Messages

16

Gear Talk / Re: Need 90 PSI bicycle pump, a legitimate 90 PSI.

« on: July 27, 2022, 11:11:36 pm »

My wife and I use a Topeak Road Morph on our tandem. It does 120 psi without difficulty. It was easy to keep our tires topped up on the 2-week tour we just did.

17

General Discussion / Re: Grizzlies in Yellowstone and Glacier

« on: July 27, 2022, 11:07:27 pm »

My wife and I live in Alberta, and spend a lot of time in the Canadian Rockies both backpacking and bicycle touring. It is important to be conscientious in bear country. It's not hard to do, it's just important to be consistent about it. On the bike, our front panniers contain our food, cooking stuff, and toiletries. No food or food-related items ever go in the rear panniers or the BOB trailer bag. (We ride a tandem and pull a trailer.) We never eat in the tent. That's true whether we're in bear country or not, so our stuff never picks up food odors. Over-the-top stuff like worrying about clothes you wore while eating – yeah, no. (Unless you have bacon grease on your shirt.) We do keep the BOB bag in the vestibule of the tent, out of sight, though. Bears recognize coolers by sight, and a duffel bag may look enough like a cooler that if a bear can see it, s/he may "investigate". After which there wouldn't be much left!

The bear spray does stay within reach, too.

18

Routes / Re: Northern Tier Map 3

« on: February 11, 2022, 05:43:12 pm »

My wife and I plan to ride this section of the Northern Tier on our tandem in August this year. Is it possible to get the old maps (esp the Bicycle Navigator version) in case the SR 200 section is not good this summer?

19

General Discussion / Re: Northern Tier and which stove

« on: July 15, 2021, 02:51:12 pm »

Bumping this older thread to ask: can anyone with recent direct experience on the Northern Tier comment on the availability of fuel canisters on the route? Do you have to carry enough to get you from Great Falls to Bismark, or can it be found along there? What about in the rural/small town country of Minnesota and Wisconsin?

20

Routes / Re: Northern Tier re-routed?

« on: June 29, 2020, 04:35:19 pm »

Thanks, I knew it had to be announced somewhere, but I was just not finding it.

21

Routes / Northern Tier re-routed?

« on: June 26, 2020, 10:05:11 am »

On the interactive map page it appears that the Northern Tier has had a major re-route in Montana. I don't see anything in the blog about it, and the NT web page only refers to the 2012 change. Is there an update I'm not finding, and if so could someone point me toward it? Thanks.

22

Routes / Re: Going to the Sun Road

« on: April 15, 2020, 11:39:06 am »

...Eastbound, you really should start from Avalanche.
Westbound, it's best to start from Rising Sun...

My wife and I plan to include a westbound crossing of Logan Pass and then eastbound through Marias Pass on a trip we're planning, basically going south on the Great Parks North route to east on the Northern Tier. My main concern is getting a campsite at Rising Sun. Will they accommodate cyclists who pedal in from Alberta arriving late in the afternoon?

23

General Discussion / Re: Emergency Helicopter Evacuation insurance

« on: February 03, 2020, 09:00:50 pm »

I recommend checking into one you may not have thought of: DAN, the Divers' Alert Network. Started to cover scuba divers for emergencies and evacuations in remote areas, but they have broadened out and are a great choice for a wide variety of activities now. Quite a few of my colleagues in wilderness medicine swear by them. (My wife and I go with the Alpine Club of Canada's plan, but it doesn't sound like you live up here.)

24

Connecting ACA Routes / Re: Northern Tier to Lewis & Clark?

« on: August 30, 2018, 05:24:43 pm »

You can go here and click on Bicycle Map to see highway information with traffic counts, shoulder widths, etc. That should help make your decision. US 89 is closer the the Rocky Mountain Front so the views are good. The roads farther east are out on the plains.
https://www.mdt.mt.gov/travinfo/bikeped/bikes/default.shtml

That website is a very nice resource! thanks -Lee

25

Connecting ACA Routes / Northern Tier to Lewis & Clark?

« on: August 30, 2018, 04:56:37 pm »

I've heard a suggestion that the Lewis & Clark route east from the mountains to Circle, MT might be nicer riding than the Northern Tier over that stretch. If I wanted to do that, which would be better: jumping off the Northern Tier at Browning, following 89 down to Great Falls, and rejoining the Northern Tier at Circle, or at Chester and taking 223 down to Ft. Benton and on to Circle? Differences in roads, scenery, interesting points along the way, towns/services? Thanks! -Lee

26

Gear Talk / Re: Roof rack mount for bike with low rider rack on front wheel

« on: August 23, 2018, 02:32:50 pm »

Thanks all for suggestions. 

I see that Yakima also makes a mount for a roof rack that connects to the downtube but I am concerned that this may not be stable enough.  Does anyone know anything about either this manufacturer's model or that for Swagman?

I will also explore further the possibility of an elevated fork mount.  Very interesting suggestion.

I've used that downtube-clamping Yakima for years, on my camper. Never had any problem with it, even on really bad roads.

27

Routes / Northern Tier in Minnesota: which loop?

« on: August 23, 2016, 03:52:20 pm »

We're looking at a Northern Tier trip and wondering about the route east of Fargo. There seem to be 2 1/2 choices: either north (with an option all the way up to Bemidji) and come back down through Brainerd, or south through Fergus Falls etc. What are the pluses and minuses of each?

28

Connecting ACA Routes / Connecting Northern Tier to North Lakes via Minnesota 200?

« on: January 09, 2015, 04:43:31 pm »

We live in both Alberta and Michigan, and plan to ride our tandem from one house to the other. We'll more or less follow the Great Parks North route down to Glacier, and pick up the Northern Tier, then the North Lakes route. Looking at the map, it seems sensible to jump off the Northern Tier at Walker, take Minnesota state road 200 directly east to US 2, and follow that until it becomes the North Lakes route. This plan would avoid going south to Osceola then back north again. Has anyone done this? Is it a reasonable ride? Thanks.