Thursday, June 08, 2006
Big Sky Country
Libby MT to Glasgow, MT
Got up a little earlier tha usual, knowing that it was going to be 100 miles to Kalispell, then a few more miles to Glacier NP. Motored to Kalispell and stopped at McDs for breakfast. Checked the map and confirmed the route to Glacier and took off. When I got to the West Entrance, I was very dismayed to find that "Going to the Sun" road was CLOSED! Apparently there is some 20-30' of snow (yes, feet) and the road may not open for another month - DAMN!! I was soooo looking forward to riding that road. So, I got the stamp at the visitor's center in Apgar and considered my options. I had not thought of the road being closed, so where do I go now, and how do I get around Glacier NP???
Route 2 does indeed go around Glacier, so it's back on Rte 2 again and truckin toward the eastern side of the state. Once you leave Glacier, it's like you are transported into the grasslands again - flat, boring, hayfields, wheatfields, trains, and this endless ribbon of highway stretching from horizon to horizon - believe me, you can see both ends.
Have I mentioned that I was bucking a tremendous headwind/crosswind all across the state??
My original goal was Malta, MT, some 250 miles away, but with the change of plans, Malta didn't seem far enough, so I stopped at Havre (who thinks up these names, anyway?) and reconnoitered. I still needed to stop at Angle Inlet, but also wanted to be back in Milwaukee by Friday evening if possible. S&T says it's difficult, but possible-1358 miles
So, instead of stopping at Malta, I went on to Glasgow, MT, some 90 miles further down the road. Since Havre, I decided to take advantage of Montana's generous speed limit - essentially none - and wicked it up to 80 indicated, about 75 actual, and kept it there for most of ther rest of the trip. I have been having some ear problems for the past few days (maybe something to do with having earplugs jammed into your ears for 19 straight days...) and decided NOT to use earplugs today, so the roar in my ears was much stronger than usual
Did I mention the headwinds/crosswinds that were throwing me all across the highway?
THe last 15 miles going into Glasgow were simply atrocious - did I mention the crosswinds? - they wer literally throwing me and the bike across my lane and there was no way of telling which way they would come from. One minute it would be from the right, the next minute from the left. Sometimes I would be riding down the road at a 15* angle just to stay on the road and in my lane.
Got a room at a ma and pa place ,walked across the road (five lanes) for cocktails and snack and settled in for the night.
Daily stats:
odo: 50910
GPS: 516.2 miles
Driving avg: 63.3 (Considering that this was 43.3 when I left Glacier, tells you that I was bookin' it across the rest of the state)
Overall avg:46.5
Drive time: 8:09
Stopped time: 2:56
Total time: 11.06
Later,
Mike
Got up a little earlier tha usual, knowing that it was going to be 100 miles to Kalispell, then a few more miles to Glacier NP. Motored to Kalispell and stopped at McDs for breakfast. Checked the map and confirmed the route to Glacier and took off. When I got to the West Entrance, I was very dismayed to find that "Going to the Sun" road was CLOSED! Apparently there is some 20-30' of snow (yes, feet) and the road may not open for another month - DAMN!! I was soooo looking forward to riding that road. So, I got the stamp at the visitor's center in Apgar and considered my options. I had not thought of the road being closed, so where do I go now, and how do I get around Glacier NP???
Route 2 does indeed go around Glacier, so it's back on Rte 2 again and truckin toward the eastern side of the state. Once you leave Glacier, it's like you are transported into the grasslands again - flat, boring, hayfields, wheatfields, trains, and this endless ribbon of highway stretching from horizon to horizon - believe me, you can see both ends.
Have I mentioned that I was bucking a tremendous headwind/crosswind all across the state??
My original goal was Malta, MT, some 250 miles away, but with the change of plans, Malta didn't seem far enough, so I stopped at Havre (who thinks up these names, anyway?) and reconnoitered. I still needed to stop at Angle Inlet, but also wanted to be back in Milwaukee by Friday evening if possible. S&T says it's difficult, but possible-1358 miles
So, instead of stopping at Malta, I went on to Glasgow, MT, some 90 miles further down the road. Since Havre, I decided to take advantage of Montana's generous speed limit - essentially none - and wicked it up to 80 indicated, about 75 actual, and kept it there for most of ther rest of the trip. I have been having some ear problems for the past few days (maybe something to do with having earplugs jammed into your ears for 19 straight days...) and decided NOT to use earplugs today, so the roar in my ears was much stronger than usual
Did I mention the headwinds/crosswinds that were throwing me all across the highway?
THe last 15 miles going into Glasgow were simply atrocious - did I mention the crosswinds? - they wer literally throwing me and the bike across my lane and there was no way of telling which way they would come from. One minute it would be from the right, the next minute from the left. Sometimes I would be riding down the road at a 15* angle just to stay on the road and in my lane.
Got a room at a ma and pa place ,walked across the road (five lanes) for cocktails and snack and settled in for the night.
Daily stats:
odo: 50910
GPS: 516.2 miles
Driving avg: 63.3 (Considering that this was 43.3 when I left Glacier, tells you that I was bookin' it across the rest of the state)
Overall avg:46.5
Drive time: 8:09
Stopped time: 2:56
Total time: 11.06
Later,
Mike
