Plotting the Summer starts the previous December- Glacier; Going to the Sun Highway

Riding the Going to the Sun Highway has been on my bucket list for many years. I wanted to hit it when I went down the Great Divide , but that was a missed opportunity. When I mentioned this to my partner, he agreed to go with me. My partner is a good cyclist, but not hardcore. The fact that he's interested in doing this truly thrills me.

I started the process by calling Glacier Cyclery in Whitefish, Montana. One of the employees, Vanessa, emailed me back with a lot of information. She suggested that I make sure I have bike rental reservations finished by mid-March. When I had the dates all confirmed and the airplane tickets, I called Glacier Cyclery. I actually got to speak to Vanessa, and she suggested altering my plans. My plan had been to start up as early as possible, believing that everybody had to be off the road by 11 o'clock and there were no other chances to go up. Vanessa noted that leaving early in the morning, it is cold and there's a lot of traffic that makes the trip up quite stressful. Adding to that stress is the time factor, requiring cyclists to be at the top before 11 o'clock. Vanessa also informed me that after 4 o'clock cyclists are allowed again on the road. She noted that it's a fabulous time to go up since the sun doesn't go down until 9:30 at night. She also stated that at 4 o'clock most of the traffic is coming down, and all the people who were rushing to go up to start hikes in the morning are gone. There was an added bonus on top of that; the alpine glow lends a beautiful hue to views on the way back home. We don't have to mention that I do not work for Glacier Cyclery... I was truly impressed by her knowledge of that particular road, and that she's done it several times. The bike rental situation is quite good, especially after I asked her for her advice in terms of timing. Also the rates are quite reasonable and they're going to rent us a bike rack for our rental car. I have had positive dealings with Glacier Cyclery previously, when I was on The Great Divide Route. They took a phone order while we were far away and very remote, for one of my companions who had panniers that failed. The panniers were waiting when we arrived in Whitefish, MT at Glacier Cyclery.

I am more excited to go than ever...

Atlanta, GA- escape from the North

Back in January, we decided to head south to escape Buffalo's cold for a spell (it has been uncharacteristically cold).  The Virgin Islands are pricey, but maybe more importantly, it takes a lot of precious time to get there and subjects you to multi-plane trips where you are more susceptible to weather related delays...
So.
We scheduled a trip to the South, where we have spent little time.  A brief brainstorm suggested Atlanta or Savannah and further research recommended Atlanta for a week long visit. Little did we know that I would end up having hernia surgery 2 days before we left. No worries; it just prevented me from doing drywall or construction work during recovery.

Atlanta was quite enjoyable, even if your bend is industrial reuse and Portland-esk style hippie venues.  It took a long time to find a great coffee shop, but when we did, it was all we I could have asked for.

On the 3rd day, we headed out for a bike tour with Bicycle Tours of Atlanta with Robyn and her intern : )  The tours start at a revitalized industrial warehouse site, which incubates (and obviously also retains) small businesses. The site still retains many of its more charming industrial attributes, such as sliding fire doors, but the roof has been pulled off down the center of the building to offer natural light to the remaining portions.  Extremely well executed.

We also visited a mill conversion to condos.  The greatest thing about it was that much of the huge infrastructure was left.  Hoppers and overhead rail tracks were meshed with a swimming pool.  Pretty fabulous.

Robyn customized our tour based on our architectural and art interests and led us through neighborhoods which saw deep economic slumps and managed to rebound without losing too much of their architectural heritage.  The ?city? promoted a mural painting bonanza, which manifests as fabulous and varied murals in diverse areas.

We really enjoyed the tour and it was not stressful on my recent stitches.  The bikes were better than the ones we rented in New Orleans; less wide saddle and more practical. Robyn was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot.

BTW the most hipster coffee shop vote goes to...drumroll... Octane, 1009 Marietta St NW.  Great mocha, clean tables, industrial bldg reused, they make designs in your foam. I know, I know.  Don't lecture me, this is my one flaw.

C2C TransAm tour update:
About 4 people have committed to forming a group to cross the country starting May 31st from Yorktown, VA.
I did buy a Bike Friday for this endeavor. Here it is in its suitcase. I will not be using the suitcase as a trailer, but one of my cohort will be. My suitcase is being shipped to Portland, OR (final destination) filled with goodies for the first apartment of my daughter, then I will pack the bike in it for the flight home.
The second photo illustrates the solution to a nagging problem. Handlebar bags, lights and odometers take up too much space on the handlebars. In this case, the bag sits up so high the light ends up behind the bag. After doing some extensive Googling, I found this solution. Mount a second handlebar stem on the steering tube, put a truncated handlebar in it and mount the bag to the second stem. Now the light is above the bag. I can still see the map case adequately. On a Bike Friday this is an especially good solution, because the steering tube is so long.







Answers to popular questions:
Q: How are you gathering the group?
A: after the posting on Adventure Cycling I collected email addresses starting in August, then in January, I began a group email. I used one address for the posting, but a different one for the group. This allowed me to keep the non-serious people separate from the serious.
Q: How will you get to the start?
A: Probably by train. I booted out starting points without public transportation options.
Q: How long will it take?
A: About 3 months at 50 miles per day
Q: Where will you stay?
A: In campgrounds, parks and church lots. So many hints are found on the Adventure Cycling maps, including where to stay and the location of restaurants and grocery stores.
Q: Won't your butt get sore?
A: Yup.

Things I am investigating: Is there a useful solid shampoo I can also use for dish and laundry soap? What other maps should I take? Are there good sections of the route convenient for others to join me? Are my current rainpants acceptable? Could an iphone replace my Palm, phone, camera and allow me to update my blog?