Arm to Whitefish, MT – 55 miles

I had a hard time with my snooze button this morning -- with the sun going down later and later as I go North, it's hard to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. As soon as I smelled bacon, though, I was able to get up right away. Sharon's brother, Alan, cooked me French toast (he also cleaned and tuned my bike up a bit after I went to bed last night) for which I was DEEPLY grateful. I hit the road and lazily cruised the rest of the way around Flathead Lake. Just shy of Kalispell, I found a bike path paralleling the highway, and it eventually routed me the back way in to town which was quiet and peaceful compared to 93. When I got to Whitefish, I ...

Day 19: Missoula to Big Arm, MT – 90 miles

Today got off to a rough start. I tried to be on the road at 7:15, as usual, but as I went to load up my bike I discovered that one of the tires I had patched yesterday was totally flat again. Changing flats is not the most fun (or confidence inspiring) way to start off a morning. Since I was so late getting going, I rode through downtown Missoula after the Adventure Cycling office was open and decided to stop in. They have a great little lounge for cyclists with free ice cream, so I had a cone for breakfast before stopping at the post office.  So by 9am, I'd ridden only 5 miles, with a long trek ahead to my warmshowers hosts. Fortunately, it ...

Day 18: Darby to Missoula – 69 miles

After saying goodbye to Patrick, Haley, and Aubrin this morning, I cruised down hwy 93, making exceptionally good time on the increasingly busy road. I was sad to be ridding with my back to the exceptionally pretty Bitterroot Mountains, and the cottonwoods along the river made my allergies unbearable. When I got to Stevensville I took a break at the Mission church historical site (but opted not to pay for the tour) and ate lunch, letting a bank of clouds that had been spitting at me all morning get ahead. Despite my quick pace in the morning, I felt like I was dragging all afternoon- the miles would just not pass quickly. Around 1pm I got a flat ...

Day 17: Wisdom to Darby, MT – 56 miles +7

It was cold, damp, and foggy when I woke up in the Wisdom picnic shelter. I layered up, but by the time I'd ridden 10 miles I was chilled to the bone. I pulled off at the Big Hole National Battlefield visitors center and ate my second breakfast while waiting for them to open. The ranger let me in a few minutes early and I was grateful to be able to warm up as I learned about the fighting between colonial armies and the Nez Pierce, as well as more info on Lewis & Clark. I lingered a long time, dreading my continued ride in the cold.  I finally got moving again, and about two miles past the battlefield I gained just enough elevation to break ...

Day 16: Dillon to Wisdom, MT – 68 miles

Jim had me staying in a room in the basement last night, and the lack of daylight made it exceptionally hard to drag myself out of bed.  After a quick breakfast and a stop at the grocery store, I hit the road. My legs felt sluggish and I was not in the best place emotionally, so about 8 miles out of town I put on some music (not a usual thing for me while riding) and cranked until I reached the top of Badger Pass, where I had a second breakfast. At the bottom, I ran into Chuck the math teacher from Durango who I'd chatted with in Virginia City. He was in the middle of his second breakfast- not wanting my muscles to seize up I kept trudging onwards to ...

Day 15: Virginia City to Dillon, MT – 60 miles

Today's ride was the definition of leisurely. After a marvelous breakfast of oatmeal, Bobbie and her friend Sandy sent me on my way. I casually rolled down the valley and arrived in Twin Bridges (my half way point for the day) around 10am. I decided to take a break and stopped in at the small grocery store, where I met a kid just a few days in to a race across the Trans-Am. He wasn't carrying much and said he planned to be in Virginia in about 2.5-3weeks averaging 150-200 miles a day. He was jealous of my pace as I casually stretched and ate my second breakfast (tortilla with Apple and peanut butter). I stopped again for elevensies(dried fruit) at ...

Day 14: Rest Day in Virginia City

Rest Day:  Although I really wanted to sleep in a bit, I found myself waking up with the sun. I spent a leisurely morning drinking OJ, organizing my gear, reading, and doing Some yoga on the patio of Bobbie's idyllic cabin. I hitched a ride into town with her when she went to open the museum at which she works, and spent the morning poking around the shops and historic displays. It being the Irish weekend in Virginia City, there was a by-donation baked potato bar at the saloon, so I had me a hearty and very affordable lunch while watching the regional Irish dance troupe perform. I opted to spend the rest of my day's food budget at the ...

Day 13: West Yellowstone to Virginia City MT- 84 miles

Seeing the remnants of the destruction like the landslide scar and the ghost trees sticking up out of the newly formed lake makes earthquake damage that much more tangible and the plight of Nepal that much more immediate.

Day 12: Bridge Bay to West Yellowstone, MT – 79 mi + 6

This morning was hard. It rained off and on all night, so it took a while to break camp because everything was wet. It was cold and foggy and took me a while to get my riding layers right, and then just as I'd gotten into a rhythm I got my first flat ever on this bike. I fumbled around a bit trying to find the key to my locking skewers an then with the actual flat-changing. By the time I got back to west thumb and grant village I was hungry and grumpy, so I stopped at the grant service station for a highly caloric muffin, pop tarts, and air for my tires. Not 5 miles up the road to Old Faithful (which just opened today) I got another flat. This time ...

Day 11: Jenny Lake (Teton National Park) to Bridge Bay Campground (Yellowstone) – 76 miles

The whole first week of this trip was too easy. Good weather, abundant food and shelter...all good practice to get into the swing of things.   Today was more challenging. I was expecting to only ride 55 miles, so I took a leisurely start - it was cold and I stopped a number of times in the first 15 miles to switch layers and take photos and eat more breakfast (after the 4 pancakes and giant serving of scrambled eggs I had this morning at the JLLodge employee dining room - thanks Luke!).     Moral of the story it was 11 by the time I got to Yellowstone, 11:30 after waiting in the long line of cars and RVs for park entry. I was ...