Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: Most dangerous roads

« on: August 28, 2024, 11:43:09 pm »

A lot of U.S. 93 between Eureka, MT and the turnoff for Whitefish Lake State Park was no picnic.

2

Routes / Re: Sisters to Salem?

« on: August 08, 2024, 06:43:12 am »

... And west to east is not nearly as hard of a climb as the other direction.  Just don't overcook the corners on the descent switchback.

Don't you mean East to West is not nearly as hard?  From Sisters to the summit at Dee Wright Observatory it is a 2200 foot climb, while from Belknap Springs to Dee Wright it is a 3800 foot climb.  And there are a lot of switchbacks on the West side.

Yes.  Sorry about the mixup.  We did east to west in 2002 and west to east in 2007.

3

Routes / Re: Sisters to Salem?

« on: August 06, 2024, 09:12:36 am »

Probably not taking this route, but wondered if anyone has taken US 20 and OR 22 from Sisters, Oregon to Salem, Oregon.   

Thanks, Matt

I remember taking the bus from Portland to the start of Cycld Oregon in Sisters back in 2007.  We were on U.S. 20 for part of the trip.  Possibly east of Santiam Jct.  Lots of traffic.  Google Maps Street View confirms this.

If I had the time, I would take McKenzie Pass the Eugene and head north.  Amazing ride up to the pass and down.  Lava rock observatory at the top.  And west to east is not nearly as hard of a climb as the other direction.  Just don't overcook the corners on the descent switchback.  Despite being warned, a few people ended up in the woods during 2003's Cycle Oregon.  Fortunately, all emerged unharmed. 

4

Routes / Re: Montana 43 construction

« on: August 06, 2024, 08:56:50 am »

Yes, we took that dirt road.  Scenic and quiet, but all washboard.   We saw some bald eagles and a herd of pronghorns.

 Nice but washboard got old.  37c tubeless worked but wished I had  2.3"instead

Nice!  Got a earful from a common snipe one time.  The only quadrupeds I saw in my three trips were free range cattle.

Yeah.  The road can be rough.  I had 37c tubed tires and never flatted, but wider tires would have been nicer.

The last time I rode it (2016), I stopped for a break and realized that I could not hear any man-made sounds.  Only insects buzzing, birds chirping and the rustling of the grasses in the wind.  In 2011, the GF and I saw pronghorns grazing up on the hill you hit just after 43 ends and you get on the frontage road to Melrose.

If you stayed at the Bike Camp in Twin Bridges, how is it looking these days? I have spent a total of 5 nights there during 3 trips.  Also stayed at Divide Bridge Campground all 3 times I was out that way.

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Routes / Re: Montana 43 construction

« on: August 02, 2024, 03:22:31 pm »

Done the Pioneers 3 times heading towards Wise River.  Great ride. Pretty easy climb (except for the last five miles) going that way.  The other way, not so much.   

BTW...The Wise River Club is now partially owned by one other than Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top fame.  Currently has limited hours because they are feeding firefighters.

Did you take the dirt road between Twin Bridges and Melrose?  Great ride, but though.

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Routes / Re: TransAm Alternate Routes You Would Recommend

« on: August 02, 2024, 03:16:42 pm »

With regard to bypassing Ennis, two thoughts. The climb west out of Ennis was one of the highlights of my 2022 tour. The views of the valley below are breathtaking.

Another plus to Ennis, they have one of the very best Warmshowers hosts. Not to be missed.

Amazing view, although I got see come down the hill.

The fish access campground it also nice, albeit there was not water in 2016.  There is water nearly across the road at the Lion's Club Park (No camping there.)

7

Routes / Re: GART vs ACA TransAm?

« on: July 30, 2024, 10:20:47 am »

Does ACA have estimated #'s by year for Trans Am and other routes that go thru Missoula?   It might be interesting to see numbers.

Note that Missoula is a spur off the Trans Am route from Lolo.  The route does not go through the city itself.  It's definitely worth a visit though.  Among other things, there is an REI two blocks away from the KOA (You can see the back of the shopping center from the campground office.) at the west end of town if you need to pick up anything.

8

Routes / Re: GDMBR Logistics

« on: July 30, 2024, 10:13:18 am »

At this point, visiting Jasper is not a good idea.

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General Discussion / Re: Maximum Tire With on Amtrak

« on: July 19, 2024, 08:12:13 am »

It's actually quite easy.  All one needs to do is Google "bikes on Amtrak".
https://www.amtrak.com/bring-your-bicycle-onboard

And wouldn't you know it, the 2" tires restriction appears prominently at the tops of the page.  And, BTW, it's not peculiar to e-bikes.  (I.e., no discrimination going on.)

I am actually surprised that anyone noticed.

What is interesting is that Amtrak, or at least some cars, have the ability to do wider tires as shown on the link above and then click on the "Electric Bikes and Scooters" section.  It shows that specific California routes accept up to 4" tires.  Now the question is, is this 4" rule only for eBikes or all bikes since it is buried under the eBike section since it should not matter if the bike is an eBike or not.  Amtrak really does not do a good job with their website. I still say it would benefit ridership if they allowed bikes on all trains and offered wider hooks. 

Tailwinds, John

Here's how it works.  On those services which allow wider tires for ebikes, the bikes are not hung.  As such, the hooks are not an issue.  The 2" limits applies to Trainside and Carry-On services, which usually require bikes to be hung from hooks.  (IIRC, the Capitol Limited might be one exception.  I think bikes are carried on by the passengers but not hung.)

As for the hook limitations...hooks deep enough to accommodate wider tires could cause some issues.  For example, deeper hooks might have to be placed higher in the cars.  That, in turn, could make it more difficult for some employees to hang the bikes and could require that front wheel be removed or turned.  (The 50 pound weight limit is surely there for employee concerns.) I have taken the Vermonter service four times with my Surly LHT, which has a long wheelbase.  On at least two occasion, I had to remove the front wheel to make the bike fit in the "cubby."

10

General Discussion / Re: Maximum Tire With on Amtrak

« on: July 17, 2024, 09:37:12 am »

Totally agree.  I wish Amtrak would be a bit for customer oriented.  For instance, I live in Oklahoma and only OKC is serviced by Amtrak.  However, they do not accept bikes at all.  I would have taken Amtrak probably a half dozen times or more now except for this.

In defense of Amtrak in this case, the Heartland Flyer (Oklahoma City to Forth Worth) is a state funded service, and a lot of times the amenities Amtrak can provide on these trains is dictated by the state(s) priorities and funding. I'm guessing that neither OK or TX care that much about providing bicycle service on this train.

Yep.  A lot of people don't realize that many Amtrak routes are subsidized by states because those states realize the advantages the services provide to its citizens.  The Keystone Service from NYC to Harrisburg, PA is heavily subsidized by PA, and it's very popular.  Not that long ago, Amtrak began offering Carry On bike service service on the route.  Trainside Checked service was also introduced on the Pennsylvania service between NYC and Pittsburgh.  If you live along the Northeast Corridor, it's now possible to, say, take you bike on Amtrak to PGH, ride the GAP and C&O, and turn north on the Vermonter service, which has Carry-On bike service from D.C. all the way upo to St. Albans, VT via NYC.

11

General Discussion / Re: Maximum Tire With on Amtrak

« on: July 17, 2024, 09:25:19 am »

I think that a part of the secret Amtrak Employee Oath requires that they must make it as difficult as possible for a mere passenger to find out anything about bicycle carriage.

It's actually quite easy.  All one needs to do is Google "bikes on Amtrak".

https://www.amtrak.com/bring-your-bicycle-onboard

And wouldn't you know it, the 2" tires restriction appears prominently at the tops of the page.  And, BTW, it's not peculiar to e-bikes.  (I.e., no discrimination going on.)

I am actually surprised that anyone noticed.

12

Routes / Re: TransAm Alternate Routes You Would Recommend

« on: July 17, 2024, 09:16:55 am »

Has anyone ridden thru Varney, MT instead of Ennis, MT?   It would be a shortcut, but my real interest is possibly being more fun (less traffic) than 287 thru Ennis.  It is entirely gravel, so not sure how tough it would be, but google thinks it is a good bike route (and google is often conservative on gravel, but sometimes wrong).  No services, although I have had good luck (tour + restroom + water fountain) visiting fish hatcheries in other states.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47532082

Your shortcut may be shorter in distance, but I'm not sure how it would compare time-wise.  Both the U.S. and the state 287s are well paved, and flying down from the top of the ridge to Virginia City was a high-speed (for a loaded tourist) blast.

QFT.  Althoiugh I have done it the other direction--towards Ennis.  If you like ice cream, stop in Virginia City.

13

Routes / Re: Lewis & Clark Trail - Lewiston, Idaho - Eastbound

« on: June 28, 2024, 09:02:37 am »

Yep, I personally rank the St Jo as one of my favorite roads.  We stayed at Conrad Crossing so we could be fresh for the big climb over the pass to St Regis.  Here is a pic of the St Jo as and as you said very little traffic.

It stormed on me during the descent from Gold Pass, and it was still cloudy when I reached the river.  Still, I felt like every quarter miles was a photo op.

14

Routes / Re: Lewis & Clark Trail - Lewiston, Idaho - Eastbound

« on: June 27, 2024, 08:42:53 am »

What condition is the Olympian in?  By that I mean, can a regular touring bike ride the trail, i.e. what minimum tire size is suggested.  When I rode the Hiawatha back in 2018?? I rode with my family from Hiawatha to Avery to St. Regis but we camped along the St. Jo instead of trying to do the 60 miles to St. Regis with is massive climb in one day. Great river to ride along.

Tailwinds, John

I have only done a relatively short part of the Olympian.  The first two miles west from St. Regis were pretty bumpy, and there was a bridge out.  I missed the easy detour around that and instead got off the trail and onto I-90.  Took that to De Borgia and picked up the Olympian again until a bit after west of the Saltese Trestle.  There was a new road/path down the NorPac.  (Very steep at one point.)  You can see it here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Haugan,+MT+59867/@47.4124846,-115.5224465,377m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x536094264b64a95f:0xa416bec923284b06!8m2!3d47.3832632!4d-115.3995938!16s%2Fm%2F04b4fq9?entry=ttu

Overall, the Olympian was not bad.  It's certainly not paved, but it wasn't rough.  I did it with a full load on 37c tires and was fine.  I remember reading somewhere that improvements have been made to the trail.

BTW...I stayed at Turner Flat along the St. Joe, about 9 miles east of Avery.  Nice place.  Had a site right long the river.  There was almost no one else there on a Monday.  Based on the hang tags left at the sites, I appears the place was very busy over the weekend.  I stopped in Tin Pan Flat Campground on my way.  It looked to have had heavy usage over the weekend.  The takeaway is that earlier in the weeks is the better time to ride.  I saw very little traffic.

15

Routes / Re: Lewis & Clark Trail - Lewiston, Idaho - Eastbound

« on: June 26, 2024, 08:01:45 am »

Thank you both for your great comments.  It has given us a lot to think about.  On our trip a few years ago we ended in Lewiston, ID, but flew home out of Spokane, WA.  We actually had given some thought to continuing east from Spokane rather than starting in Lewiston.  As you had guessed, we are trying to cross the country in segments.  We usually ride for 6-8, about 55-65 miles per day.  We don't camp anymore, preferring lighter loads, a hot shower at the end of the day, and a soft bed.
We'll probably be back with more questions after looking at maps and thinking this through.  Again, your input is much appreciated.

There is a hostel and cabins in Avery.  If you were to take the Hiawatha, there is Mangold's motel in Saltese and the Silver Dollar Inn further east in Haugan. St. Regis, even further east, has indoor accommodations, including a Super 8.  If you want to head that way, send me a PM.  I have ridden out there twice and am familiar with the trail system.  (Hiawatha, Olympian and NorPac.) Integrating them can be a little difficult from looking at a flat map because they are grade separated.  The NorPac was a different rail line than the Hiawatha and Olympian.  It helps to know the ins and outs of transferring from one trail to the other.