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Messages - BikeliciousBabe

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31
Routes / Re: Backside of Glacier??
« on: April 18, 2024, 10:06:28 am »
I have ridden up the west slope of GTS and back down 3 times.  Last time was 2017.  Post-pandemic, the crowds grew so bigh that the NPS has instituted a permit requirement during most of the day.  It's almost certainly going to be busy.  Lots of people drive up from St. Mary, discover that the parking lot at the pass is full, and head down the west slope.  One nice thing is that the west slope is not the sort of place where cars can speed.  You might even have to slow down for the vehicle traffic ahead of you.  When that happens, take the lane.  Start out as early as possible.  It gets light pretty darn early.

Here are two photos of the west side from 2017:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/105349603@N05/53661334497/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/105349603@N05/53662206136/in/dateposted-public/

You can see a few cars,.  There were a lot more.  I timed the shots during breaks in the traffic.  This was early in the season.  Around the 3rd week in June.  The road had just opened fully to vehicles the pass fully morning.  When I left the park the next day, there was a long line of cars waiting to make the turn from U.S. 2 toward the west entrance to the park.

What I found to be the hairiest was the section where the road finally flattens and straightens out.  Most of the incredible views are gone, so people tend to speed.  I have always stayed at Sprague Creek.  Last time I was there, a guy got pulled over by a ranger.  He pulled into the campground.  The ranger issued him a warning speeding.

As noted, during much of the summer, you cannot ride west of Sprague Creek Campground between 11 am and 4 pm.  So if your plan that day is to go farther west, you should take into account that you might have to hang out at Lake McDonald Lodge or the day use area at Sprague Creek.  There are worse places in the world to hang out.

32
I recall hearing a wolf howl while stealth camping near Smithers, BC.  Of course I howled back.
That's a cool sound. I camped next to a wolf preserve in NJ, near the Atlantic Coast route.  The wolves started howling at dawn, while I was still in my tent.

33
The rustling of tall grass.  Birds.  Especially the screech of a hawk overhead.  Cows mooing in the distance.  At night in the tent, the sound of owls.  Had a fine minute conversation with one on a limb right above my tent a few years ago.  Neither of us understood what the other was hooting about.

34
General Discussion / Re: How much water to carry?
« on: April 03, 2024, 05:23:24 pm »
That sounds like it should be sufficient.  I use two 25 oz. bottles and a 40 oz. CamelBak.  Every once in a while, I will fill an extra bottle, such as a Gator Ade bottle, with water for a long, hard (and possibly hot) stretch.

Be on the lookout for potential water sources, like schools, parks and places like USFS campgrounds along the day's route.  One time we even stopped at a private campground and asked to fill out bottles.  The person working the office was happy to let us.  On the Northern Tier, we stopped in a couple of bar/restaurants for water and were even offered ice.  Topping off the bottles just in case can't really hurt.

35
General Discussion / Re: GDMBR cell phone company ?
« on: April 03, 2024, 05:13:20 pm »
Thank you. As long as i can get a signal near towns I’ll be fine. For everywhere else I’ll rely on the in-reach.
That might not always be the case.  For example, I remember being in Wise River, MT, which is on the GDMBR and has a couple of restaurants, a small country store, a school and even a post office.  Verizon did not have coverage there.  Maybe things have changed.  Also, you may get a weak signal in places that will allow text messages (sans photos) to (eventually) get though, but not calls.

BTW...Stop into the Wise River Club before heading up the climb.  Good food.  Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top fame recently became a co-owner along with Tim Montana.  Don't know if Gibbons spends much time there.

36
General Discussion / Re: Best Tips for Cooking on the Road
« on: March 28, 2024, 07:54:51 am »
So much fear.  Sad.

Most fear is induced by our media.  I read a news report that said: "Chinese invasion of Taiwan is imminent"!  Then you read the article and they looking at 7 small navy vessels and 8 aircraft as their reasoning for an imminent invasion.  China would need about 80 times more ships, and 250 times more aircraft before an imminent invasion would be plausible.  That's just one of many examples of our media, and our government are trying to fill us with fear at everything we see and hear.  So this fear filters down into our everyday lives and we become paranoid about everything.

Yep. I am very active on Bikeforums.net.  Whenever the issue of theft comes up, those afraid of the "Angle Grinder Army", as I like to refer to this mythical collective, are often the most vocal.  What I find particularly interesting are thigns like this:  Someone will write that they use a relatively light cable lock to prevent opportunistic theft while they do something like op into a c-store for a snack and nature break.  You're pretty sure to get a response from someone referencing a YouTube video of someone in NYC defeating a much heavier lock with some sort of power tool.  Am you really going to worry about theft when you do something like lean your bike up against the wall of the Wheat & Thistle in Harrison, MT and run insie for a few minutes to make a purchase?

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.7028267,-111.7868659,3a,30y,100.66h,90.13t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sMmmQ2KqPOD-_c_2HBLZgMw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DMmmQ2KqPOD-_c_2HBLZgMw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D185.89316%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

If I am alone at a campground in a relatively sparsely populated area a mile from the nearest public road, I am going to take a shower without worrying about leaving my bike unlocked and out of my sight.

37
General Discussion / Re: Best Tips for Cooking on the Road
« on: March 25, 2024, 08:44:58 am »
So much fear.  Sad.

38
I am telling you it is those !@#$% raccoons that are the worst followed by chipmunks that eat through your tent and then pannier to get to the delicious peanut butter and tortillas you have stashed there.
+1.  After my first tour, which was ACA'S unsupported Northern Tier, I started riding home solo.  On a day off near Hyde Park, NY, I camped at a state park that was infested with squirrels and other rodents collecting nuts for the upcoming winter.  I left some bread in my tent while i went to tour the Vanderbilt Mansion.  I returned to discover that something had chewed through my tent mesh and eaten some of the loaf.  I had only recently bought that tent from the L.L. Bean store in Freeport, ME after my the zipper of my original tent crapped out in Searsport and I awoke to a good number of mosquitoes inside.

There is a NJ state park I ride to a few times/year.  The raccoons there are notorious.  You cannot leave anything out if you expect to keep it.  There are also some feral cats that will try to get into your garbage.  When you take your garbage to the trahs/recycling area well away from the campsite, you can often hear, if not see, the raccoons helping themselves like its a buffet.

39
General Discussion / Re: Hotel/motel vs camping
« on: March 21, 2024, 10:28:45 pm »
Camping can save money but may be less comfortable and require more planning. Credit card and hotel options offer convenience but can be pricier. Availability varies; plan ahead for camping.
Enjoying experimenting with AI?

40
Are you seriously worried about being attacked by a fox desperate for a meal?  If so, I would stay home and lock your doors. ::)

41
General Discussion / Re: Best Tips for Cooking on the Road
« on: March 21, 2024, 10:22:13 pm »
However, using canned/pouched meat and pasta/rice and veggies is always good.
If I only had a dollar for every meal of pasta and pouched tuna or chicken with veggies I have made.  :)

42
General Discussion / Re: Hotel/motel vs camping
« on: March 16, 2024, 01:22:37 pm »
For a southern tier, coast-to-coast trip, consider cost, comfort, and availability. Hotels offer comfort but are costlier, while camping is cheaper but less luxurious. Availability varies, so plan ahead for convenience.

AI-generated, just like your one other post.   >:(

43
General Discussion / Re: Trade offs
« on: March 11, 2024, 07:49:58 am »
I have a schedule, but that doesn't mean that I'm in a hurry.
+1.  Although sometimes I have a schedule and I am in a hurry, like if I have to catch a ferry or train or wait many hours for the next one.  In situations like that, I am not going to stop and smell the proverbial roses.

All things aside, touring should be about what each individual feels it should be about for them.

44
General Discussion / Re: Stealth Camping? Sleep Site!
« on: March 05, 2024, 11:03:19 am »
It isn't all or just homeless people.  There a lot of desperate people with really serious drug addictions, and bluntly there are also a lot of people who just like to steal stuff.
Yep.  I live in one of the country's largest cities.  See it all the time.  As you note, it's not just in big cities anymore.  Back in 2011 we stayed in a motel in Butte, MT. Walking around town, we saw PSA signs warning people to not leave their car doors unlocked or valuables in their cars due to drug-related petty crime.  In 2016, I had to shoo an itinerant tweaker out of the Bike Camp in Twin Bridges, MT, which is on the Trans America Route.  An officer from the Sheriff's office came by later that morning asking if anyone had seen him after a resident had reported him snooping around peoples' properties.  A shopping center in Brattleboro, VT had a security guard patrolling the parking lot checking on cars in the middle of the day when I was there in 2022.  Some of the lower-budget motels in towns like that have been turned into residences for the unemployed, many of whom are addicts.

45
This forum needs a "like" function.

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