Canada / Re: Northern Ontario — Lake Huron
« on: July 31, 2017, 10:32:07 am »
Waterfront Regeneration Trust's Waterfront Trail webpage says it will be completed in April 2018:
https://www.waterfronttrail.org/gbcyr
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Most rental shops expect you to pick up and drop off the bike at the same location. If you are riding part of the Northern Tier route together, how are you going to get the rental bike back to the shop where you got it?I wonder if a renter could work it out to pick up the bike at REI in Seattle and drop it off at REI in Sandpoint. Two weeks is plenty of time to do that mileage. (I'm thinking out loud here, I haven't actually called REI).
Late May is when I started from Seattle both times. Three days up to the NT at Bay View, WA, a bit east of Anacortes. Don't know what the winter was like this year, but the winter of '98-'99 was really snowy. We got rained on then snowed on crossing Rainy and Washington Passes. Winthrop to Tonakset was quite warm. Then we woke to flurries in Republic and had more on the descent from Sherman Pass.
Howard Miller Steelhead Park in Rockport, WA has Adirondack shelters. Nice amenity if it's cold and wet like it was when we were there. This spring, construction will start on biker sites at Whitefish Lake State Park. Don't know when they will be ready, and it's my understanding from people that the train noise at the park can be disturbing.
In '00 I went to Glacier, rode up the west slope of Going to the Sun then back down, then backtracked to Columbia Falls/Whitefish and took the Great Parks North to Missoula. I then continued on the TransAm to Yellowstone and eventually ended up on Cortez, CO via the Great Parks South. I prefer Sprague Creek Campground in Glacier. It's within walking distance of the Lake McDonald lodge. If you don't mind being dependent upon the shuttle, Avalanche Campground might make more sense. Shop for groceries in W. Glacier, before you enter the park. The selection at the store at the lodge is more along the lines of "junk food."
In '11 and '14 I did two loops out of Missoula on the TA as far east as Twin Bridges. I will actually be back in MSO on June 14th for another loop that will take me as far east as Ennis before I head north and then west back to MSO. If you don't mind some (about 6.5 miles) of pretty easy gravel, don't pass up the Old Darby Rd. Alternative between Hamilton and Darby, MT. Great views and quitter than U.S. 93. Shop in Darby as the grocery selection at the Sula Country Store & Campground is very limited (the breakfast is good), and the store portion closes at 5 p.m. When I got there in '14 at about 5:02 the store was dark and locked up tight. This year I plan to stay at Spring Gulch Campground (U.S.F.S.), which is a few miles west of there, just for something different. There is a cyclist-only site there.
If you want a real dirt challenge, take Gibbons Pass east of Sula if it's open. I did it in '11. The west slope is narrow and rough in places, but doable with sturdy, wide tires. (I ride 35c.) But it really is like being in the backcountry, and it's shorter that Lost Trail/Chief Jospeh Passes. While climbing the west slope I encountered one vehicle. The east side is a totally different experience. Wide, mostly gentle grade with a good dirt surface.
West slope:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2007/14553785051/in/album-72157645062932708/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2007/14555580304/in/album-72157645062932708/
East slope:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2007/14370579989/in/album-72157645062932708/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2007/14553786931/in/album-72157645062932708/
The mosquitoes in Wisdom will eat you alive. In fact, there is a little climb about 8 miles before town, as you pass a ranch, where they are really bad. Groceries are relatively limited, but The Crossings at Fetty's serves up great grub. Didn't check on the condition of the screened shelter in the American Legion park. I pitched my tent in there back in '00. In '11 we got a motel room in town. (The GF wanted no part of the bugs.) In '14 I pushed on to Jackson and camped at the hot springs resort. Pricey (close to $30, IIRC), but that comes with use of the hot springs pool and a large towel, which is a nice treat. The food there is good, and there is another place in town, but no grocery store.
I know people often like to stay in Dillon, MT because of the size and availability of services, but I highly recommend the Bike Camp in Twin Bridges. First class facility in a nice setting along the Beaverhead river, and it's free (donations strongly recommended). The town also has a very good grocery/liquor store, library with Internet access and a couple of restaurants. The fishing access campground just outside of the center of Ennis was tranquil when I was there in '00. Plan to stay there this year.
Send me a PM if you can handle dirt (some of it rough in places) and want a really sweet detour off the TransAm after Big Hole Pass east of Jackson that ultimately takes you to Twin Bridges. There is a way you can do it without the dirt, but that way passes through Dillon on the way to Twin Bridges and adds even more miles.
While it was some time ago, I did the entire NT W to E and, the following year, the western portion to Glacier a second time. If you are a light, strong person with a lighter load, 19.3 should be o.k. During my rides, I was about 50 lbs. heavier than you are carried a lot of weight thanks to a lot of film camera equipment. Bike and gear placed on a truck stop scale was 90 lbs. Low gear was a 22x34. Worked out fine, though I struggled in some places, such as right out of blocks from Colonial Creek Campground on WA 20.
I highly recommend doing the mileage into AB. I was there again in '09 during a loop from/to Whitefish, MT. The towne campsite in Waterton Village is in a dramatic setting and is a good place for a day off. Just don't underestimate the ride there from St. Mary. I found it harder than Logan Pass in Glacier. Another harder-than-it-looks section is between Libby and Eureka. Lots of ups and downs along the lake that can wear you out. South from Eureka follow the ACA route proper. The detours off U.S. 93 are a nice break and pretty. If you need a break along that stretch, go off route the .25 miles to the mercantile in the center of Olney. (You will see a blue sign pointing towards the town center.) The place has a neat collection of old pop/soda bottles. Also follow the ACA route between Whitefish and W. Glacier. There is a section of U.S. 2 between Columbia Falls and Hungry Horse that has no shoulder. I stayed on U.S. 2 the second time. I made it alive, but I went very early in the morning. U.S. 2 can be much noisier whereas the ACA route through Blankenship is low traffic. After Blankenship Bridge, it is unpaved, but it's manageable.
What time of year are you planning on starting?
I can't comment about the Northern Tier, but 22x34 is my standard low gear, and is often used particularly once the grade exceeds 10%.
For my new bike project currently underway, I'm doing away with the big ring altogether, and instead will use a 36/22 chainset with an 11-36 cassette.
You can usually stretch a Shimano derailer rating by at least a couple of inches, so a 34 should work with the existing Sora derailer.
I rode from Glacier west on the NT. Most of WA 20 is limited to 6% grades, which is doable with 20 gear inches. IIRC, there were a few steeper stretches on Loup Loup (which I didn't mind, as I was going downhill!), but they were fairly short. Also, there's 3/4 mile of 8% going east of Tonasket that was aggravating because there was a school zone and stop sign right at the bottom -- nowhere to let it run out. Grr. All that climbing gone to waste.
But I digress. You'll have to climb that, which will be easier early in the morning when you're fresh. The rest of the Washington passes, and Idaho and western Montana, was not a major problem. Though we had some 3,500 miles in our legs by the time we got to Glacier, which might have some bearing on my perception! Also, if the NT is like the TransAm, the worst grades are in the east (Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri on the TA).
Finally, don't be ashamed if you need to walk a few hundred yards. It's still human powered travel. And while road builders can build roads you may not be able to ride up, even when they truck the equipment and material around to the top so they can pave going down they can't pave a road you can't walk up!
Did the N. Cascades Northern Tier w/ 17 chain inches. I love extra low cause I prefer to carry more gear than most.
Anyway going west to east w/ 17 worked out fine ... I would not have wanted less cause then I would have fallen over from going too slowly :- ).
- Wishing you a great tour.
My derailer says SRAM X7 10 speedYou can go as high as a 36t cog with the X7.