Day 21: Glasgow, MT to Wolf Point, MT

Brian Richardson

The towns in Eastern Montana are few and far between so we have had to really plan ahead and research where we can stop for food, water, and camping. The two towns ahead of Glasgow are Wolf Point (58 miles) and Wibaux (116 miles). It was a little tempting to try and make it all the way to Wibaux today, but I think we were wise to split the journey up over today and tomorrowand not push our luck. My legs definitely aren’t complaining about having two short-ish days.

Our route today took us off of Highway 2 and onto the older, quieter, Highway 1 (they’re pretty creative with naming the roads out here) for about 40 miles. To our left were the train tracks of the Great Northern Railway. To our right was the headwaters of the Missouri River. During our time on HW 1, we saw a total of three cars and one combine.

Tonight we are camped out at a biker hostel behind Steamboat Dry Goods Store. We had some extra time this afternoon so we washed our bikes and put on fresh chain lube. My Long Haul Trucker feels clean and fast and ready for some more big miles.

Spending long hours on a bike everyday has given me a lot of time to think. During the past few days, I’ve been reflecting on how much I have to be thankful for. For starters, we’ve been incredibly fortunate with the fair weather and pleasant roads so far. We have found safe places to stay every night and met a lot of generous people who have helped make this trip successful and enjoyable.

More importantly though, I am thankful that I am able to be out here at all. I am lucky enough to be young and healthy and to have grown up in a community that allowed and encouraged me to pursue my passions. It is not a given that I can do something like this and I should not forget that.

The mission of the Be Loud! Sophie Foundation is to help young people battling with cancer to pursue their passions as I have been lucky enough to do. Lauren Lux, the coordinator for all of the AYA patients at UNC hospitals does amazing work to give adolescents and young-adults the experiences that every young person deserves, but doesn’t always get to have. The money we’re raising for this trip goes directly towards achieving that goal. I am thankful for the generosity of everyone who has contributed so far; we’ve raised $6,635 as of today!

Day 20: Malta, MT to Glasgow, MT

Wes Malinchock

I'm beginning to get into the swing of the bike trip. We got up at 6:30 am on a beautiful morning in Malta, Montana. I packed up my tent and gear faster than I had in the previous days as I slowly get my system for packing streamlined. After breakfast in a local coffee shop we headed out for our ride to Glasgow. The milage worked out perfectly today: 70 miles. This is just about the average daily mileage we needed to keep in order to complete our trip on time!

The terrain for today was more hilly than the last few out here on the plains. It was nothing like what we saw in the mountains, but we had some long climbs throughout the day. At the tops of the hills we climbed we got great views of the surrounding grassy pastures and rocky mesas. One thing that everyone kept warning us about in Malta were the mosquitos. We had some pretty vicious mosquitos the night before, but people warned us they would get worse as we followed the Milk River east. There were points in the day where you would ride through a swarm of them on the road and every car's bumper that we passed was practically covered with mosquitos. However, we were lucky enough to have some pretty strong winds that kept them away from us for the most part as we rode.

What was great about today was that it all felt very natural. It was what I would call an "average" day on the bike trip. For most of today I felt like I was just going through the motions of the day, like I was following a routine. I really enjoyed finally finding some stability in our trip even though we spend each night in a new place. Going into our third week out here tomorrow I am glad to say that I am beginning to feel at home on my bike.

Day 19: Havre, MT to Malta, MT

Evan Malinchock

My day started in the worst way, at the worst time, in the worst place imaginable. I was woken at 1am by Brian running his tent up to the (half) gazebo where I had my sleeping bag laid out. This series of events was far too confusing for an Evan that was just now abruptly awoken from his slumber but it all made sense in an instant. A wave of water from the sprinkler nearby worked its way up from the foot of my sleeping bag to my face leaving me wet, awoken, and above all, pissy.

I quickly picked up my sleeping bag and pad and rolled up my panniers and tried to find somewhere dry for the time being. While one half of the park was being sprayed down the other half remained dry as I seeked shelter near a tree. After an agonizing and freezing thirty minutes I ran to where the sprinklers were just on and set up my sleeping pad and bag directly under a street light, where I would try to sleep with little success until I was awoken at 6:30 by an eager Brian.

I packed up my sopping wet clothes and bag and rode 100 yards to a grocery store where I was met by an equally ticked off Wes and Brian. They have been waiting for a good bit so they took off and I promised to meet them in less than 30 minutes. On my way out bad thing #2 happened, my earbuds decided to stop working all together, so I went to buy some BlueTooth ones in the cheap. Of course these promptly ran out of battery.

Then on the road my bike decided it was time for me to have the first crash of the trip. While adjusting my light the handlebars turned throwing me off the bike, miraculously landing on two feet on a sidewalk. Unfortunately though, one of my panniers was laying next to me with a broken clip. After a half an hour of jerry rigging my pannier clips I then hit the road.

I'm thankful to say that the rest of the afternoon was not nearly as eventful as my morning portion but nonetheless it set a tone for my day while we rode rough roads for 90 miles in the hottest weather yet through a literal swamp that's infested with bloodthirsty mosquitoes. But through all of this suffering and massive annoyances, I have a massive stupid smile on my face right now, and honestly I can't wait for tomorrow. This is the magic and the spirit of the bike trip, it takes one (or many events) that could ruin someone's day and turns it right. It just takes one good meal, tailwind, or view to wipe away all sorrow in the moment and even if you cannot remember that positive you always go to bed with a smile on your face.

Day 18: Shelby, MT to Havre, MT

Brian Richardson

Today we were blessed with a tailwind, which is quite the boon for a biker; it’s like a buy-one-get-one-free sale for miles. We took advantage of the conditions and rode 103 miles all the way into Havre (pronounced “have-er,” “hay-ver,” or “haw-ver,” depending on who you ask).

As of yesterday, we are officially through the Rockies and into the Great Plains. We’ve been told by a few people that the best views are behind us and that it will be flat and boring from here until the end of North Dakota. I was given a similar warning during my cross-country ride in 2015 when we left the Colorado Rockies and hit the Plains of Kansas; everyone we talked to would comment on the monotony of the open fields. Based on my experience, however, the Great Plains are anything but boring.

It’s true that the scenery is not always as dramatic as it is in the mountains out west, but it has its own, more subtle, beauty. Today we saw four or five pronghorns standing out in the wheat fields, we watched giant freight trains travel back and forth on the tracks that run parallel to Highway 2, and followed the rainclouds as they circulated around us. With so much flat, open space, you feel like you can see the curvature of the earth on the horizon in every direction.

We could tell that we were within a few miles of a town when we could see a grain elevator rising up above the road ahead. Most of the towns we passed through today had populations of about a hundred. Havre, where we are camping tonight, has a few thousand people and feels like a metropolis by comparison. We’re camped out in a park in town and will probably be going to bed pretty early after our century ride today.

Double rainbow in Havre after a quick evening shower

Day 17: East Glacier, MT to Shelby, MT

Evan Malinchock

Today was a very rough wake up, possibly the worst of the trip so far. After having a fairly sleepless night due to the extremely cramped quarters of the biker and hiker hostel behind Serrano's Mexican Restaurant, I woke up to a gray morning that visually looked cold. Before we even left the hostel the sky's began to open up with a freezing mist. After a half hour the drizzle turned to a full on snow, and I was unlucky enough to not have a pair of gloves.

Yes, that is snow. Yes, it is June.

I couldn't feel my hands, and I couldn't/didn't want to open my look directly ahead because the icy-rainy-snowy mix felt like needles when they hit my eyes. I coasted into the Blackfoot Nation and the small town of Browning looking like a human icycle. I couldn't squeeze my brakes so I overran Larry who was pointing out a grocery store where I could possibly purchase gloves that would save my now purple fingers.

Once I walked into the Teeples Market, I crumpled (subconsciously) next to a produce refrigerator, which made my chills even worse. After Brian pointed this out to me we migrated across the street to Taco John's where we would wait out the wintry mix for another two hours in the warm embrace of Taco John's.

After the warming experience we saddled up and rode to a hardware store to buy gloves and continue another 50 miles to Shelby Montana in the new warmer flats of Montana. On our way out Larry punctured his tire twice, really cementing this day as an all time worst. After we hopped back on our bikes we began to crank out miles like never before. The lack of climbing and presence of a tail wind was far more advantageous than I could ever imagine.

Larry fixes his second flat of the day.

After reaching Shelby we made a jump decision to split a motel room (that would be cheaper than any campground in the area). This was a well deserved reward after such a painful slog of a day.

Pretty accurate 

Day 16: Whitefish, MT to East Glacier, MT

The days back on the road after a break day are always hard, especially if you're looking at a long day of biking where we cross the Rockies in the rain. It did not help that temperatures were in the low 40's this morning with little chance of rising as we climbed the continental divide. We had some nice quiet back roads out of town that took us into Columbia Falls in the morning for breakfast and some pretty views of the Rockies. Even though the rain was holding off so far, one thought kept crossing my mind: I do not want to be on a bike today.

Headed towards the Rockies

Last time we crossed the continental divide in Wyoming on my 2013 bike trip I remember it being one of the hardest days of the trip. Our route took us on a 35 mile climb up Powder Pass, and it took all day to climb. I really wish we had taken this route instead. The road was not very steep and followed a river all the way up. We got gorgeous views of snow capped mountains all day and traffic wasn't even that bad. The rain I was expecting eventually came in cold and strong, but it was only about 10 minutes before it cleared. Before I knew it we only had 20 miles to the top of our 86 mile day, and a tail wind had just picked up. By the time we got to the top I felt silly for being so grumpy this morning about having to leave our break day. We definitely needed the break, but being on the road today was awesome. We made great eastward progress for the first time in a few days and had some great riding.

We ended the day at the Backpacker Inn right behind the famous Serrano's Mexican restaurant we had hear about from our friends who stopped here on their 2010 bike trip. The accommodations here at the hostel include bunk beds with foam mattresses and a shower! Places like this have been my favorite to stay at on this trip, especially with temperatures tonight forecasted to be in the low 30's. We hit the restaurant and after our meal I was about ready to fall asleep at the table after 7 hours of biking today. Now that we've got the Rockies out of the way our trip looks to be getting a little bit flatter and more direct on our journey eastward.

Day 15: Break Day in Whitefish, MT

Brian Richardson

When we took our first break day in Twisp, we had been riding for five days straight. Compared to that, we had eight solid days of biking before today’s break in Whitefish. By the end of yesterday, my legs were definitely feeling some cumulative fatigue and so I was ready for some well-earned time off today. It was cold and rainy for most of the day-perfect weather for not biking.

In the morning I walked over to the grocery store to stock up on breakfasts and lunches for the next couple of days. Even though it was 50 degrees and raining, the 20 minute walk was pleasant. I wasn’t in any rush, so I explored downtown Whitefish for a while. This is a seemingly obvious, but pretty remarkable part of a break day; without seventy miles to put in, you can really take your time and enjoy simple moments like walking to the store.

In the afternoon, we went to the local bike shop. Whitefish has one of the last real bike shops for a couple hundred miles, so we loaded up on the essentials: spare tubes, patch kits, and, of course, chamois butt’r. A few days ago, my rear tire finally gave out (after 5,000+ miles), so I have been using our spare foldable tire. At the bike shop, I got a new rear tire and folded the spare back up to hold on to in case we need it later.

We grabbed an early dinner with Larry at Jersey Boys Pizza. I don’t think we’ve mentioned Larry in the blog yet, but he’s a biker from Seattle that we met up with in Newport and have ridden with a good bit. We plan to ride up Marias Pass and into East Glacier with him tomorrow.

Continental Divide, here we come

Well, after a long day of absolutely no biking, I’m exhausted and ready to go to bed.

Day 14: Eureka, MT to Whitefish, MT

Evan Malinchock

Waking up before a break day always seems to be the height of that day. Eureka, Montana was a little town that was so small that our group of three felt like the largest crowd in town at any time. I packed up my tent up and hopped over to the gas station for a quick coffee and bathroom break before a good five hours in the saddle.

The second I stepped out of the gas station the wind seemed to shift and pick up, and more so Wes and Brian took off about 30 minutes before me. After an hour of laboured pedaling I caught up to Wes on a side road and we made it to a town for breakfast. Little did we know Brian took a longer route that he claims climbed up a mountain and added an extra three miles.

After a filling breakfast we set off into the wind for another grueling four hours of Montana cycling. We passed lakes and rode through forests, I think. My eyes were either fixed on the road immediately under my front tire, at the back of Wes or Brian's jersey (where the map of Montana seemed to constantly mock me), or staring blankly ahead of me as I pedal mashed to Whitefish.

Big storm rolling into Whitefish

Once we pulled up to our airBnB, the sky darkened, so we piled into the condo to take naps and choose our rooms!

Day 13: Libby, MT to Eureka, MT

Wes Malinchock

Today we had a beautiful ride up the western side of Lake Koocanusa. We started out in Libby riding old logging roads through the forest on a chilly morning. Eventually the road joined highway 37, where we would spend most of the rest of the day on alongside the reservoir.

Wes and Brian at the Lake Koocanusa Dam

Highway 37 is a long, hilly, and very exposed road that skirts the western side of the reservoir. Because it is state highway, we went into the day expecting heavy traffic passing us at high speeds as we struggled on the many steep climbs. However, we found that the road was almost deserted all day! I think we were passed by maybe five trucks all day.

Bridge across the Lake Koocanusa

By the numbers this should have been a very hard day of riding. When we got to Eureka we had done 73 miles with 7,600 feet of climbing! Luckily we had some help from a strong tail wind and beautiful views from the road of the lake and its rocky cliffs. We were definitely very tired at the end of the day, but I am sure that we will remember this as one of the most scenic days of the trip.

Day 12: Clark Fork, ID to Libby, MT

Brian Richardson

Two new states in two days! We were in Washington for ten days, so it felt pretty great to cross over into Montana just one day after entering Idaho. Along with the state-border crossings, there have been several other signs that we’re making real progress eastwards.

Big Sky Country!

Today we switched time zones from Pacific to Mountain, losing an hour in the process. That means we had one less hour to make it into town today, and it means our typical 6:30 am wake-up tomorrow might be a little tougher than usual.

There has also been a dramatic change in scenery. We’re through the high plains of Wautoga Pass and the rolling grassy fields of Colville, and are now making our way through some iconic Montana terrain. Today we biked through the foothills of the Rockies and we could see snow-covered peaks looming in the distance. We climbed and descended among the pine trees, rode along the beautiful blue waters of Bull Lake, and dropped down alongside the Kootenai River.

Kootenai River

Around lunchtime, we stopped at Kootenai Falls and took a quick day-hike down to the water and across a swinging bridge. Big thanks to Steve Rothwell for telling us about this hidden gem!

Evan and Wes look out at Kootenai Falls

One more sign of our eastward progress is that, after close to two weeks, I feel like I’m adjusted to the day-to-day routine of the bike trip. My body is used to sleeping on the ground every night and spending long hours in the saddle every day. The daily unpredictability of the trip also feels more normal to me. I am content not knowing how hilly or windy the road ahead will be or where I’ll be pitching my tent when we get to town. I know that we have plenty of hills and headwinds ahead of us, but I’m confident that we can deal with them when the time comes.

Day 11: Newport, WA to Clark Fork, ID

Evan Malinchock

This is my extremely short ode to Idaho, the most unexpectedly enjoyed state I've ever been to.

First state border of the trip!

We woke up in our campsite literally on the border of Washington and Idaho and got on our bikes and immediately stopped to enjoy a McDonald's breakfast, a troop 845 classic (though we agreed it was much more overhyped than anything in our cohort). Within a handful of pedal strokes from the parking lot we left the state of Washington behind and entered our shortest lived state of Idaho. From then on the road to Sandpoint was one that skirted along a lake with many abrupt climbs and descents through woods and on shorelines before we faced the legendary Sandpoint Bridge.

Wes takes on the Sandpoint Bridge

(Mom this is for you) you would be happy to know none of us had the desire to jump off this bridge and much like the McDonald's that preceded the bridge we all agreed that the fabled bridge that kept former troop 845 cyclists awake at night out of fear of its height was actually a disappointing height, not more than a typical diving board at a pool. But something that was not a let down was the town of Sandpoint, a sort of Bohemian paradise in the middle of north Idaho.

Since the beginning of the bike trip I've drank (at least) one bottle of kombucha a day, if not for it's micro-bio health benefits then for it's flavor. Sandpoint is the home of the best of the trip that I've had so far, so this town has taken the cake for me. To pair this kombucha I had an eggless and flourless brownie that was superb!

After leaving Sandpoint we continued along Lake Pend Oreille to the small hamlet of Clark Fork Idaho. Here we stayed with a warm showers hosts who owned an all-home-made restaurant in this town with a population less than 400 people. She offered to host us at her restaurant, the Squeeze-Inn, and give us extra pasta to carbo load for the next day! Back at her home we set up our tents and played with her adorable month old husky puppy, Aisha.

Evan and Aisha relax after a tough day

Idaho has been more than great to us, beautiful roads, wonderful food, playful puppies, and even better people. Though Idaho was our shortest state I have nothing but fond memories and kind words to say about this state.

Day 10: Just Past Colville, WA to Newport, WA

Wes Malinchock

This morning I woke up inside on a mattress! Thanks to our hosts, the Bacons, and their amazing bike hostel along our route we woke up feeling refreshed and ready to finish Tiger Pass. It is a much smaller climb than the previous passes in the Cascades (I actually didn't even know it counted as a pass until someone told me at the bottom), but as we had seen when we started it the day before the roads were steeper than any we had seen before!

We rode 24 miles up the pass to breakfast at Beaver Lodge, where we found some kind of motor cross event going on. However, we were too hungry to ask questions and went into the cafe for an ample breakfast. After breakfast it was only a few more miles until we hit a great winding downhill section into the Pend Oreille River valley. This section may have been my favorite so far with lots of hair pin turns followed by steep, straight sections. What a decent!

The westward blowing flag in this picture is the real stop sign for an eastbound biker

In the valley we were met with our first real head winds of the trip. We all took turns pulling the crew up the valley until we got to Newport right on the Idaho border. It's pretty astounding to me that we were able to knock out the Cascades and Washington in only ten days. Going into the trip I was dreading this section and I am glad to be sitting just a couple hundred feet from the Idaho border in our campground tonight. I know Idaho and Montana will bring more challenges with the Rockies and more sparsely spread towns, but I am excited to see what tomorrow has in store for us!

Day 9: Republic, WA to just past Colville, WA

Brian Richardson

“If you are presented a great opportunity-take it...you are only gonna be in that spot once! It's not a race.”

Ed Billings, the leader of my cross-country ride in 2015, gave us the above piece of advice before we started this trip. Our plan today was to ride about 84 miles and camp at Bear Ridge, but this afternoon we stumbled upon exactly the kind of opportunity that Ed was talking about.

We had spent the morning climbing and descending 3,500 feet over Sherman Pass, then pedaling up into Kettle Falls and over some rolling hills into Colville. The cool morning temperatures hadn’t lasted long, and by midday it was above 90 degrees. There was a pretty serious ascent out of Colville, perhaps the steepest climbing we’ve seen so far. The sun was beating down hard and shady spots were few and far between.

Evan powers up the hill outside of Colville

Our maps indicated that there was a biker hostel ahead and we stopped there, hoping to fill up our water before pushing the last 24 miles into camp. Shelley and Barry, the owners of the hostel, have been hosting cyclists on their property here for nine years. While we filled our bottles and mentally prepared to head back out into the heat for a few more hours, they offered us clean beds, showers, a washer and dryer for laundry, and a home-cooked dinner. So much for those last 24 miles.

View off the back porch of the hostel

We are only the second group of cyclists who have come through this touring season, and the hostel was still not fully set up, so we were more than happy to help unload boxes, vacuum the floors, and clean the bathrooms. After we finished tidying up, we headed over to Shelly and Barry’s house where they host a weekly Friday dinner with a variety of guests, including any bikers that happen to be spending the night. Dinner consisted of three separate homemade soups with fresh vegetables, one of which was made with morels collected by one of the guests (a distinguished mushroom hunter who had gathered 25 gallons of morels the day before). Dessert was a selection of no fewer than eight varieties of ice cream.

All of the food was delicious, but what made the night was the communal atmosphere of the meal. There were fifteen guests in total, including Shelley, Barry, the three of us, and two other cyclists. Most of us had never met before but, by the end of the meal, we had gotten to know everyone and felt truly at home.

We cannot thank Shelley and Barry enough for their generosity and their willingness to open up their home to complete strangers. We also owe a huge thanks to Ed Billings for reminding us to enjoy opportunities like this.

Day 8: Tonasket, WA to Republic, WA

Evan Malinchock

Flexibility is an important skill to learn for anyone who aspires to attempt a high adventure trip. I am a very rigid-minded human who focuses on tangible goals, so when things don't go as planned I feel some small version of failure set in. Today was a wonderful exercise in flexibility as we got trapped by rain storms.

We woke up at different times and rolled out separately from the small town of Tonasket, Washington, with Brian leaving first followed by Wes, then myself. The first "task" of the day was to climb Wauconda Pass (pronounced like Wakanda from Black Panther). This pass was a weird mixture of short steep climbs and never-ending false flats in humid and hot conditions over 26 miles.

The scenery looked like something straight out of a western movie as we passed rolling ranges with exposed Rocky cliffs, tall pines doting the hills, and babbling creeks weaving in between the sagebrush along the road. After reaching the summit of the pass in the "ghost town" (or what's left of it), we all passed out on the side of the road. When we looked at the time, we realized that there was more than enough daylight to climb up Sherman Pass, our steepest, and most intimidating pass.

Top of Wauconda Pass

As we descended 15 miles on awful, weak, downhill-flats with strong headwinds, we reached the quiet town of Republic to be met by thunderhead clouds hanging over the ridge that Sherman Pass is situated on. Plans changed and now we're staying the night in the Republic Fairgrounds looking forward to yet another early morning wake-up and exhausting pass summit at the beginning of tomorrow. Though our plans and aspirations for the day have shifted, the optimism is still high as we completed a big day under tough circumstances!

Day 7: Twisp, WA to Tonasket, WA

Wes Malinchock

We woke up after our rest day in Twisp feeling fresh enough to put in some serious miles today. Originally we were supposed to take the normal Adventure Cycling route through Loup Loup Pass, but we had learned the day before our break day that it would be closed for construction. After some debate, we decided to take a 50 mile detour down through Brewster, Washington rather than subject ourselves and our bikes to what looked like a hard gravel climb through the mountains. In the end I think we made the right choice.

In the morning we were headed downhill through the Methow Valley along the river. Thanks to a nice tail wind we were able to ride 32 miles to breakfast in Pateros in only about two hours! This is an amazing pace for the three of us and our loaded down bikes. After breakfast we decided that we were feeling good enough to ride the extra miles to the town we were planning on ending in rather than cut the day short. This decision was partly due to our fresh legs and the wind which had just shifted to give us a tailwind back up the Okanogan Valley.

Okanogan Valley

We set off from breakfast and again made great time up the valley, even though we had some climbing. The wind picked up throughout the day but fortunately stayed at our backs and we were able to make the 92 miles to Tonasket in just under six hours! The town has a camping space specifically for touring cyclists behind the visitors center just off the main road. This puts us in excellent position for our climb up Wauconda Pass and possibly Sherman Pass tomorrow depending on how we are feeling.

Bikers-only campground in Tonasket, WA

Day 5: Newhalem, WA to Twisp, WA

Evan Malinchock

The morning began with me waking up fully rested in my hammock, swinging between two pines, surrounded by the sheer cliffs of the Cascades. The beautiful views distracted me from the reality that I was due to bike 40 or so miles consecutively uphill, and that Wes and Brian were fully packed and ready to roll out of camp. After telling them that I was likely to meet them along the way up our first and largest pass (Washington Pass) I took my time in the bathroom and fixed myself a peanut butter and jelly tortilla.

The first few pedal strokes were blissful as it was a soft downhill on totally silent roads out of the camp in the most picturesque Cascadian gorge. Once I turned a corner the headwind kicked in and knocked me back, then I was confronted by a wall of asphalt, this continued for almost 43 more miles.

A few days ago we were at sea level. Now we are high enough to have snow on the ground in late May.

There's a zen-like rhythm to these massive hill climbs, you find a gear and stick to it, spinning to the cadence of a good song or losing yourself deep in thought and breath. The pain of the climb is never lost but you learn to block that out and focus on the circular motion of your legs and the views that surround you.

Eventually I ran into Wes and Brian on the side of the road and I greeted them and carried on to the top. The road seemed to never end and with each mile I seemed to be sinking into a lower gear range, the climb was definitely getting to me. About fifteen miles from the summit I ran out of water and gears, but fortunately that's when the sides of the roads were covered in fresh snow banks that I was able to clean the top off of and fill my water bottles with some of the freshest and coldest water nature had to offer.

Washington Pass, elevation: 5,482 ft

After topping out on rainy pass I finally made to push to Washington Pass completing my 43 mile odyssey, with Wes and Brian not terribly far behind! After a few photo ops we descended on one of the most stunning roads I've ever seen to a very well earned lunch/dinner in Mazama and soft pedaled to Twisp, just in time to beat a rainstorm, set up tents behind a motel, and find a local Mexican restaurant! The climb was a challenge but one we all conquered with flying colors, so much so I cannot wait for our next challenge!

Day 4: Sedro Woolley, WA to Newhalem, WA

Wes Malinchock

Today we pedaled up to the base of Washington Pass to set ourselves up for the forty mile climb we have tomorrow morning. Most of the day was an easy ascent along the Skagit River into Newhalem, Washington. The weather was dry, which is already an improvement over yesterday, and we even got some sun as we rode up the valley.

Misty Pacific Northwest mornings

We stopped along the way as we usually do for breakfast, but around lunch time we passed a sign that warned there would be no services for the next 72 miles just outside of Marblemount as we were about to enter the park. Fortunately, there was a small market in town where we stocked up on food for tonight through lunch tomorrow. This was a scary awakening for us. If we had missed that sign and bypassed the last market for 72 miles, we would have had a really rough night tonight and an even harder time tomorrow. We definitely learned to read our maps more closely the day before and plan accordingly.

Now that we are settled in for the night in a Cascade National Park campground, fortunately set aside specifically for bikers this busy Memorial Day Weekend, I keep looking up at the mountains that we will climb through tomorrow. It will be our first pass and first real hard day of climbing, and I have been dreading it ever since we flew over the Cascades on our flight to Seattle as a very vocal "non-climber". I could see the snow capped peaks of the mountains from my window seat, knowing that I would be down between them somewhere in only five days. One skill that I learned on my bike trip across the country in 2013 that has been extremely helpful is being able to put my head down and grind through a tough day. Tomorrow I will wake up knowing that half the day will probably suck, but I know what will eventually push me to the top is knowing that when I finally get up there I will have forty miles of downhill ahead of me.

Day 3: Coupeville, WA to Sedro Woolley, WA

Brian Richardson

Lots of people ask us what we do on a cross-country bike trip if it rains. Today we found out the answer: bike in the rain.

Our rain jackets cover up the sweet Bike Loud jerseys Evan designed

Right as we saddled up to leave this morning, it began to sprinkle. The rain started off light enough to feel pleasant on the uphills when we were working hard and bearable on the downhills when the wind picked up. The road took us over some rolling hills and along the water and made for a gorgeous morning ride. We passed by a group of four other cyclists who started near Seattle and are headed along our route towards New Hampshire. There’s a good chance we will run into them again soon.

10 miles in, we stopped for breakfast at the Oak Harbor Bagel Factory (10/10, would highly recommend if anyone is in the area). Some more rolling hills took us up Deception Pass where a scenic bridge took us from Whidbey Island to Fidalgo Island. Soon after, the rain and wind began to pick up which, along with the crisp 53 degree temperature, brought on a deep cold. The remedy for this kind of chill is to stop at a gas station, stick your hands under the warm hand-dryer for 5 minutes, whip up some hot oatmeal, and hit the road again.

15 more miles of wet, cold, riding got us to Sedro Woolley where we set up our tents in the front yard of a generous host. They let us take a hot shower in their house and we took our mud-caked clothes to the laundromat. The rain has let up for now and we’re ready to get to riding again tomorrow morning.

Day 2: Port Angeles, WA to Coupeville, WA (60 miles)

Wes Malinchock

Today felt like a day one all over again. Thanks to our generous hosts, we all woke up in beds to oatmeal and coffee this morning before riding a long downhill to the bike path. We got to ride along the Pacific Coast for a few miles in the morning before the trail eventually plunged into the woods where we had some short, steep climbs and bridges over some beautiful streams.

The trail has actually been extended since the maps we use were drawn, and we got to stay off the main road for longer than I expected which was nice because it put us out of the logging trucks' way. These bike trails have been amazing for us, because they don’t tend to be very steep and allow us to not worry about traffic. I'm sure we will miss them in the coming days that take us on busier roads.

Really are gonna miss these bike trails…

When the cycling trail eventually ended we only had to ride the main road for a little bit before turning on to highway 20, the road we will ride for the next few days through the cascades and to the Idaho border. Today we rode it to Port Townsend over some bigger and steeper hills than we saw yesterday. As I was starting to get sick of the climbing we caught another bike trail that took us on an easy descent into town.

In Port Townsend we caught a ferry off the peninsula and onto Whidbey Island. When we got off the ferry it was only 4 miles into the small town of Coupeville. In town we went to the town hall to ask about staying in a town park for the night, but were told that there was no camping allowed in town parks in any towns here on the island. Instead, the person we met there offered to let us camp in their yard just outside of town!

Ferry from Port Townsend to Coupeville

I was part of a group of twelve boy scouts in 2013 that rode from Maryland to Oregon, and being part of a three person group this time around has been a very different experience. We are much more agile than a larger group and we can move from place to place more efficiently. So far I have been shocked by how easy it is for us to stop for a quick lunch and get rolling again. Even though it is only day two and I am suspicious that we may be getting lucky, it seems like people are more willing to host us at their houses. However, it may just be that we are a group of three young adults, not the twelve rowdy sixteen year olds I rode with in 2013. Finding places to stay was one of my bigger worries for this trip, but so far we have been blessed with generous hosts and great spots to crash. I can only hope that this continues to be the norm, I was not such a happy camper after my second day the last time I did this.

Day 1: La Push, WA to Port Angeles, WA (75 miles)

Evan Malinchock

My day began much earlier than my fellow riders at the early hour of 3:15 am. Being jet lagged by 10 hours after a study abroad experience in Italy was enough to make me a shell of a man at the regular hours of daylight but I used this opportunity to pack and repack my bike a few dozen times. I was soon greeted by my very anxious mom with a cup of coffee and a plate full of biscuits and eggs to help me carbo load before my first day of biking across the country.

The tire dipping “ceremony” at a dreary looking Rialto Beach in La Push, Washington seemed to whiz past me as I had one final internalized panic attack as I realized the full magnitude of the trip I was undertaking. But after a few heartfelt goodbyes we were off and rolling on route 101 through Olympic National Park!

Dipping our tires at Rialto Beach

Olympic National Park has been the land of setting unrealistic expectations for bike trips. No matter where we went we were greeted with Crystal clear lakes at the foot of snow capped peaks, or massive rainforests that looked like they were pulled out of Jurassic Park. Terrain-wise, the day consisted of a massive 40 mile false flat in exposed clear cut timber fields, the fastest railroad-converted-tow-path I've ever ridden, hike n’ bike single track for a bit, and steep punchy climbs that lead us to a diner where we feasted.

Before we entered the diner we met an incredibly kind soul named Tom Swanson, he told us about his cross country trip on the northern tier and we asked about lodging recommendations in Port Angeles. We were greeted with the most pleasant surprise as he and his wonderful wife Robbin opened their house to us and greeted the crew with hotdogs, beds, and warm showers. Tom was kind enough to give us new, more bike friendly route options that will be sure to increase the enjoyability of the next few days! This day of unreal biking was followed with generosity that will surely never be forgotten by any of the bike loud crew members!

View of the mountains from Port Angeles. I guess this means we have some climbs coming up…

As a first time XC Rider the bar has been set unbelievably high just after our first day, and Wes and Brian are quick to remind me that not all days are this flawless. But to me if I'm in the saddle there is no such thing as a bad day.