Spokane-BC-Whitefish

Spokane-British Columbia-Whitefish

Fall 2025

Day 1: Aug 31 - Chicago, IL [35.7, 3:41:00, 9.7 mph, 16.1 max, +515', -671']

My fall 2025 tour covered 660 miles with 30,000 feet of climbing. Before settling on this route, I was unsure where to ride this fall. I really enjoy riding in the west because of the scenic views and the straightforward routes. However, in my 25 years of bicycle touring I’ve covered a lot of the western routes and it has become increasingly difficult to find new routes to satisfy my wanderlust. Fortunately, I stumbled on to Kelly Iniquez’s British Columbia 2019 report at https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/bc2019/route-map/. I quickly realized that I could do a similar route starting in Spokane and ending in Whitefish, two places that would allow me to use Amtrak to get to and from my tour with my bicycle - https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49882133.

As I turned 78 on this tour, I have been increasingly forced to acknowledge the ravages of time and reduce my typical day from 70-80 miles to 40-50 miles due to a slower bicycle…

This year I also had to deal with a less than perfect left knee. Last fall I had an issue with my left knee that just happened out of the blue on a rest day. After some significant pain riding the next day, the issue went away and I guessed it must have been a fluke. However, I had the same issue twice back in May. At that time, I consulted with my niece who is a physical therapist specializing in knee issues (https://betterknees.com/). My niece recommended some therapy (most of her consulting is actually working with clients remotely). That seemed to help and get me in a position where I could handle this tour. That turned out to be the case but I was careful to not overdo it and I iced my knee every day, even including the two days I camped.

For this year’s trip I took the same Amtrak train as last year except I was getting off in Spokane, Washington instead of continuing on to Portland. I was also able to get a slot for my bicycle rather than having to pack it up like last year.

Since the train didn’t leave until 3:05 pm, I had plenty of time to get to Chicago Union Station so I chose to ride to the station. I left at 7 am using the same route as last year. This route was basically taking the Illinois Prairie Path as far as it went, heading north on Keystone Ave until Augusta St, riding Augusta all the way to Milwaukee Ave and then south on Des Plaines until Jackson Ave where I was only a couple blocks from Union Station on Clinton St.

Unlike last year where I managed to take the wrong direction on the IPP where it split into the Aurora and Elgin branch, I took the Main Stem to Chicago. But I saw how this split section was confusing and how I managed to take the wrong branch. It also helped that this year I had the Coros Dura Solar GPS bike computer and had downloaded a RideWithGPS route to Union Station.

The ride was an uneventful 37-mile ride to Union Station and I arrived around 11:30 am. I got a tag for my bicycle on the train and then put the bike in the storage area until I retrieved it for boarding. Since I had a roomette on the train, I was entitled to use the Amtrak Lounge which was a great place to hang out since they had drinks and snacks.

Boarding the train was a little different this year since I had a bicycle slot on the train. However, in the past I always just handed my bicycle to an attendant in the baggage car who took care of securing it. This year, we were told to secure the bikes ourselves. The problem was there were no instructions on how to secure the bike nor anyone to help us. There were two other cyclists with bikes who were equally confused. We did the best we could figure out and hoped that would be good enough.

The train left on time and I immediately took a shower, another advantage of having a roomette. I had a 5:30 dinner reservation. When I showed up, I got seated with three other young women and I wasn’t sure this was going to be a good match but I was pleasantly surprised. These women were part of a group from the St. Paul/Minneapolis area who had spent the weekend in Chicago. The 2 youngest were high school seniors who I had thought were college students. I thought the other woman was fairly young but it turned out she had 5 kids and 2 grand kids. So much for my judgement. In any event it was a pleasant group.

All in all, a good first day for the trip.

Day 2: Sep 01 - Amtrak

I slept pretty well and didn’t get up until 6 am, just in time for the start of breakfast at 6:30.

I spent much of the day reading my kindle in addition to meeting new folks at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

A quiet, relaxing day on the train.

Day 3: Sep 02 - Colbert, WA

Early in the morning I heard some annoying tapping sounds. I wondered what was going on and finally realized it was the attendant with my wakeup call. I slept well for about 5 hours.

The train was on time but then I couldn’t get my bike. When I exited the train, the attendant pointed me to the nearby baggage car which didn’t have my bike. However, I had put my bike in a baggage compartment at the rear of the train. I saw someone else get his bike that looked like a bike that was put in the same compartment as mine in Chicago. The baggage handler was surprised that we had put our bikes in the rear. Once he knew my bike was in the rear of the train he retrieved it for me.

Once I got my bike I loaded up and crossed under the tracks to get to the other side of the tracks to head north. It was a short ride up Bernard to Spokane Falls Blvd and then a couple blocks east to the Best Western Plus City Center. Spokane Falls was one way west but at 3 am it was easy to navigate against little traffic with a bicycle.

The motel was locked after hours but an attendant was alerted to look for me. He unlocked the door and checked me in. I slept for another few hours and then headed down to the included breakfast, one of the first for the 6 am opening. It was an outstanding breakfast with the traditional eggs, potatoes, bacon, and sausage as well as a waffle maker.

After breakfast, I worked to get my gear organized for touring, as opposed to having it organized for train travel. I also scouted coffee shops since I needed a place to hang out after I checked out at noon. There were several coffee shops within a few blocks. My primary criteria was a place where I could lock up my bike outside and keep an eye on it from inside. So, I settled on the Indaba coffee shop on Riverside because there was a good place to lock it up and a convenient table to sit at and keep an eye on it.

After I ordered coffee and a bagel, I wasted time trying to connect to the Wi-Fi network. For some reason the network didn’t show up as available for either my Chromebook or my phone. Adding the network manually didn’t work. It didn’t help that the staff didn’t spell out the network name properly (Indaba-Guest). Just as I was ready to give up and find another coffee shop, the network name magically showed up in my chromebook’s list of networks and I was finally able to connect but I was never able to connect with my phone.

Judy, my sister, stopped by the coffee shop around 2:30. We left a couple hours later to meet Dan and Stephanie at a pizza place for dinner. It was good to visit with them.

After dinner, Judy and I headed north to Colbert to stay with Krissy and family, Isaac and Abby, for the night. Matt, Krissy’s husband, was finishing up a 48-hour firehouse duty and would show up the next morning. I kept my bicycle in the basement which was convenient since there were only 4 steps to navigate from the rear of the house. I slept on Abby’s gymnastic pad using my sleeping bag which worked well.

Day 4: Sep 03 - Newport, WA [35.7, 3:47:00, 9.4 mph, 29.7 max, +1,910', -1,567']

I was up at 6 am, before anyone else. I had a bowl of cereal and a banana. Eventually, Krissy showed up and made some coffee. Then Isaac and Abby put in their appearance to get ready for school. Finally, Judy showed up which was good because I would have to pass through her bedroom to get my gear to my bike. Then Matt made it home from his 48-hour firehouse assignment, looking a little bleary as would be expected.

Finally, it was time to pack up and head out. The temperature was projected to hit 100 so I wanted to get going to avoid the heat but I also didn’t want to pass up meeting with the family. Everybody was impressed with my loaded bike. Matt was a former Ironman Triathlete so he inspected my bike and was surprised I had only a single chainring. Eventually, I explained that my Rohloff hub had 14 gears.

I left right around 8 pm, a little later than I wanted but seeing everyone was more important than getting an early start.

I headed east about a mile on Colbert Road to pick up my original planned route from Spokane to Colbert. There was no direct crossing to get across US2. I had to ride a quarter mile south and then do a signed U turn to get to the right lane of US2. Almost immediately I turned left to pick up Yale Road. Then not much later, a sign said the Elk-Chattaroy Road was closed. Shortly after that a detour returned me to US2.

That wasn’t all bad because my planned route also returned to US2 for about 3 miles before heading back on the side roads. US2 was fine with a wide shoulder but noisy. So, when I was finally able to leave US2 again it was a welcome respite from the noise. These side roads were great with very little traffic.

There was one significant climb starting at Camden, climbing almost 600 feet over 2.4 miles. Much of the grade was around 6%. This was on a road that was being prepped for resealing or something. The road was a little rough and workers were wetting down the pavement. So, it was probably good that I got through when I did.

After 29 miles, my route rejoined US2 the rest of the way to Newport. In town it took a little work to find the Antler Motel. However, I arrived around 12:30 and couldn’t check in until 2 pm. So, I found a little corner cafe and had a sandwich and cold drink. I did make it to town before it got really warm.

Shortly after 2 pm I checked into the motel. Then I did my first shopping at a nearby Safeway. Later, I ate at a Mexican restaurant that was just 2 blocks away.

Day 5: Sep 04 - Ione, WA [51.5, 4:50:00, 10.6 mph, 24.1 max, +1,302', -1,306']

I was up early and walked looking for breakfast. I was a little too early for Safeway and also for McDonalds. However, there was a Mobil Station with a food mart where I got 2 breakfast sandwiches, a pastry, and coffee. That made a good breakfast.

Walking back, I stopped at the Safeway and found 2 pastries kind of like a bear claw that looked like they were made for me so I grabbed them.

I left right at 7 am to try and beat the heat which was projected to get up right near 90F. My destination was Ione, 50 miles away. I could have followed US2 but the LeClerc Rd on the east side of the Pend Oreille River also went to Ione with less traffic and probably more scenic so I rode it.

As soon as I crossed the river on US2 I turned left on to LeClerc Rd and rode it all the way to the Ione Bridge which was a mile south of Ione. It was a nice route with little traffic but no services. After 17 miles I could have crossed the river to Usk when there were some services but I wasn’t ready for a break at that time.

About an hour later I started looking for a place for a second breakfast. Then I saw a sign for Manresa Grotto. I didn’t know what that was but then a little park area with toilets appeared and it was perfect for me. It had 2 picnic tables under an overhang. Turns out, this grotto was on the Kalispel Reservation and was a sacred place for the tribe. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and open to the public, a natural cave system that was the site of early Catholic missionary efforts in the region.

After my break I was almost half way to Ione. The further north I headed the less traffic I encountered.

It was 55F when I left Newport and 71F when I took my second breakfast. It was projected to be 84F by noon and it was clearly trending in that direction. I pulled into Ione at 12:30 and stopped at the Porters Plaza for some food and drink. This was also the place to register for the motel reservation I had. I was lucky that there was no one in my room so I got the key right away and didn’t have to wait for the official 3 pm check-in time.

When I got to my room I ran into an employee and was able to get some ice to ice down my knee. There was also a laundromat in the same building so I did a load of laundry even though I didn’t really have to. It was just too convenient to pass up.

Later I ate at the Public House restaurant for an okay chicken sandwich.

There were 2 stories for the day. First, there was a wild fire somewhere in the vicinity. There was some smoke and I had seen an Incident sign along my route for the fire fighters. This wild fire had started a few days earlier but had expanded and would cause smoke in the ensuing days.

The other issue was my left knee. My knee had bothered me some yesterday and it was more bothersome today. It actually was worse starting the day. It got better after my second breakfast break and got better towards the end of the route. Still, it looked like this was going to be something that I would have to manage the rest of the trip.

Yesterday, I was able to ice my knee because there was an ice machine at the motel. Today, I got some ice from a motel employee and did a better job of icing my knee several times.

Other than for the bothersome knee, it was a nice ride along a mostly quiet road.

Day 6: Sep 05 - Salmo, BC [38.9, 4:20:00, 9.0 mph, 29.2 max, +1,873', -1,737']

As usual, I was up early. I walked to the Plaza food mart just before 6 am, seeing 2 deer wandering through town, probably looking for a cup of coffee. I got 2 egg sandwiches and coffee for $16, much more expensive than my breakfast yesterday in Newport but then there was no competition here.

I left around 6:45. Originally, I was planning to backtrack across the river and taking the Sullivan Lake road. However, this route had an almost immediate 1,000-foot climb. I didn’t think this would be kind to my knee which actually felt really good this morning. So, I just followed WA31 north along the Pend Oreille River. This turned out to be a good choice. It was a somewhat dreary morning because of the smoke in the area and the sun didn’t rise over the hills to the east until 7:15. Nevertheless, it was fairly scenic and I wouldn’t have gotten these views of the river on the other route.

At Metaline Falls, there was a nice view of the river looking north. However, there were no falls because the Boundary Dam that was built in 1967 raised the river level and hid the falls.

Leaving the falls, there was a 2-mile climb of almost 500 feet with an average 6% grade. I had to stop a couple of times to rest. It was steep enough that it was hard to get started from a stop. On the first try I fell over trying to get started. A guy saw this and pulled over but I assured him I was OK. After that I was more careful to start across the road to build up a little more speed before turning up the road.

At one point I got chased by 2 dogs. They approached me from each side as I yelled at them to stop. They would seem to fall off and then they would reappear. They did this 3 or 4 times before they finally gave up.

At 9:30 I stopped at the Hooknose Mountain Viewpoint where there were a couple of good size rocks for sitting and having my second breakfast. Hooknose Mountain was in the Selkirk Mountains to the west which were looking pretty good as the sun was finally breaking through the smoke cover.

An hour later I crossed the border. I was the only one in line and I got asked the standard questions before I was waved through. However, I noticed my voice was raspy which must have been from the smoke.

At an intersection I followed Hwy 3 towards Salmo. At that point I was on a high-speed highway with a good shoulder. This shoulder had rumble strips but they were next to the white line so it was still a good shoulder. However, I kept hitting the rumbles. I eventually realized that my body was shifted to the left for some reason and that naturally moved the bike left into the rumbles. Once I squared up my balance I didn’t have problems with the rumbles.

I rolled into Salmo at 12:30. It was a smaller town than I had thought. I had a room at the Salmo Hotel which was right along the main road. Official check-in time was 3 pm but I got in around 1 pm. However, all rooms were on the 2nd floor so I had to make 3 trips to get my bags and bike up to the room. Then I discovered I couldn’t access the Wi-Fi. The manager had already left and I only had the bartender to discuss the issue with and this wasn’t her area but she did confirm that I had the right network and password. I was told to just keep trying which wasn’t a very satisfactory answer.

I eventually gave up and walked to the nearby Dragon Fly Cafe that had reliable Wi-Fi. In the meantime, both my Chromebook and cell phone kept trying the hotel’s Wi-Fi and eventually they both connected.

There was an ESSO station with a food mart and a Subway. I had my first foot long for dinner. Then I was disappointed to learn the ESSO wouldn’t open until 7:30 am on the weekend. That put the kibosh on using it to get an early breakfast. Then I realized my room had a fridge and I could grab a milk carton and have a cereal breakfast in my room in the morning.

Day 7: Sep 06 - Nelson, BC [25.4, 3:07:00, 8.1 mph, 32.6 max, +1,239', -1,594']

I had breakfast in my room with real milk with my cereal and coffee made with the Keurig machine in my room.

It took 3 trips to get all my stuff downstairs and I was off just before 7 am. My plan was to ride The Great Northern Rail Trail which went all the way to Nelson. I picked up the trail just across from the hotel and quickly realized this trail was a too rough for my loaded touring bike. In about a half mile I was able to get back on the main highway which had a good shoulder and not that much traffic.

The road climbed 1500 feet for the first 15 miles and then a fast descent for the final 5 miles to Nelson that gave up almost all the elevation gained in the first 15 miles.

I arrived in Nelson just after 10:30 and was greeted by a huge car show that had Baker Street shut down for 5 blocks with all the cars and people. This was great if you liked cars and/or people watching. It was not so great if you needed to find a motel. The Wi-Fi at the Salmo Hotel was too erratic to motel shop by phone so I had planned to just ride along Baker Street to see what looked good. It was not possible to ride through the street so I pushed my bike along until I found the first coffee shop.

I was resigned to an expensive motel on this car show weekend. When I called the Best Western and learned they had one room left I grabbed it. After a bite to eat at the coffee shop I walked back to the Best Western which was at the entry to Baker Street. Check-in time was 4 pm so I put my bike in their storage area and headed out to walk the street and people watch. A lot of folks ambled around, some looking at cars and some just strolling around. Some folks had prepared for this event by bringing their folding chairs and setting them up on the sidewalk.

After walking to the end of the event and back I checked in at the Best Western. I got lucky and my room was available a little before 2 pm. However, I was surprised that breakfast wasn’t included with the room. They did have a $13 voucher that could be used on one of three selections. That was disappointing after the great breakfast I had at the Best Western in Spokane. To make things worse, the restaurant wouldn’t open in the morning until 7 am, which meant I wouldn’t be able to hit the road until at least 7:30 and probably not until 8 am.

So, I walked to a co-op grocery store almost a half mile away to pick up breakfast supplies.

My knee wasn’t great for the day’s ride so I decided I would ride to Kaslo tomorrow and then take a rest day. However, when I checked on accommodations in Kaslo the obvious choices were booked. I was about to panic when I found the Sunny Bluffs Chalets available for two nights. They weren’t as close to downtown as I would have liked but they were much better than nothing.

Back at the ranch I iced my knee down several times and hoped that would be good enough to get me to Kaslo without too much discomfort. Then we would see how much a day off would help.

I had given some thought to taking a rest day in Salmo and I might well have done that if the hotel had dependable Wi-Fi. Then I thought about taking a day off in Nelson until I saw motel prices. Hopefully, a day off in Kaslo will work for the best.

Day 8: Sep 07 - Kaslo, BC [44.3, 5:11:00, 8.5 mph, 34.4 max, +2,897', -2,835']

I had breakfast in my room so I could leave early. I was on the road just before 7 am.

It was a dreary morning because of all the smoke. Basically, the smoke ruined the scenery for the entire day.

It was 22 miles to Balfour and another 21 miles to Kaslo. The route to Balfour was mostly up and down with no major climbs but there were more significant climbs the rest of the way to Kaslo.

Balfour’s reason for existence was to provide a ferry ride across Kootenay Lake. I rode that ferry in 2005 and then rode down the east side of the lake to Creston. This time I stopped in Balfour because there was a bakery that was conveniently located to serve the folks who were waiting for the arrival of the ferry. In my case, it was my second breakfast. I got a breakfast sandwich and an almond croissant.

When I left, I had a 2.5 mile, 4% climb, the hardest climb of the day so it was good I had my second breakfast to fuel the climb. The rest of the way was just cranking out the miles because of the hidden scenery.

In town, I stopped at Linda’s coffee shop for a pastry and coffee. I had hoped this coffee shop might be some place to hang out but it was really small and had no Wi-Fi.

After that, I had to find my accommodation. I was lucky to get two nights at the Sunny Bluffs Chalets but they were about a half mile outside town. I got there a little earlier than expected. When I tried to pay my bill with my credit card, the chalet’s handheld payment device wouldn’t work. I was told I needed to provide a pin. They were surprised that I had never used a pin with my credit card. They thought maybe it didn’t work in Canada but I noted I had used it several times in Salmo and Nelson without problem. We decided to postpone payment and try again later.

My room was up a stairway in a chalet. It was pretty nice with a bedroom, bath, and a little kitchen area. I had to lug my panniers up the steps. It took some convincing but eventually I was allowed to carry my bike up the stairs to my room. At that point I didn’t plan to use it until I left.

After I cleaned up, I walked back to town which was about 3 quarters of a mile. It was an ordeal to walk. My knee had been surprisingly good all day while riding. Then it must have stiffened up because walking was somewhat painful. It didn’t help that I had to descend to get to town.

I had a brisket sandwich at the Dog House which was pretty good. Then I limped back to my chalet. Since it wasn’t clear if my credit card was going to work, I realized that my Fidelity Cash Management card should work. So, we tried it and it worked but the surprising part was I didn’t have to supply my pin. Seems like something was messed up in the configuration of their portable payment device.

In return for payment, I got some ice so I could ice down my knee. Hopefully, tomorrow’s rest day will also help.

Later, I made an online booking for the Valhalla Inn in New Denver.

Day 9: Sep 08 - Kaslo, BC [2.0, 0:16:00, 7.1 mph, 19.7 max, +187', -176']

Since this was a rest day I planned to have a regular breakfast. Walking downtown wasn’t pleasant yesterday so I chose to ride the same route. It was three quarters of a mile. I rode to the south end to the Hazy Daze coffee shop, expecting a traditional coffee shop. Instead, I found a small place with 3 small tables inside, all of which were occupied when I got there a little before 8 am. By the time I got my order in one of the tables freed up so I had a place to sit.

The real surprise was they didn’t have regular coffee. They just had an espresso machine. I was told an Americano was the closest they had to regular coffee so I chose that along with a bagel breakfast sandwich. The sandwich was good and the Americano seemed like regular coffee. Because of the limited seating I didn’t think this was the place to hang out.

So, I headed up the street to Teresa’s which had regular coffee. When I got there the inside was packed. This was the place where the older guys hung out in the morning. It was a little annoying since they took up almost all the space. I got my coffee and sat outside the shop. This was a good place for people watching.

When I got tired of people watching, I stopped at the grocery store nearby. I got some things for breakfast in the morning as well as a sandwich for dinner. I also got a bag of ice so I would be sure to have more than enough for continuing to ice my knee.

To get back, I just took the regular road because it was easier riding than the path. Back at the ranch, I cleaned my chain and pumped up my tires.

Then I spent most of the afternoon figuring out a strategy to get from Revelstoke to Golden. Given the uncertainty of my knee and the lack of services along this route I had decided it would be safer to not ride this section. There was a bus service to Golden but it required packing up the bike. I checked but there were no one-way car rentals. I checked into a limo service but it would have been very expensive.

Finally, I checked into wrapping my bike in a tarpaulin rather than boxing it up. This turned out to be an acceptable bike packing. I found several places where I could buy an inexpensive tarp and throw it away after use.

This turned out not to be as leisurely as I planned because of the stress due to trying to find out how to get to Golden.

Day 10: Sep 09 - New Denver, BC [30.3, 3:58:00, 7.6 mph, 36.0 max, +2,024', -2,036']

I had breakfast in my room and then carried everything outside to load up. This was 3 trips down, first the 12 steps to my room, and then 2 more sets of 8 steps to get to ground level. Certainly not the easiest move.

I left right around 7 am as usual. The day’s route was 30 miles to New Denver with almost 2,000 feet of climbing. The first 20 miles were an easy 2% uphill grade and then a 10-mile descent. The road had no shoulder most of the time but there was very little traffic. The road followed the Kaslo River upstream. When the river was right next to the road it was soothing to hear the rushing water. The weather was cool, starting out around 54F. There was light smoke in the air but viewing was pretty good compared to the last few days. At one point, I saw some actual mountains in the distance.

New Denver is a small town with a single restaurant as part of the Valhalla Inn where I was staying. I scouted out the town to see if there was a coffee shop but there was none. There was a convenience store a block from my motel and I was able to get coffee and a breakfast sandwich there.

I checked into the motel around 12:30. I was concerned the Wi-Fi would be iffy given the surrounding hills but it was okay.

Then I researched the route to Revelstoke again. Tomorrow I would ride 30 miles to Nakusp but then it was 65 miles with 4,600 feet of climbing, which was too much for me to do in a single day. Unfortunately, the only place between Nakusp and Revelstoke was the Halcyon Hot Springs. However, it was only 23 miles north of Nakusp so it didn’t do a lot to break up the 2-day ride to Revelstoke. Worse, the hot springs were a very expensive place. It would have cost me $325 to get a room. Instead, I opted for camping at an RV park just up the road from the hot springs. It cost $57 so it was a huge savings.

Later, I had a salmon sandwich at my motel’s restaurant that was pretty good. However, nothing was going to work for breakfast so I planned another breakfast in my room for tomorrow.

Day 11: Sep 10 - Nakusp, BC [29.0, 3:42:00, 7.8 mph, 30.5 max, +1,582', -1,926']

After breakfast in my room, I hit the road shortly after 7 am with a temperature of 51F. The road followed along Slocan Lake and there were some reasonable views for a change. It was still smoky but at least you could see the lake.

The road didn’t have a great shoulder. It was a little rough and cracked in some places. Then at midway the shoulder became great the rest of the way. There was more traffic than in previous days but still not too much.

After 20 miles I stopped for a break and ate a banana. When I resumed, there was a rest area at Summit Lake just about another half mile but it was too late.

I rolled into town around 11:30 and rode down Broadway Ave. There were 2 coffee shops along the way as well as my motel. The first coffee shop looked very popular so I rode onto the second one that was just diagonally across from my motel. I had a breakfast sandwich and a coffee.

When I checked in at my motel at 12:30, I figured I was going to have to wait but my room was ready. The room was nice but it didn’t have a fridge or a microwave and it didn’t have a convenient place to use as a desk. Rather disappointing for an otherwise nice room.

My knee did well today but I still asked for ice so I could ice my knee as a precaution, especially since I would be camping tomorrow and icing might not be possible.

I scouted out Broadway some more on foot and then found a place to get a view of Upper Arrow Lake. It was hazy due to the smoke. The attendant at the motel said it was a great summer until September when smoke started putting in its appearance.

The Arrow Lakes, divided into Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, are widenings of the Columbia River. Originally two lakes 14 mi apart, the Arrow Lakes became one 140-mile lake due to the reservoir created by the 1960s construction of the Keenleyside Dam; at low water the two lakes remain distinct, connected by a fast-moving section known as the Narrows.Damming the Lower Arrow Lake resulted in water rising 39 feet above natural levels. The lake stretches from just north of Castlegar in the south to Revelstoke in the north.

Back in my room, I committed to riding the bus from Revelstoke to Golden on Saturday. That meant I had to get to Revelstoke by Friday and pick up a tarpaulin to wrap around my bicycle for the bus trip. I hoped I would get to Revelstoke before the Home Hardware store closed at 5 pm on Friday. However, the bus didn’t leave until 4:15 pm Saturday afternoon so I had plenty of time to get a tarp.

I reserved a motel in Revelstoke for Friday night not too far from the bus stop.

I ate at the motel’s restaurant because it was convenient.

Day 12: Sep 11 - Halcyon, BC [23.0, 2:46:00, 8.3 mph, 30.4 max, +1,669', -1,277']

The day’s route was a little over 20 miles to Halcyon so there was no rush to leave. I stopped at the coffee shop across the street but they weren’t open. So, I walked about 3 blocks to the Hoss & Jill’s Bistro and found a fairly long line. Worse, it looked like there would be no place to sit by the time I ordered. So, I walked back to the motel. The attendant said she thought the coffee shop across the street opened at 9. So, I walked back to the bistro and the line was gone and there were a couple places to sit. I ordered a bagel breakfast sandwich, a bran muffin, and coffee. That made a decent breakfast.

When I walked back the other coffee shop was open so it must have opened at 8. I picked up a few things at the store across the street. Then I headed out around 9:30.

The view of the lake was much better this morning. The route followed the lake along the east side. 13 miles north I stopped at a rest area and was surprised to find a waterfall, which I might have missed if I hadn’t stopped.

There were some decent views of the lake although it was still hazy.

Shortly after I passed the turnoff to the hot springs resort, I turned off to the Halcyon-Heights RV park. Had I paid more attention I would have noticed the Heights part of the name. It was a steep climb to the RV park. I had to push my bike part of the way. There was a check-in hut by the road and I waited a few minutes for the proprietor to show up. I bought 4L of water since the park water was non-potable and a bag of ice. The campground provided a cooler and a maintenance guy delivered all of this an hour or so later which was really nice because it was too much to carry on my bicycle.

Unlike last year, I had no trouble putting up my tent since I had replaced the failed elastic cords in the tent poles. The one problem with the site was there was no shade. Eventually I found spots of shade and moved around as the shade spots moved.

The big question tomorrow is when to leave so I can safely catch the 8:30 Galena Bay Ferry. The ferry ran every hour on the half hour. So, missing the ferry meant an hour wait. It was 8 miles to the ferry but the route started off with a 4-mile climb and then a 4-mile descent. RidewithGPS projected 45 minutes for the climb and 15 minutes for the descent. So, a 7 am start should provide about a 30-minute buffer.

Day 13: Sep 12 - Revelstoke, BC [45.5, 5:47:00, 7.9 mph, 34.8 max, +2,678', -2,971']

I didn’t sleep well, partly because it was hard to find a position where my knee was totally comfortable. It seemed there was always just a little discomfort and I struggled to find a good position. I finally got up just before 5 am, ate breakfast, and packed up. I left around 6:20 am. I thought there might be a chance I could make the 7:30 am ferry but I feared I would be 5 or 10 minutes late. But after completing the 4 mile climb at 7:20 and I roared down the descent, certain I would be just a little too late. Then I turned the last corner and the ferry was still there. The ferry left just after I rolled on.

It was about a 20-minute ride across the Upper Arrow Lake. I left the ferry last and had almost no traffic the rest of the way to Revelstoke. That is, except when the ferry unloaded and there would be a stream of traffic for a few minutes.

At one point the road neared the Upper Arrow Lake and there were a couple of nice views despite the haze from the smoke. The water was a tantalizing blue-green.

When I reached town around 12:30 I crossed the Columbia River on the steel grated bridge but used the pedestrian path. I immediately headed down 1st street to the Home Hardware store where I picked up an inexpensive tarp to cover my bike for the bus ride tomorrow. And I almost made a major mistake. When I was locking up my bike before going into the store, I had placed my hand bag with my valuables on top of my duffel bag. When I selected the tarp I wanted, I realized I couldn’t pay because I didn’t have my hand bag. I raced out the store and found my hand bag untouched but it could have been a disaster.

I headed back to the TransCan where there was a Shell station where the bus stopped for its pickup. The Riders Express website showed the Shell station with a Riders Express sign but I couldn’t find anything. I asked the Shell attendant where the pickup was and she tried to explain but it wasn’t clear.

The Ramada Inn where I had a reservation was just a short ways away so I rode there and checked in. Later, I walked to the Shell station so I could see how the bus pick up worked at the 4:25 pm time I was scheduled for tomorrow. I waited a bit and then saw a guy who looked like he was waiting for the bus. He confirmed that so I hung around near him.

The bus was 20 minutes late. I asked where I should have my bike and stuff tomorrow. The driver indicated that I would just have to carry the stuff wherever the bus stopped. She also gave me some grief when I said my bike would be wrapped in a tarp which the office had confirmed in an email would be acceptable. She didn’t seem to agree but didn’t know how to argue against the office. She also left me with a parting “space permitting” comment, which didn’t give me a good feeling.

There was a Subway along the way walking back to my motel so I picked up a foot long. Then I made a reservation at the Ponderosa Motor Inn for tomorrow in Golden assuming the bus ride would end well.

My knee held up pretty well, causing minimal discomfort, but I continued my daily ritual of icing it down.

Day 14: Sep 13 - Golden, BC [4.0, 0:29:00, 8.3 mph, 17.9 max, +150', -175']

This wasn’t a day to hurry because the bus didn’t leave until 4:25 pm. Nevertheless, I was eating breakfast at the Ramada Inn shortly after 6 am. It was a great breakfast with traditional scrambled eggs and hashbrowns and waffles and oatmeal and cereal. I just wish it was a day I needed a big breakfast.

I killed time until close to the checkout time of 11 am. Then I headed downtown to Cycle Logic because it looked like they had some half-fingered cycling gloves. I had lost one of my gloves in Ione and had been looking for a replacement since. They had some but they had nearly sold out their inventory since there wouldn’t be much if any demand as winter approached. Nevertheless, I found Specialized L size gloves for 50% off. They weren’t exactly what I wanted but I figured at that price I could live with them.

Then I visited the Home Hardware store again. I decided to buy a second tarp to further protect my bike on the bus and I got one for about $8. I figured that was worth the extra security.

Next, I wandered along the river because the guy at Cycle Logic said they were having a vendor display in the park at around 12:30. I was early and it didn’t look like it would be all that interesting for me but what was interesting is I got a good view of the lake looking north towards the Columbia River Bridge. I wouldn’t have seen that otherwise.

On my way back to the Shell station where the bus makes its pickup, my toe brushed the front wheel and I dumped the bike. Unfortunately, that also knocked the chain off the chainring. It wasn’t that easy getting it back on. Then I found I couldn’t pedal and discovered the chain had also fallen off the rear cog. That was also a struggle to get it back on. Because of all that my hands got filthy. I had to clean them multiple times to get them somewhat clean.

Back at the Shell station there was an attached Tim Horton’s. I ordered a pepperoni flatbread and coffee and the flatbread was really good. I ate half and saved half for later.

Around 2:45 I started work on getting everything packed up for the bus. I removed the pedals and turned the handlebars sideways and folded the 2 tarps around the bike. This was a little cumbersome for one person but I got it done. I wrapped some string around the tarps and used some guerilla tape to tape things down.

Next, I emptied one of my front panniers and distributed its contents among the rear panniers and the duffel bag. The empty pannier also fit in the duffel bag. This packing got me down to 3 checked bags and saved $40 by not having a 4th checked bag.

Unlike yesterday, the bus was on time. I was prepared to have to fight to get my bike on the bus but the driver just told me to slide it into the baggage compartment. A great relief after imagining all the things that might go wrong.

The bus trip was projected to take from 4:25 pm to 7:15 pm, with an extra hour because Golden was in the Mountain Time Zone. The route had great scenery, better than all the scenery of the trip up to that point. So, it was disappointing to see it fly by unlike when riding a bike. On the other hand, the shoulder was very disappointing. It was minimal at best, maybe 3 feet, and often there were concrete dividers guarding the edge of the shoulder, effectively making the shoulder even narrower. I wasn’t sure riding would have been safe and it would have at least been stressful with all the high-speed traffic.

The bus arrived in Golden on time. I went about removing the tarps and putting the bike back together along with repacking my panniers. That took about a half hour. I also left my tarps packed up, hoping someone would find a use for them and not just throw them away.

I had a reservation at the Ponderosa Motor Inn that was just a couple buildings away, easily walkable but I rode. I had put a request in for a first-floor room and the attendant said he had set that up but somebody else gave my intended room away to another cyclist. So, this guy helpfully gave me another first-floor room which he said was his emergency backup room which was appreciated.

On the other hand, the Wi-Fi was messed up. I was able to connect but without Internet access. I don’t know what was wrong but I suspect there may have been too many folks trying to use the Internet. That put me in a panic because I hadn’t made my reservation for my next stop, Addison’s Bungalows in Brisco. Eventually, after a half hour or so the Internet started working and I was greatly relieved to get that taken care of.

This was a stressful day, worrying about whether I would get my bike on the bus and then having trouble with Internet access. But all’s well that ends well and it was a great relief that everything ended OK.

Day 15: Sep 14 - Brisco, BC [50.6, 5:07:00, 9.9 mph, 26.3 max, +1,642', -1,463']

I expected the motel’s breakfast was minimal and it didn’t start until 7 am so I walked to the ESSO convenience store. I passed the Ramada Motel and was sorely tempted to stop in for their breakfast, assuming it would be similar to the one I had yesterday. Interestingly, yesterday I had a great breakfast and lunch when I least needed it. Today was probably going to be just the opposite.

The convenience store had a breakfast sandwich from yesterday so I snagged it and a couple other things. When I had eaten in my room, I prepared to set out early around 6:30 and was surprised it was dark. I had forgotten that the time change meant daylight would be an hour later than I was used to. So, I would have to wait until 7:30 for reasonable daylight.

At that point I stopped by the office and got in at about 6:50 for their breakfast. As expected, it was minimal with just some cereal and mini-muffins and coffee and juice. There was just one small table in the office so folks were expected to grab what they wanted and go back to their room. I grabbed some cereal, a mini-muffin, and coffee.

When I left at 7:30, my route took me through town. There was a grocery store along the way so I stopped because I needed a few things and doubted I would find anything along the way. I had to wait 10 minutes for the store to open at 8:00 and then I was on my way.

The day’s route took me through the Columbia Valley with big hills/mountains on both sides of the road. It was overcast and cool which was perfectly fine. The scenery was nice most of the day, good cycling.

There was a small store in Parsons but they didn’t have much so I just grabbed a chocolate milk and pastry and pushed on.

There was a deli at the Downtown Brisco Trading Post Inc where I didn’t find anything I wanted but there were 3 cyclists out for a Sunday ride, a couple with electric bikes and another guy with a regular bike. We got to chatting while they ate their deli sandwiches and had an interesting conversation for 20-30 minutes. That was fine because I wasn’t far from my destination for the day.

In Brisco there was another small store and I grabbed a sandwich for dinner.

Just south of Brisco I found the Addison’s Bungalows where I had a reservation. I was disappointed that the hostess didn’t have a map showing where the various bungalows were and how to get there. She tried to explain that there was a road that was less steep that might be better for my bicycle. She ended up directing me outside and pointing out what she was trying to explain. It would have been much easier for both of us if she just had a map like most places do and highlighted the route she was suggesting.

My bungalow was fine if small and especially the bathroom but it was fine. I walked back to the office to get some ice, not realizing there was a tray of ice in the fridge.

It was a great cycling day with good scenery. The best cycling day of the tour so far.

Day 16: Sep 15 - Invermere, BC [28.6, 3:16:00, 8.7 mph, 29.2 max, +1,267', -1,390']

Happy Birthday to me

Happy Birthday dear Denis

Happy Birthday to me

As I turn 78 today, I’m starting to think maybe my bicycle isn’t slowing down.

Anyway, it was a short ride of a little less than 30 miles to Invermere. It was very overcast with low hanging clouds when I left. It was not a sightseeing day. There was some misting but not enough to put on rain clothes.

It was 16 miles to Radium Hot Springs. When I got there, I checked out 2 service stations for a hot breakfast sandwich or one that could be warmed up in a microwave. Nothing was available so I rode on.

There was some construction underway as 93 and 95 merged. It wasn’t a problem for me because I was able to ride inside the traffic cones that were set up to block off the construction. Unfortunately, after the construction, riding was worse. The shoulder varied between good and somewhat messed up and there was a lot more traffic when I left Radium Hot Springs.

It was just a short 10 miles to Invermere where the route left the main highway on Althamer Road to get to the west side of Windermere Lake. My motel was conveniently located near the downtown main street. Since it was about noon, I assumed my room wouldn’t be ready so I rode the main street looking for a coffee shop and found none. One local directed me to a place but it was closed on Monday/Tuesday.

I ended up checking in at the motel and was able to get into my room right away. The motel attendant also directed me to the Stolen Church shop which was almost across the street from the motel but easy to miss because its sign and entrance was on the side street even though it had a main street address.

I got a breakfast sandwich and coffee and hung out there for a while, partly because my motel room had poor lighting, which is the case for far too many motel rooms.

My next day's ride was planned to Canal Flats, another short day of about 30 miles. However, the lone motel was booked. The RV Park was interesting because it had Glamping Tents but they required a 2-night minimum stay. So, I realized I would have to ride on to Skookumchuck and make it a longer day but which also made the next day a shorter day. However, there are no services in Skookumchuck although the motel where I got a reservation has a store of some sort. There were 2 motels in this town and I had stayed at the other one in 2012. At that time there was a small store where you could get a few food items but the store was no longer in existence. That motel also was booked so I got the only available motel in town.

Interestingly, I just got a recording when I called to see if the motel had a room. However, their website had a form to request a reservation via email. I wasn’t too wild about that but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to use it. Surprisingly, I got a reply a few minutes later and I had a reservation.

When it came to dinner time, I walked to the other end of main street to a grocery store. I got a sandwich and some other things for breakfast. As I was walking back on the sidewalk on the main street, a guy on a bicycle apparently was riding on a sidewalk perpendicular to me on my right. So, he swerved to avoid a potential collision and hit a curb and crashed. I didn’t think anything of it but after the guy picked himself up and continued across the street he muttered something about the need for situational awareness. Apparently, his comment was intended for me whereas it was a good description of where he failed.

In 2012, I rode south from Radium Hot Springs on this same route. I took the Westside Road which my trip report described as rough chip seal with pot holes. Yesterday, when I was talking with the 3 cyclists I met at the deli, they told me about a multi-use trail as an alternative to the Westside road. This looked like the way to go so I defined a new route in RideWithGPS and downloaded it to my solar GPS device for use.

It was good that the overcast, misting weather happened today rather than yesterday because I would have missed a lot of good scenery. Now the weather looks good for next week.

Day 17: Sep 16 - Skookumchuck, BC [49.2, 5:34:00, 8.8 mph, 21.5 max, +2,064', -2,243']

I ate breakfast in my room and left at 7:30. It was overcast and I turned on my rear blinkie to be seen. There were 2 route choices today. Take the Westridge Road or take the Trail. Both ended at the junction with 93. In 2012 I took the West Road because it was the only choice. Today I took the trail. The road had good pavement but there was no shoulder. With the little traffic the shoulder might not have been an issue but visibility was somewhat limited with some fog.

So, the trail was the prudent choice but it would prove to be a harder route. The trail climbed up into the hills with a switchback and frequent climbs although most of the climbs were thankfully short. There were also sharp turns that had to be navigated. This trail is much more suited for an unloaded bicycle. After about half the trail length, it crossed over to the other side of the road and then was much easier riding.

When the trail ended, I picked up 93 just south of Fairmont Springs. There was a service station near the junction that I almost passed up but then realized there might not be anything for a ways, and in fact, there was nothing the rest of the way although I had expected to find something at Canal Flats.

There was a pretty big climb starting out on 93. Just as I started, I saw a sign for Columbia St that I recognized as what I had taken in 2012 but I didn’t remember where it ended up. That road followed along the Columbia Lake and avoided the big climb. On the other hand, there was a vantage point at the top of the climb looking over the lake to the hills on the other side. By this time the overcast had largely cleared up and the view was pretty nice.

Columbia Lake is the source of the Columbia River. I was surprised by this because I had followed the Columbia River upstream from Nakusp to Revelstoke. So, it was counterintuitive that I had also been following the Columbia River upstream from Golden to Canal Flats. However, it turns out that the Columbia River flows north past Golden and does a U-turn and flows down through Revelstoke on its way to Washington State - https://www.americanrivers.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Columbia-river-map-snake-river-highlighted.png.

There was a pretty fair amount of traffic on 93 but the shoulder was very good. Near Canal Flats there was some bridge work with one-way traffic. When I approached the queue for my lane, they had just started moving and I thought I would just tag along at the end and not hold anybody up. But the flagger stopped me and wouldn’t let me proceed but she should have. It would have saved everyone some time if I had just followed along. Instead, she waited until it was our turn again and then had me start out alone and waited until I was across the bridge before letting the rest of my group proceed.

After Canal Flats it was just a matter of cranking out the 20 miles to Skookumchuck with some climbing but nothing major. In 2012 I raced a storm to Skookumchuck that I could see creeping up on me, a race that I lost.

When I got to Skookumchuck, I stopped at the Springbrook RV Resort where I had a motel reservation. The guy who showed up for me thought I wanted a campsite so I had to remind him that I had a motel reservation. When I paid for the room, I also got a bag of ice. My knee had started out stiff and somewhat painful but got better as the day went on. By the end it was pretty normal. Still, one of the first things I did was ice my knee.

Tomorrow, my destination was Cranbrook. It was a short 30-mile ride but I thought it was also a good time to take a day off to give my knee a chance to rest. So, I reserved 2 nights at either a Ramada or a Super 8. Google Maps showed a Ramada and a Super 8 next to each other but they had the same address. This looked like a google labeling issue but it didn’t matter to me. The reservation showed up as a Ramada reservation.

Day 18: Sep 17 - Cranbrook, BC [32.8, 3:47:00, 8.6 mph, 26.6 max, +1,289', -858']

Another breakfast in my room. I left at 7:30 and it was overcast, cool, 48F, and I was a little underdressed for the temp. I didn’t think it was all that bad right at the motel but once on the road it was very foggy. I thought maybe I should have delayed my departure but it didn’t clear up until almost 10 am. With the wide shoulder and my rear blinkie on I wasn’t worried about the traffic but I couldn’t see anything other than enough to ride forward.

Around 10 am, the fog magically disappeared as if someone had thrown a light switch. I stopped at a rest area and ate the remainder of my vanilla wafers. I don’t think it was enough because I was getting pretty fatigued as I neared Cranbrook.

I had a two-night stay at the Ramada Inn just on the east end of Cranbrook. From there I would have to retreat 6 miles to catch the highway on my way to the border.

When I rolled into town, I rode past the Ramada to a Tim Horton’s where I had their pepperoni flatbread and coffee. There was a pumpkin spice muffin that had my name on it as well.

There was a Walmart right next door so I stopped there and picked up a few grocery items. While there I got talking to a local cyclist who was two years older than me. We discussed my route and then he mentioned that bicycles weren’t safe in town even when locked up like mine was outside. That’s when I remembered that I had forgotten to remove my solar GPS computer. It is the most vulnerable piece of my bike because a simple twist removes it. I was relieved it was still there when I got outside. I promptly removed it and tucked it into my vest pocket.

Then I rode back to the Ramada and checked in. I got my room right away, just around 1 pm. First thing I did was take my bike outside and clean my chain, the last time I should need to do that. Then there was a guest laundry room just a few doors down from my room so I did a small load of laundry. One good thing about the Canadian dollar coin is it is much more convenient to insert for washer and dryer, rather than having to stuff a bunch of quarters in.

Later I asked google maps for convenience stores and the closest one was a little over a half mile away. That was too far to walk on a gimpy knee so I rode my bike. But shortly after I found another convenience store that was much closer. There I picked up a couple of sandwiches for dinner. Later, I walked back to this same convenience store for a milk shake.

Then it was time to finalize my plans to end this tour. First, I found a good price for a roomette on Amtrak for next Tuesday. I could have also gone on Monday but I decided to build in an extra day for contingency. I got a motel reservation for Eureka for Saturday night. I had to use my google voice number to call and it uses internet access. My Wi-Fi was a little weak and the call was bad enough that we couldn’t complete the reservation. Then I moved right by the office and got a stronger Wi-Fi and was able to make the reservation.

I made a two-night reservation in Whitefish. I was surprised how expensive downtown Whitefish was, costing $300 and up per night. Fortunately, I found the Duckk Inn Lodge through booking.com and got something semi-reasonable and yet just a little over a mile away from the Amtrak train station. This was important because the train pickup is 7:26 am.

Finally, I continued to work on getting something around the Jaffray area for my first night after leaving Cranbrook. There were several RV parks and recreation sites that I sent queries about tent camping.

Then later I stumbled on to the Kikomun Creek Provincial Park which was right along my route on the Jaffray Baynes Lake Road. I had been looking along Hwy 93 so I didn’t notice this park. It looked almost ideal so I decided to sleep on it.

Day 19: Sep 18 - Cranbrook, BC [0.0, 0:00:00, 0.0 mph, 0.0 max, +0', -0']

The Ramada breakfast started at 6:00 am and I was the second one there. They had a breakfast setup similar to the Ramada in Revelstoke although not quite as good but certainly good enough. They had a pancake making machine that I had never seen before but I stuck with the tried-and-true waffle maker. The one disappointment was their muffins were the smaller ones encased in a plastic wrap but I didn’t let that stop me.

Back at my room I checked a few more things and set about to reserve my campsite at Kikomun and was dismayed to learn that I would have had to make my reservation no later than 8:00 pm last night. I’m not sure I even had discovered this possibility at that point.

In any event, this put a damper on my final plans. There were campsites available but they were now on a first come, first served basis and it was for a Friday evening. I had no idea how popular the place would be on a Friday but I decided on a strategy. First, I would try to get to the park as early as possible. It was 43 miles to the park so the best I would be able to do would be between noon and 1 pm. If there were no sites available, I would have to hope the park would find some way to accommodate me and not turn me away. Finally, I would hope I could find someone who would be willing to share a site.

Later in the morning I smelled a pumpkin spice muffin so I walked to the Tim Hortons for my muffin with coffee. I walked because my knee was feeling OK and it wasn’t as far as I had thought. After satisfying my muffin urge, I picked up a few things at the Dollar Tree next door and walked back to my motel to kill time.

Day 20: Sep 19 - Kikomun Creek, BC [44.1, 4:20:00, 10.3 mph, 25.7 max, +1,428', -1,881']

I was second in line for breakfast at 6 am. I had the same breakfast as yesterday except I ate a little more, including a (small) bowl of cereal and a second small muffin. I figured that would be enough to get me to Kikomun.

I left at 7:15, just before sunrise at 7:23. I almost messed up leaving town by taking an exit to Kimberley but when no one else was going my way I figured out the problem. This made me realize I should have created a ridewithgps route from Cranbrook to Kikomun since it would only have taken 5 minutes.

It was a cool 51F with temps expected to hit 80F. My goal was to get to Kikomun early to make sure I could get a camp site on the first come, first served basis.

I backtracked 6 miles from Cranbrook and then picked up my route that would take me to the border but with a stop off at the Kikomun for tonight. It was an easy route. I just rode to Jaffray and then took Jaffray Baynes Lake Road 10 miles south to the turnoff to the park. This road was a welcome relief from traffic on 93. The Jaffray Baynes Lake Road had no shoulder but virtually no traffic. The road was mostly good pavement with a few bumpy sections.

When I got to the park at 11:15 I was surprised there was no one at the guard house. So, I just rode to the Ponderosa Campground and looked for a site that was marked available on the post. It was very sunny so I picked site 30 because it was in the shade. Later, when I saw a park official, I asked how I should pay. He said there was someone at the guard house now. I had to ride 2 miles back to get to the guardhouse and pay $35 for the site. Then I paid $5 cash for a bag of ice. I used part of the ice to ice my knee and then put the remainder of the ice in my empty 2L bladder that I carried just in case I needed to carry extra water. Turns out the park water was not drinkable without treatment but the extra ice allowed me to create more water. This made my water situation more comfortable. I normally carry 3 large and 1 regular water bottle. The melted ice gave me at least another large water bottle’s worth.

This is bear country so I needed to do something with my food. I wasn’t sure what to do but the ranger at the guardhouse showed me how I could open the rear of a garbage container and put my food bag inside. That was a nifty solution to that issue since there was a garbage container near my campsite.

What started as a stressful day, wondering if I would get a tent site on a Friday, turned out to be a non-issue. The campground never filled up so it turned out there was no need to rush to the park. It also was good that I got to pick my site and pick a shaded one. Had I made a reservation I would have no idea that shade was really important. I would have picked something close to a toilet/shower facility.

Day 21: Sep 20 - Eureka, MT [30.6, 3:19:00, 9.2 mph, 36.4 max, +1,036', -821']

There was enough light at 6:30 so I got up and ate breakfast and then packed up and left at 8 am. It was two miles back to the road and then a short distance to get back on the Jaffray Baynes Lake Road. I took it the rest of the way to the junction with 93.

93 took me all the way to the border and then Eureka. It didn’t have much of a shoulder but there was little traffic. Unfortunately, the shoulder was a mix of newer coarse chip seal and old, smooth chip seal. However, it was hard to stay only on the smooth part of the shoulder and I was sometimes moving back and forth leading to uneven riding. So sometimes I just rode inside the white line.

It was 20 miles to the border and 8 miles before the border there was a store. There I was able to spend the $16 and change of Canadian money I had, leaving only 70 cents left over. As good as I could expect to do although I guess I could have scrounged around and found some way to spend some of that 70 cents as well.

I arrived at the border a little after 11 and there were a half dozen or so vehicles waiting. When it was my turn I, the guard asked where I was from. I said Chicagoland and then said Naperville. He said he had worked at Tellabs in Lisle, the neighboring town to Naperville to the east so he knew exactly where that was. It took about 20 minutes to get through the crossing.

Just before the border there was a sign saying 13 to Eureka which surprised me because I thought it was 8 miles to Eureka. After the border there was a sign saying 8 to Eureka. I finally realized the 13 was 13K which was 8 miles.

93 now only had a 6-inch shoulder so effectively no shoulder. There wasn’t much traffic so the shoulder wasn’t an issue. Around 12:30 I reached the intersection of 93 and 37 where I had a motel reservation at the Ksanka Inn. I stopped at the convenience store with a Subway and had a breakfast sandwich.

When I decided to check-in, I learned I had to check-in at the convenience store. My room was still being cleaned so I had to wait about 10 minutes before I could move in. It was an okay room although the Wi-Fi kept bouncing up and down but mostly it was sufficient. Later, I ate at the Subway.

Then I had a panic. I had made reservations at the Duck Inn Lodge in Whitefish for 2 nights but realized I had never seen a confirmation. I called the Inn numerous times to check but no one ever answered. I checked booking.com and no reservation was listed. Finally, I checked my credit card charges and there was nothing there. So, I went to the Inn’s website and booked a room for 2 nights. I only had 2 room options that were essentially the same. A room with a king-sized bed, a fireplace, and a bathroom with a hot tub. It was more than I wanted or needed but it was a room.

Day 22: Sep 21 - Whitefish, MT [54.7, 6:19:00, 8.6 mph, 28.6 max, +2,487', -2,204']

The convenience store that was part of this motel opened at 5:30 and I went there shortly after that. It looked like the motel was full last night. I picked up a couple of egg sandwiches and 2 honey buns and coffee which was free for motel guests. I heated up the egg sandwiches in my room and ate them along with one of the honey buns,

Today was the last riding day of this tour. However, the weather forecast was not good. Rain was predicted for the morning starting around 9 am and lasting into early afternoon. I hadn’t used my rain gear yet on this trip but today looked like the day.

Starting out, the road had a good shoulder but I assumed that would just be through town. However, the good shoulder continued past town. Eventually the sun put in an appearance and there were some scenic views. Then clouds started moving in from the west but they didn’t look ominous. I held out hope that the forecast would be wrong. In the end there was spitting and if you call that rain then the forecast was right. However, I never once thought I needed my rain gear.

After about 15 miles there was a convenience store along the road. I didn’t really need anything but I figured this was likely the only store along the way so I stopped. I got a chocolate milk, a warm egg sandwich and a banana. I saved the banana for later.

Eventually, the good shoulder deteriorated until it was just 6-9 inches wide but at least there were no rumble strips. The shoulder wasn’t always in the greatest condition and even the white line had gouges in it. So, I often rode inside the white line and just kept an eye on traffic and moved over when I had to.

The worst part was there was road construction for 4 miles just before town. Only about a half mile of it was actually torn up but the rest of this section badly needed reconstruction. I was lucky that this was a Sunday and not as much traffic as normal plus no workers/equipment were in the way. Still, it was messy making it through this and the rest of the section was no bargain either, not much better than the torn-up part.

When I got to town around 2:30 pm, the first thing I did was head to the train depot to see what that was like since my train left at 7:26 am and I wanted to know what the depot was like. The good thing was all I had to do was ride a couple blocks east of the depot and take Columbia Ave south for a mile and that brought me to the Duck Inn Lodge.

I was surprised to learn that the lodge was run virtually. I had to check in virtually and then wait until 4 pm before I could get in my room with my assigned room code. However, the lodge had no ice for icing my knee which held up pretty well on my longest day - 55 miles. When I walked about a block back to a convenience store, I got some food and a bag of ice.

Today turned out to be jerk day. I don’t recall any hostile interactions on the road before but today I had 5 of them. First, I was riding on the shoulder of a right turn lane when a guy came up behind me in a truck. I thought he was going to just wait a little bit and turn right behind me. But that would have taken too much time, probably 10 seconds, so he drove ahead of me and turned right in front of me, totally uncalled for. It wasn’t a dangerous move but a rude and disrespectful move.

Because the shoulder had deteriorated to almost nothing and was usually cracked along with the white line, I rode inside the white line and kept an eye on oncoming traffic. When there was oncoming traffic along with traffic in my lane, I moved to the shoulder. However, several people took exception when I didn’t move to the shoulder when there wasn’t oncoming traffic, when it took little effort on their part to move over to pass.

Then the really strange happened. The screws in the clamp for my handlebar had loosened and the handlebar kept rotating and I kept rotating it back. When I got tired of that, I pulled over at an entrance to a side road and tightened the screws with my handy Y wrench. I was surprised how loose they had become. But a motorist took exception to my pulling over even though I was in no way close to interfering. Very strange.

Day 23: Sep 22 - Whitefish, MT [2.9, 0:18:00, 9.8 mph, 17.4 max, +60', -68']

Breakfast was served starting at 7 am and I was ready. There were homemade waffles and oatmeal and coffee. It was a pretty good breakfast.

It was a little chilly so I waited until almost 10 to head downtown and find a coffee shop to hang out at. I ended up at the Folklore Coffee after stopping at the post office to mail a birthday card since I needed a stamp. This was a good place to hang out. I locked my bicycle outside and I could keep an eye on it from my table inside.

One of the neat things about the Coros Dura solar GPS is that the ride activities are uploaded to RideWithGPS. Under the Calendar page, it was just a few clicks to create a csv file that contained the ride stats to create a spreadsheet. This contained data for all rides but it was a simple matter to delete rides before September. I opened this csv file with Google Sheets. The only difficulty was figuring out how to format the various columns appropriately.

In addition to ride stats, I also used the History feature of the Dura to extract battery info which told how much battery was used, how much solar offset the battery usage, and how much battery capacity was left after the ride. I appended this data to the daily ride stats. This took an hour or so.

After a couple hours at the coffee shop I walked around a little in the downtown area and then rode back to my lodge. Then I started packing things up to be ready to leave early the next morning for my 7:26 am Amtrak train to Chicago. The main packing was to empty one of the front panniers and stick it in the duffel bag and distribute its contents among the two rear panniers and the duffel bag. This left me with 3 carry-ons plus the other front pannier to use as my personal carry-on. In theory I could only have 2 carry-ons but I’ve always been able to get by with 3. And if someone objected, I could bundle the 2 rear panniers together with a strap which would give me 2 carry-ons.

The other thing I did was put up my tent outside to dry it out since I had packed it wet.

Later, I used my breakfast supplies for dinner. I had some cereal and a bagel and I wanted to use them rather than throw them away or pack them.

Day 24: Sep 23 - Amtrak [1.0, 0:08:00, 7.2 mph, 10.1 max, +25', -12']

I didn’t sleep well. Part of the reason was my knee was sensitive to how it was positioned. In most positions it was just a little uncomfortable. It was hard to find a position that was good. Eventually, around 2 am I iced my knee and that appeared to help.

I got up just before 5 am which was plenty of time to get to the Amtrak station where the waiting room opened at 6 am for the 7:26 am departure. I left the lodge at 6 am in the dark for the mile ride to the station. It was a chilly 39F but that didn’t matter with such a short ride. I did see a deer in the middle of the street who stared at my headlight, giving me that deer in a headlight look, before moving out of the street.

There was another guy already at the station when I got there. I quickly got a bicycle tag which cost $20 to put my bike on the train. It was good to get this out of the way as folks started streaming in. The train was 11 minutes late. I had no problem getting my bike to the baggage car and handing it off the baggage attendant.

Once on the train I immediately headed to the dining car for breakfast.

The rest of the day was spent reading and watching the landscape as the train fell an hour behind schedule due to a number of slowdowns.

Day 25: Sep 24 - Naperville, IL [2.0, 0:13:00, 8.7 mph, 19.4 max, +77', -55']

I slept better than the two previous nights, probably because of the rocking of the train. I got up at 6 am so I could be ready for the start of the 6:30 am breakfast. I was the first in line for the first come, first served breakfast.

Lunch was at 11:30 and there were some folks already seated when I showed up. I got seated with another single who was at a table by himself. The waiter figured out that what the guy really wanted was not the dining car but the cafe and he directed him there. Then I was the only person at the table and I ordered my lunch. After I got my food, a woman was seated across from me. She. didn’t say anything or make any eye contact. Another woman was then seated next to me. Again, nothing was said but I wasn’t in a position to see if there was eye contact. So, we had a 3-person table with no conversation, not even a hello. Very strange.

The train had been behind by a little over an hour yesterday but it made up that time overnight. Mostly I spent the day reading my kindle until the train arrived in Union Station at 4:30 pm, about 15 minutes early.

I would have liked to have ridden home from Union Station but there wasn’t enough daylight for that. There were 3 trains right around 5 pm that would get me and my bike to Naperville. The first was an express direct to Naperville. The second had about 10 stops before reaching Naperville. The last had all the stops. I didn’t intend to catch the express train because everybody wanted to catch that one and I figured it would be harder to get my bike on the train in that madhouse. However, it turned out I was by the track so I thought I would check it out. Then as I neared the car where I could put my bike the conductor warned there were only 8 seconds to get on before it left. He motioned to me to get on board and, since the place where the bike would have normally gone was filled by travelers, he just told me to put the bike in the restroom. The restroom was large enough for my bike because, I’m assuming, it needed to be to accommodate anyone with a handicap scooter.

When we got to Naperville, the conductor helped me get the loaded bike off the train and I rode the almost 2 miles home. I was home by 6 pm, the best I could expect to do.

Summary

It was a good trip but somewhat marred by the smoke during the first half. It was a bonus that I got to see my sister, nephew, and niece in Spokane. I was able to manage my knee by both icing it daily and keeping the daily mileage manageable. The longest ride was 55 miles and the most climbing was 2,900 feet. It helped that I didn’t ride the section from Revelstoke to Golden which would have added another 90 miles and 7,300 feet of climbing although that would have been spread over two days. The towns – Newport, Ione, Salmo, Nelson, Kaslo, New Denver, Nakusp, Revelstoke, Golden, Invermere, Skookumchuck, Cranbrook, Eureka, Whitefish – were nicely spaced and I enjoyed visiting them. If the Heather Mountain Lodge between Revelstoke and Golden had been open, I would have ridden that section. However, it might have been a good thing that I avoided that stretch. When queried whether this section was safe to ride, perplexity.ai replied:

“Riding a bicycle between Revelstoke and Golden on the Trans-Canada Highway is generally possible but comes with significant safety considerations. The highway section through the Rockies, including between Revelstoke and Golden, is known to be busy and heavily used by large trucks, with often narrow or inconsistent shoulder widths. Cyclists may experience stress due to traffic noise, wind turbulence from trucks, and sometimes limited or uneven shoulder space. Some cyclists choose to ride this section at night when traffic is lighter for safety reasons.”

The Coros Dura Solar GPS computer turned out to be a very useful addition to my touring setup. My daily routes were very straightforward with the exception of the route between Colbert and Newport and the navigation support of the Dura wasn’t needed. However, it was still generally helpful to be able to see I was always on route and how far it was to the next turn. The Dura also showed hill climbs that was helpful. It was nice to know how challenging the hills were – the Dura color coded the climb sections as yellow/orange/red based on the grade – and showed the progress along the climb. Battery capacity was exceptional, requiring only a single charge during the trip. This despite the fact that the solar charging didn’t help much because the sun didn’t shine on the device that much. Then it was really useful to be able to use the device at the end of the trip to create a CSV file of the daily ride stats.