Arrived here yesterday afternoon after a 40 mile ride the last 4 of which were harrowing (no shoulder, 70mph traffic, including lumber trucks, cement trucks, RVs and cars). Nearly 2.5 miles of this last four I walked the bike – NOT SAFE. Found a bike shop here that could repair my crank – one of the gears had broken teeth. SO another night here, then further progress towards Glacier National Park.
Once in West Glacier I will have to make some hard decisions. There are only two ways over the Rockies. The preference is to take the Going-to-the-Sun-Road. This road has limited tourist traffic, but no trucks or RVs. Unfortunately this road received four feet of snow at the end of June and so at the time of this writing is still not open all the way through to East Glacier. The Alternate route is more of the same of what I rode/walked through yesterday, so it is no alternate. If the “sun road” isn’t open all the way through, I will ride what I can of it, then ride back to an overnight camp site (where I can leave my gear) and hopefully catch a train to get me on the other side of the divide (maybe even into North Dakota).
I’m only just recovering from a bout of bronchitis, which has slowed me down a bit over the last few days – nice to have two overnights here to recoup. Somewhere between here and Eureka I lost my credit card. I’ve put a hold on it and no charges had been made that weren’t charges I made. And I still have a debit card. All-in-all, I am grateful to be able to continue, to meet the people along the way, to see the beauty of a part of the country I have never been in.
I continue to be astonished at the “material wealth” that many people have. RVs the size of my house hauling boats or a second car behind. The RVs are equipped with all the modern conveniences (wide screen TVs, generators for electricity when there are no hookups, “toys” galore). A very blatant example of the wealth disparity and consumptive nature of our economy. There doesn’t seem to be any thought that “nature” is being enjoyed at “nature’s” expense. Seeing it all makes me feel a bit less optimistic of humanity’s future.
But even though I’m traveling now, I still live in Hope.
~Tom
