Monthly Archive for August, 2010

Cycle Touring Mecca

Inside an old church in Montana a cyclist can make a different sort of spiritual pilgrimage. It is at 150 East Pine Street, Missoula, Montana, that a touring cyclist can get a sugar hit and words of encouragement, without spending a penny.

It is at this address, one will find the Adventure Cycling Assocation national headquarters. the ACA is an organisation who’s  mission is to “inspire people of all ages to travel by bicycle.” Seeing they were the folks behind the original Bikecentennnial cycled by Keith, Marie and Jeff Hook, we thought it only just to take a detour to visit their fine offices.

In the ACA offices they curate, compile, and update cycle touring maps (over 40, 000 miles are covered), sell cycle touring gear, offer free internet and ice-cream to tourists and have a heaving repository of fine cycle touring memorabilia. I was quietly chuffed to see their library contained Keith’s book on his 1976 TransAm adventure.

On entry, you’re welcomed, and your photo is taken, where your polaroid is placed up on a wall with all the other cyclists that have passed through the offices  that summer. We saw a few familiar faces we’d met on the road, and were encouraged to see so many worn and sunburnt TransAm cyclists still managing to crack a  smile for the camera.

Earlier in our trip we had been told about the ’1976 Collection’ of photos for the original ‘Bikecentennial’ where over 4000 people cycled across the US to commemorate 200 years of  American Independence. Greg Siple, one of ACA’s founders kindly took us through to one of the back rooms where the finest of the 1976 black and white photos are framed on display.

Also in the offices, hanging from the walls, are the retired bicycles of cycle tourists. Notably is Dan and Lys Burden’s touring tandem – the bike they used to plot the TransAm trail. Also is Robert Hammersmith’s tourer. He rode the TransAm trail in 76 days, at the ripe age of 79, alone. Respect. We’ve met a lot of folks in their 60′s on the road, but thinking about this bloke puts perspective to our complaints on how sore we are at the end of a day’s ride.

This Chap rode the TransAm at 79 Years, in 76 days, and this is his bicycle.

Mr Siple was also kind enough to take our photo for the ACA’s Archive – with a black and white Nikon film camera -he’s been doing this since 1982.  As this tour is somewhat part of a Legacy to Keith And Marie’s trip we  proudly held up our spurtle, handmade by Keith and presented to us before our departure. The Spurtle has been an essential tool for stirring countless pots of beans, rice and chickpeas – which have fueled us across the country.

And so with our photo taken and a crew of English lycra clad tourists entering the building for their turn, it was time to leave.   We reluctantly left Missoula in the direction of more hills, the Rockies and Yellowstone National Park.

Published on August 31, 2010. 8 Comments

Riding high on Lolo

After a week of cycling the hot and dry breadth of Oregon, our next day off was in another western Victorian-era town, Baker City. The recommended budget motel had a diner attached, which provided a complementary breakfast. Sceptical that we’d only get a cup of coffee and piece of toast, we wandered over to cash in our breakfast coupons.

The Oregon Trail Diner was a living work of art, the colour scheme and decor looked untouched since the sixties. Deep green vinyl booths, the walls adorned with the stuffed heads of local fauna, and that speckled polished concrete one doesn’t see anymore. And this wasn’t the kitch themed eatery one sees vying for the tourist dollar. The beautiful hairless staff even looked like they’d been selected from a Fitzroy modeling agency. This was pure Americana. So much so, we’d felt like we’d walked onto the set of ‘Mad Men’.

We ended up eating at the Oregon Trail Diner three times, just so the experience had correctly absorbed into our memories.

A few big climbs awaited us after Baker City, the first leaving the ‘town’ of ‘White Bird’. The old highway snaked up the hill, there must have been 16 switchbacks on that 10 mile climb, but it took 2 and a half hours. It was a little testing, but they didn’t call it Hell’s Canyon for nothing.

A few days later We climbed Lolo Pass, our last mountain in Oregon, on a chilly morning and discovered Idaho on the other side. Jack was surprised to find two Moose looking him in the eye on the way downhill. “Moose are biiiiiig”
was all he could say for a while.

Later, we sat and ate ice cream and mars bars in front of the Lolo Hot Springs general store. A kindly fellow approached us to say he had been sitting on the same step two years
earlier, doing the same bicycle route. He was so happy to have met us and only disappointed that we already had our sodas since he always had an esky full of cold drinks in his car boot for thirsty cyclists. People here continue to surprise us with their spontaneous generosity.

Our path through Idaho followed much of the historic Lolo trail, the ancient Indian route north across the high ridgetops of the Bitterroot Ranges.

It was traversed by the famous Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery in 1805 and 1806. The Lolo Trail also commemorates the legends and
history of the Nez Perce Indians, as well as later fur traders and settlers. For the Nez Perce, the Lolo Trail was a route they traveled every year to hunt buffalo and trade with the Plains tribes to the east. For the Salish Indians it was the route for salmon fishing and
trading with Plateau and Coastal tribes. In 1877, the Nez Perce used this route to flee the relentless persecution of the US Cavalry, before finally surrendering on the battlefield in Montana.

Stories of Indians being hounded from reservation to reservation are all too common in these parts, but it’s refreshing to see such stories told so candidly on roadside history boards.

Some more dancing back and forth over the Idaho/Montana border finally came to an end and we rolled into bicycle friendly Missoula. A small university City with 9 bicycle stores and the Adventure Cyling Association national office.

This fine organisition deserves its own entry, so stay tuned…

Published on August 13, 2010. 2 Comments

Oh Lovely Oregon

The Oregon border is marked by a wonderful and large ‘Welcome to Oregon’ sign. On the opposite side a diminutive ‘welcome to california’. It’s literally a tenth of the size. So with this modest farewell – a reminder of Califonia’s lack of public funds, we felt a little sad leaving our wonderful welcome to the USA.

The most immediate difference after the change in road quality was the bicycle lane road markings. The painted Oregon cyclist in the bike lane had no helmet. Poor thing.

In Orick, the campground toilets were locked. In Brookings, we saw deer. In Port Orford, we thought of everyone at home and wished we were at Charlie and Mikaela’s wedding. In Mapleton, we camped in the heat beside an empty swimming pool and in Eugene, we discovered that asking for directions will get you a lift to the supermarket!

Eugene, is a fine college town, that boasts more than one micro brewery. But with a 5 am starts to beat the heat – it’s the second beer that hurts the next day.

Oregon was also the official start of the Trans America route for us and we were full of anticipation. We were able to begin following Keith and Jeff’s book on their 1976 tour, ‘It’s all uphill’. It was fair to say some places haven’t changed since they visited in 1976, and the hills certainly haven’t gotten any easier.

It wasn’t long before we hit our first big climb, a 22 mile stretch rising to over 5000 feet at McKenzie Pass. Worth the effort though, as we reached the top we saw three snow capped mountains, glaciated volcanic peaks, surrounded by ancient lava flows as far as the eye could see. The whole way down we craved ice cream covered in chocolate sauce….

We came down to earth in ‘Sisters’ a tourist hub at the base of the Three Sister mountains. Think ‘High noon at the ok corral’ meets Lorne (or Tramore) in high summer. We rode on and ended up off route in Smith Rock, a spectacular canyon perfect for rock climbers. Smith rock is also an eagle nesting ground, we were told some of the nests weighed up to 1000 kilograms. It was the most visually stunning place we’d yet been to and it was hard to leave in the morning.

The next day was seriously hot. Jack resorted to peanut butter milkshakes and I was none too happy at the end of the day, knowing there would be no shower. Mitchell, our destination, was a dying town that hasn’t seen much development since the mining rush over 100 years ago. We learnt in depth about the economy from an obliging local. The Mosquitos were horrific and I was almost about to say ‘this was all your idea’ when we discovered an oasis, the Oregon Motel, complete with bathtub. Happy days again.

It was here we met fellow cyclists riding the TransAm- Ellen & Joe, Bruce & Clay. We traded notes and stories on the hotel porch until dark. Ellen and Joe, a couple in their sixties were riding a fantastic ‘bike friday’ tandem with trailer. Clay, a history teacher from Washington state was completing an unfinished TransAm after having to cease his first attempt due to injury. His cycle blog is titled ‘unfinished business’.

It was greatly encouraging to meet others cycling the transam too. And so, we felt a lot more confident riding the next dry stretch to the gold mining town of the wild west, Baker City. It also meant a much needed rest day, and a bed with sheets.

Published on August 5, 2010. 1 Comment