Life On A B-I7

It is customary to dip the rear wheel in the Pacific Ocean before beginning a West to East trans-continental bicycle journey.

Family and Friends gathered for a send-off dinner a Dockside Dogs. Not only home of the “Anacortes Dog,” but possible the best dog on the West Coast. (Open to interpretation, but the owner of the restaurant agreed with me.)

The official start was June 1. That was to make counting the days easier…

I was only able to cover 61 miles out of Anacortes on June 1 before reaching a road closure, a winter rock slide had closed The North Cascades Highway at Ross Dam.

My SAG (Support and Gear) drove me around the closure.

Two days later I met Todd. Todd is retired Navy. He served with distinction. I couldn’t get enough of his stories during the short time we had together.

It looked like we might make the rest of the trip to Bar Harbor together. We rode for three days before he unexpectedly had to return home. My SAG took him to Spokane, Washington and helped him get his bike shipped home and gave him a lift to the Spokane airport.

My route followed U.S. Highway 2 through Northern Idaho and much of Montana.

U.S. Route 2 goes all the way from Bellingham Washington to Bar Harbor Maine. Once I reached the central states I mainly followed county roads instead of Route 2. That allowed me to avoid the more congested stretches of Route 2.

The Northern route across the U.S. offers spectacular scenery. It is my favorite of the three major bicycling routes across the country.

You can see the spring run-off at peak flow. The river is very swift. This would be a fun kayaking adventure.

I camped most of the time, getting a motel every 4th or 5th night.

I enjoy camping. It is nice to sleep in a real bed occasionally and it saves a lot of money.

It didn’t take a whole lot of convincing to persuade my friend to pose for a photo with me. He did insist on a treat and he’s not the sort of fellow you say no to.

I stayed in the Chalet Motel in Whitefish.

This is a photo with the owner. Her son ran the restaurant attached to the Motel. She told me he made the best pizza and Italian food in Northern Montana, and she was not kidding.

She was a sweetheart. She even did my laundry for me.

Whitefish is the first major stop-off point for the Great Divide Mountain Bike race from Banff to Mexico. I arrived the same day the racers hit town.

The bike shop in Whitefish had 6 bicycle mechanics working that week. Not only did they service all the racer’s bikes but they even took care of mine on very short turn-around.

Whitefish is a very cool town.

I’m starting my climb up to the summit of the Tetons and the Continental Divide.

I wasn’t fully prepared for the climb, but I made it. Having SAG support across Washington was a big help in getting me ready for this part of the route.

This was still a bit of a struggle.

My SAG left me after I crossed into Idaho. I suspect Pickleball tournaments back home may have had something to do with that…

I was captivated by this waterfall. This is “Silver Staircase Falls” in Glacier National Park. This type of waterfall is referred to as a “Cascade” falls.

The stair steps are formed by alternating layers of hard and soft sedimentary rock.

It can get cold in the summer in the higher elevations. This looks bad but actually it is a minor inconvenience. After all, you can’t worry about what you can’t feel.

I reached the summit of the Tetons. The elevation at this point is not that impressive, but it took a lot of climbing to get here.

I’m told it takes a lot of climbing to reach the East Coast. Surprising how much there is. I will learn all about that as I head east.

One thing is for sure, it is not down hill all the way to the Atlantic Coast from here…

I’m passing through the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The landscape is awe inspiring.

I took a lot of landscape photos on the tour. I plan to learn watercolor painting when I can’t ride a bicycle any longer. The photos I captured on this trip will provide a lot of inspiration. This is one of my favorites.

You only have to travel 848 miles to get to the Eastern border of Montana. That is the longest state traverse on the route.

This is good road with good shoulder. A lot of the roads along the way are not quite as good as this one.

You have to listen to your bike. It’s your best friend on the road. When it tells you it wants a break, it’s a good idea to listen to it.

Of course, the engine on the bike never needs a break…

I stopped to admire a lot of scenes like this one. It seems like these appear randomly out of nowhere. They disappear just as quickly.

Occasionally you have to stop and smell the… whatever these are.

Still making my way across Montana. Here I’m just a few miles from the Canadian Border.

I enjoyed trying to get the attention of animals as I passed by. For the most part they were uninterested in me.

The route follows Highway 2 across most of Montana. I’m about half-way between the Fort Belknap Reservation and the Fort Peck Reservation.

Camping is pretty much the only option and has been for a several days.

There are two dozen of these “sculptures” spread across Montana They were created by metal artist Jim Dolan and donated to the Montana Highway Department.

The artist installed these as a reminder that those suffering with mental health issues should reach out for help.

Yes. I checked every one to see if I could call home… I don’t have any issues though… None that care to admit to…

I’m just outside the town of Wolf Point which is on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

While stopped at an historical roadside marker. A man named “Duck”in a pick-up truck asked me if I liked history? I said yes. What ensued was a lengthy history of his tribe.

His job was to check the water purity of the fresh water pipeline to the Reservation twice daily at each end of the pipeline.

Duck is a member of the Assiniboine Tribe. He invited me to a Pow-Wow (several days hence). He also offered to show me the Tribe’s Buffalo Herd. I had to decline and keep moving but I was humbled by his offer.

The Assiniboine have the only genetically pure herd of Buffalo outside of Yellowstone National Park.

I’ve been on the road for a month and I have finally made it across Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Next up, North Dakota.

I was asked many times, what was your favorite State. That’s a difficult question to answer. Every State I passed through had something beautiful and unique to offer. I enjoyed them all. I hind-sight, I will say that North Dakota gave me a picture of the West that is probably the most unchanged from what it looked like a generation or two ago.

My first stop in North Dakota. Food that would seem routine back home can be amazing on the road. This little hunk of goodness would have stood out both back home as well as here.

The Docent at the Dickinson Art Gallery gave me this rubber duck as a thank you for visiting.

I named him “Commander Duck”. Partially because he is a duck, and partially in honor of the friend I made back in Fort Peck.

Commander Duck made an excellent navigator and stayed with me all the way to Bar Harbor. Here he is holding down his seat on the Flying Bridge.

It’s always a good idea to send a little reminder home, so they don’t forget you…