Day 15. St. Mary
48 miles 3,871 feet
It was spectacular. And hard. But it wasn't as hard as Washington and Rainy Passes. I set my alarm for 4:45 am because my hotel was in West Glacier, about 18 miles from the beginning of the true climb and I wanted to be ahead of as much Sunday traffic if possible.
The scenery is beauty on a grand scale of the Rockies, very different than the Pacific Northwest. I'm sure many reading this have driven the route, and know what it is like. This was the second day of the year that the road has been open for cars and I wondered if it would be a traffic jam, but actually car volume wasn't that high and drivers were courteous, waiting till it was safe to pass cyclists. There were periods when there weren't any cars at all. I saw a few pannier'd cyclists heading up, one of whom (Alex) I met a few days ago. Not surprisingly those other (younger) cyclists passed me and we met up at the summit. The low granny gear made this possible: I just kept spinning, stopping at pullouts, drinking lots of water and soaking up the scenery, and then I pulled in to the Logan Pass parking lot. It was crowded with cars, and yes, I felt much freer on my bike.
The descent to St. Mary after a brief lunch was fast and powered by a strong tailwind. Unfortunately when I set up my tent in St. Mary NPS Campground the wind was still there, making it difficult to keep the tent from blowing away. This is day 15, making it my longest bike tour! Now to find dinner and a cold beer at the nearby village.
It was spectacular. And hard. But it wasn't as hard as Washington and Rainy Passes. I set my alarm for 4:45 am because my hotel was in West Glacier, about 18 miles from the beginning of the true climb and I wanted to be ahead of as much Sunday traffic if possible.
The scenery is beauty on a grand scale of the Rockies, very different than the Pacific Northwest. I'm sure many reading this have driven the route, and know what it is like. This was the second day of the year that the road has been open for cars and I wondered if it would be a traffic jam, but actually car volume wasn't that high and drivers were courteous, waiting till it was safe to pass cyclists. There were periods when there weren't any cars at all. I saw a few pannier'd cyclists heading up, one of whom (Alex) I met a few days ago. Not surprisingly those other (younger) cyclists passed me and we met up at the summit. The low granny gear made this possible: I just kept spinning, stopping at pullouts, drinking lots of water and soaking up the scenery, and then I pulled in to the Logan Pass parking lot. It was crowded with cars, and yes, I felt much freer on my bike.
The descent to St. Mary after a brief lunch was fast and powered by a strong tailwind. Unfortunately when I set up my tent in St. Mary NPS Campground the wind was still there, making it difficult to keep the tent from blowing away. This is day 15, making it my longest bike tour! Now to find dinner and a cold beer at the nearby village.
My setup at St Mary campground
