Date: 2007-06-24
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Miles today: 0.0

6-20-07Eureka, Mt68 miles today604 miles on Nothern Tier4692 miles totalI wasn't ready to get up this morning. Mrs Gorp helped because she was up and brought me coffee from the lobby. :-))I slowly packed up and when it was 7am, we walked next door to a cafe for breakfast.I called Chief to see if he got my photo card yet. He's back from "vacation" now and said that he did get the card and was planning on posting some pictures on my journal.We finally checked out about 8am and started riding east.It was a mild morning at about 50 degrees and the sun was shining bright...and no wind!!We rode beside the Kootenai River for about 15 miles to Libby Dam.We then turned north and rode next to Lake Koocanusa for about 45 miles. The road was one of the best and least traveled we've rode on this whole trip. There was still some snow in distant mountains.We were riding along and really enjoying the quiet of the area when a nice black bear walked out onto the road about 200 yards in front of us.I kept riding and tried turning on my camera at the same time to get some pictures, but by the time I hit the right button, he was just walking off the other side of the road.I rode up to where he entered the woods, but couldn't see him.He was about 200 pounds and was the first black bear we've seen on this trip.We got to see another golden eagle today and some more ospreys. I forgot to write in yesterday's journal about the osprey I saw carrying a fish.We stopped a couple times along the way to eat and drink a little, but we pretty much kept moving all day.We had seen a tour bus come into the motel we were at last night that had a group of Amish from Ohio. I talked to some of them this morning and found out they were heading the same direction as us today.The tour bus came by us the first time about 20 miles into our ride. The next time they passed us was about 50 miles into the ride and that time they honked and waved. :-))It was getting warm out by the time we got to Rexford...about 63 miles into our ride. We passed by one store thinking that we would find another, but we didn't, so we kept riding for another 6 miles into Eureka.I was ready for a Coke by then. :-))We got sodas and found out that both motels were right next to us, so we took the less expensive one for the night.We are about 5 miles from the border to British Columbia, Canada.This was another day with some of the best weather we've had...up until it got close to 85 degrees by the time we quit riding. At least the humidity is 18%, so it doesn't feel too bad.We went to a local cafe for dinner, then went back and watched the weather. :-))Another great day on the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))6-21-07Columbia Falls, Mt67 miles today671 Northern Tier miles4759 total milesI walked next door to the convenience store for my complimentary coffee when I woke up. I brought Mrs Gorp her coffee back to the room.We decided to wait on breakfast and just pack up and go. Fortine was just 15 miles away and we thought we'd eat breakfast there.It was about 50 degrees when we left and started riding east.I haven't been saying much about the winds lately because I thought I was jinxing myself, but that's not it. We had strong headwinds again. :-((It seems that no matter what direction we ride, the tall grass on the side of the roads are pointing to the direction we came from because of all the wind. The flags are usually standing straight out and blowing in the opposite direction we are riding. Maybe Mother Nature will get tired of messin' around with us and forget about us soon. :-))I just put the bike in a lower gear and pedaled easy. I went about 7mph for the first couple hours, then the winds started letting up and the rest of the day wasn't too windy.We got to Fortine, but there wasn't anything open. I was thinking we made a BIG mistake by not eating breakfast when we could. I looked at the map and it looked like maybe a cafe in another 15 miles.I don't work well without food. :-((I stuck out my lower lip and started pedaling. I didn't go 300 yards before I came to a campground with a small cafe...and the sign said it was open!! :-))I walked in just to make sure, then went back out and waited on Mrs Gorp to show up.The guy was a chef from Sisters, Or who was just tired of working for someone else, so he bought this little place and does breakfast and lunch. His specialty is smoked meat and he let us try some smoked pork before we left. He's good at smoking meat!!We headed on and were much happier to have eaten a meal. :-))We got to Olney in another 20 miles and I mailed Frogcaller and Lew a little something for their cabin, then we went to the mercantile and had sodas. We were sitting out front on a bench and enjoying the day. A guy started talking to Mrs Gorp.He asked how far we've rode and when we told him he said; "You don't look like you're crazy, but I guess you can't judge a person by their looks." :-))I rode on and when Mrs Gorp caught up to me, she said the guy was 91 years old. He looked more like his early 70's to me.There was a bunch of rich boys with expensive toys come flying by on the road. It must have been a Lamborgini club ride with about 15 to 18 Lamborginis heading west at a very high rate of speed. They were passing other cars and it looked like we were on a race track.One of the last few to pass was going well over 100mph and passed a car as I was riding east. He came within 6 feet of me going that fast in my lane.He must wake up each morning and look in the mirror to see an idiot looking back.Mrs Gorp was riding ahead of me when I spotted a bald eagle flying nearby.I pulled off the road and got my camera ready. A hawk was squawking at the eagle and attacking it in mid flight.I think the eagle was near the hawk's nest because it kept circling in the same area.I was getting pictures and enjoying the two birds. The eagle kept turning upside down with it's claws pointed upward towards the hawk each time the hawk attacked.I got some pictures from a distance and even got one that showed the eagle upside down with his claws pointing towards the hawk, who was also in the picture.People always ask me about all the scenery I see. I like the scenery, but I love it when I get to see the animals in their environtment. I guess that seeing the animals and moving each day under my own power is what I like best about what I do. The scenery of the places I go would take third place.I rode on and caught up to Mrs Gorp and told her about what I had just seen.When we started riding again, a doe ran along side of us along the road looking for a place to get back into the woods.We rode on and got to Whitefish, then stopped at the bike shop so Mrs Gorp could replace her tube from the flat she had the other day. I'm not sure why, but I like talking about the flat she had the other day. :-)) It was a good flat. :-)) It was one of the best looking flats I've ever seen. :-)) I really, really liked that flat. :-)) Flat, flat, flat, flat, flat....it's fun even saying the word and thinking that Mrs Gorp finally had a FLAT!!! :-))We walked three doors down to Loulu's and I had a reuben with the best corned beef I've ever had.We are trying to connect with Sly, who's on a bus today to Whitefish, but will take a train to East Glacier tomorrow. Hope we can hook up in East Glacier...at least for dinner.We wanted to get a little closer to East Glacier for tomorrow's ride, so we went on another 10 miles to Columbia Falls for the night. That will leave about a 70 mile day to ride on the southern side of Glacier National Park.The guy at the bike shop confirmed that northern Glacier is not open yet, so we have to take the southern route.We got a room and after getting cleaned up, we went out for a hamburger and fries.Another great day on the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))6-22-07East Glacier, Mt70 miles today742 Northern Tier miles4830 total milesI've been a little more tired than usual the last few mornings. I want to stay sleeping when it's 5am, but I know I want to get up and start riding too, so I've been getting up slowly. Hopefully the morning blahs will pass soon. :-))I tried making some Starbuck's in a small, one cup coffee maker and it ran over and got grinds all over the place. I walked downstairs and got some of the motel coffee. It was OK.We had their continental breakfast and left by 7am.It was another mild morning at about 50 degrees.We followed the Flathead River for about 10 miles. I just can't get over how beautiful these rivers are in this area.We got to West Glacier in about 15 miles and stopped for a real breakfast with eggs, hashbrowns, bacon and toast.There was a small gift shop and we found some Glacier bumper stickers that fit on our bikes. The back of Mrs Gorp's bike is starting to look like the back of my truck...for anyone who's seen all the stickers I have on that. :-))We put the stickers on the bikes, then headed east.We had Marias Pass to climb today. It's over 5200 feet high and it looks like it might be the last real mountain we climb until we get into Vermont. We will be out of the Rockies after that pass.We were riding along and kept seeing different snow capped mountains in the distance.Glacier National Park was on our left most of the morning, but we entered the park for a while.I kept scanning the mountains, looking for mountain sheep and bears. I thought I'd spot something, but never did see any today.We kept climbing what seemed like a fairly easy grade. It started getting pretty warm out again.We stopped at a cafe just before Essex and went inside and looked at the menu. It was so warm out that neither of us had an appetite, so we settled on sodas and some potato chips.The shoulder of the road had been cleared off and was free from the usual small rocks, pieces of glass and parts of shredded tires. It was really nice riding on a clean shoulder. That changed when we passed Essex. We got back to a normal shoulder with all the debris to avoid.We kept climbing and got to Marias Pass. We stopped and got some pictures and looked for where the CDT crossed.I couldn't wait to start the ride down the hill because we had tailwinds!!! Woohoo!!! :-))It was a very pleasant ride until we got to the road construction with gravel in place of the nice pavement we'd been riding on.That construction lasted for about 5 miles with about 1/3 of it being gravel.We pulled into East Glacier. It wasn't as nice as some of the towns we've been in lately...mainly because there weren't many trees.We got a room and Mrs Gorp got in touch with Sly to see where he was. Turned out he was still in Kalispell, but said he'd be here in 2 hours.I was getting some stuff out of my bike when I heard a loud pop. I thought someone threw a firecracker outside, but it was one of the bike tires. It was on Mrs Gorp's bike and that's not funny. Ha!! :-))I guess it really does pour when it rains. hehehehe :-))We fixed that with a new tube and a patch on a bad spot on the inside of her tire....after I got pictures of that beautiful flat for my journal. :-))When Sly showed up, we all went to a Mexican restaurant to eat and drink a few margaritas.I didn't realize that Sly has already walked about 500 miles of the CDT and plans on finishing the trail this year.We walked over to the backpacker's hostel when we were done and started talking to Bald Eagle.Bald Eagle said we had met, but I didn't remember it until he mentioned his wife's name was Nacoma. I had talked to both of them at the Southern Ruck earlier this year about the bike ride.We talked about 30 minutes, then went back to the room.We had the door open and I looked out to see 3 more hikers. I couldn't believe it, but one was a very good friend of mine by the name of Greyhound.He's been on the CDT since May 1st and we just happened to cross paths in this little town in Montana. :-))Little Bump and Flounder were also here. They had walked the AT in '04 and we were within a couple weeks of each other in Maine.They all had to leave for the Trail.I can't believe how lucky I was to run into Greyhound and all the rest of the hikers out here. :-))Sly started talking on the cell phone and when he didn't come back by 10pm, we locked the door and went to sleep.An extra special day on the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))