Feeling wistful yet triumphant, we finished our ride today, biking 31 miles back to our car at the Whitefish train depot. Spent the evening watching the minor league baseball Glacier Range Riders and planning our next adventure….

Our vamper had a nice restful vacation in the Whitefish depot parking lot

Today was sadly our last full day of riding, another 53 miles. Much better weather, though the traffic had us longing for the remoteness of Washington or the trails of Idaho. Who’d’a thunk Montana would be so congested?!

Cows + Mountains = Montana

In the homestretch now— Flathead Lake with the mountains of Glacier NP just on the horizon on the left

Most of our ride today was in the Flathead Indian Reservation

How perfect, a brewery just a few miles before our hostel!

Our last night’s stay before we return to Whitefish, MT, and our car

Can you believe it? A rainbow appeared at the end of our day!

Yesterday, Wednesday, May 22 was our hardest day. Light rain most of the day, and the riding conditions on the roads weren’t great. Plus we had a 5 mile, 1000’ climb; that’s about a 4% grade for an hour! What got us through mentally— thinking about all the things we would NOT rather be doing, and imagining all the ways it could be worse.

We’ve been leaving colon cancer lit in our hotel rooms. Suggestion from a hotel maid— when leaving a tip for housekeeping, put it under a pillow, so the maid will find it instead of any crooked manager.

Two lane highway, little to no shoulder, 70 mph speed limit, rain— what could go wrong?

A flat tire didn’t help any

Who remembers putting plastic bags in your shoes to keep your feet dry when you were a kid?

This is not quite how I pictured Paradise!

Our first “sign” that the end is near.

We slept at Sage Oasis Hipcamp in Hot Spings. They were so nice! Originally they upgraded us from a campsite to a yurt, but since it was cold and rainy, they upgraded us again to a cabin!

I rode 53 miles towards my goal!

We finished crossing our second state, and made it back to Montana in 55 miles, though it took us almost 9 hours, due to slow going on dirt- gravel trails, and stopping to take lots of photos.

Wallace, ID is a well preserved silver mining town.

Our WarmShowers host Sally has a chocolate-art-antique shop with a small apartment in the back which she generously shared with us for the night

This is one fence we are not crossing!

Lookout Pass, on the border between Idaho and Montana!

Along the St. Regis River

Who’s an Olympian!

There were several patches of snow and ice at the high elevations

I rode 55 miles towards my goal!

Today we experienced my first big mistake. Silly me, I had assumed the esteemed Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes went through the city of Coeur d’Alene, but no. We would have to ride many miles on rough, hilly, dirt roads to get to it, or else ride a 12 mile section of Interstate 90. In western states biking on the shoulders of interstate highways is actually legal, and fairly safe, if not particularly enjoyable. So that’s what we did, and it was fine!

Getting onto I-90 at an unofficial crossing

Truck drivers were very courteous and changed lanes to give us space. And they provided a burst of backdraft.

Along marshes and lakes and rivers on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes

My own private Idaho

We only had 29 miles to ride today, practically a rest day. Especially since tonight's hotel has a hot tub! And we made it into an entirely new state— Idaho!

IDAHO!!! With chapstick at the ready!

Crossing the Spokane River into Idaho!

Our WarmShowers hosts Sheila and Paul. We couldn’t have asked for more generous, helpful, fun people to spend our final evening in Washington

81 miles today, our longest day yet, and our last full day of riding in Washington. We reached Spokane, on the eastern border. It feels great to know we crossed an entire state, and a pretty big one at that!

The cows always watch us with keen curiosity

We climbed out of the Columbia Basin and into pine forests and hills

Spokane has great riverfront parks and bike trails

May 17– Another amazing day, 53 miles. Fierce friendly winds at our backs all day, we were often going 20 mph, twice as fast as usual. The landscape in this Columbia Basin reminds me more of Nebraska than Washington. Much more isolated too, we only encountered a car every hour or so.

Shedding a layer, the wind nearly ripped my shirt from my hands

These rolling hills would have been a real treat if the road was paved

Some cloud cover and the wind kept temps cooler today

Our lunch stop in Lind, the only town on our route today

This tiny town has seen better days. There was literally a tumbleweed blowing down Main Street when we arrived

We’re leaving colon cancer literature in little libraries

Quite a day today! Fifty miles full of forceful winds, mostly boosting us from behind. Rippling round wheat fields, rigid rows of apple orchards, waving workers and tractor drivers who stopped and waited til we passed to limit the dust we had to eat. Then the bizarre landscape of the Columbia Wildlife Refuge, a jumble of channels and spicy sage brush.

Our first flat

Too dangerous to approach, but okay to eat??!!

Unfortunately we’re quite a few months too early for these organic pears

Yellow flag iris in a boggy area

The Columbia Wildlife Refuge, and you can just make out our day’s destination, Othello, on the horizon

Our longest day yet, 63 miles, with almost 3000 feet elevation gain and loss!

More amazing views

A full ten miles completely downhill to the mighty Columbia River

The former RR bridge over the Columbia River in the background

What goes down must come up!

46 miles today from Easton to Ellensburg, and our first stay tonight with a wonderful “Warm Showers” host (kind of like couch surfing for cyclists.)

Out of the mountains and into the foothills today, with some stretches on country roads

We rode alongside the Yakima River most of the say

Strong winds at our back (see which way the windmills are facing?)

We biked 47 miles today, mostly on the Palouse to Cascades rail trail. Very scenic and remote. We saw only about a dozen people all day.

Almost all today’s ride was on a gravel rail trail. It got jarring at times, but it was great to not have to deal with any traffic

More spectacular scenery

The unlit 2.3 mile Snoqualmie tunnel was today’s highlight (or should I say ‘lowlight’?)

“Cherry pie that’ll kill you and a damn fine cup of coffee”

Happy Mothers Day!! After breakfast and goodbyes with Janela, we took off on an almost traffic-free 35 mile ride through gorgeous forests and along beautiful lakes and rivers, from Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle, to North Bend, an old logging and railroad town. Off to dinner at a Twin Peaks featured diner.

Such a fine day for Mothers Day! Lake Sammamish Beach was full of frolic!

That’s debatable!

We were mostly on rail trails, so long gradual climbs and descents, and awesome old bridges

A quaint motel with lots of character(s)

May 11. From downtown Seattle around Lake Washington to Bellevue, 37 miles, basically all on bike paths! A gorgeous spring day and every Seattlite and their mother were out with their bikes or scooters or skateboards or kayaks or SUPs or SOs or dogs.

In Seattle, bikes have the right-of-way and the cars have to stop for us!

Special guest appearance by Janela Harris!

I rode 37 miles towards my goal!

At Alki Beach, the western-most point in our journey! Whitefish, Montana, here we come!!!!!!

Dipping our rear tires in the waters of the Pacific Ocean!! Eastward Ho!!

A beautiful day on a beautiful ride in a beautiful city

Rearranging gear in Seattle’s King Street Station

It’s intermission. Time for our 12 hour overnight train ride to Seattle!

Our last day in Glacier NP and our last training ride. Twenty-one miles made it an even 400 so far. More magnificent majesty….

True story: I stopped at the Glacier bike rental shop to get some route information from the young women working there. Then we chatted, one of them asked where I was from, and I told her Cincinnati. She said, “No way! Greta here is from Cincinnati!” Then Greta said, “I thought you looked familiar.” I assumed she was joking. Then I thought, “How many Gretas do I know? Well, there was Greta Lecrone who went to the Waldorf School….” And that is who was standing before me!

May 8. The most majestic bike ride of my life! A 12 mile stretch of the Going to the Sun Road is closed to all motor vehicles until the summer! Hikers and bikers only, and not many of them either. Oh, and one grizzly bear off in the distance! Snow-capped mountain peaks, clear streams and raging waterfalls, sylvan silence and the smell of spruce all along for the ride! 27 magnificent miles today. 379/1000

A marvel of engineering

A chilly drizzly 20 mile ride in Glacier NP. Very few cars on this notoriously trafficky road today, so we had the fresh smells and stunning scenery to ourselves.

Rickey is ready to ride in the rain!

We biked on the Going to the Sun road, but we never got to the sun!

We made it!

May 6 mostly driving, but a fun five-mile ride around Missoula, MT, the other cool college town in this state.

May 6. I fulfilled a dream today— a pilgrimage to the Adventure Cycling HQ in Missoula, MT!! (It’s even in a former church!) They welcomed us warmly and admiringly, gave us gifts and took our pictures.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Today is also National Ride a Bike Day. We rode 26 miles all around Bozeman, Montana on its extensive network of trails. This college town has a very cool, outdoorsy, friendly vibe, and a “brewery historic district!”

Bozeman features prominently in a novel that influenced me profoundly— Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I brought my battered old copy from my college days to reread on this trip.

More nerd-tourism: We’ll always detour for a college campus. This is Montana State University.

May the 4th (be with you!) Today was supposed to just be a driving day, but with warm sunny weather we decided to do a 12 mile ride at our lunch stop. Sheridan, Wyoming was quite a pleasant surprise! 301/1000 miles

The snowy Bighorn Mountains are always in the distance

Beautiful bike trails along creeks, through parks, and quiet neighborhoods in this nice compact city

An intact, authentic main street

I don’t know who Greg Ferries was, but he certainly was a bad ass!

Wow, people here sure do dress fancy to hike in the woods!

Lots of sculptures and public art here

Bird Woman

We’re such nerds, we like to visit libraries

Honey, did we pack the ice scraper?

May 3 was supposed to be a 40 mile training ride on the George Mickelson trail in the Black Hills of South Dakota. But several inches of snow turned it into a tour of Wind Cave National Park (no snow and a balmy 54 degrees), lunch at a real deal roadside dive, and a long visit to the Crazy Horse memorial visitor center.

May 2 was a driving day mostly across South Dakota

At a rest stop overlooking the Missouri River

A mandatory stop when driving across SD

Bison in Wind Cave National Park

Happy May Day! Yesterday's drive across southern Wisconsin and Minnesota included stops at Circus World in Baraboo and at West Salem, birthplace of Lisa Jensen! We drove through a thunderstorm in the late afternoon that turned night into day, and then came out the other side to a double rainbow and glorious sunset. Today we biked 43 miles on the Sakatah Singing Hills rail-trail from Mankato to Madison Lake, Minnesota. We saw a bald eagle with a fish in its talons and heard a symphony of spring peepers in the marshes and edges of a few of the 10,000 lakes in this state. 289/1000

April 29 After two baseball games and a long drive, Sandy gave us a delightful bike tour of Racine, Wisconsin. She included a private tour of the Wind Point Light House, during a filming of a Wisconsin Public Television documentary; unfortunately, I wasn't able to slip in any comments about cancer prevention....246/1000

April 26 Our final Cincinnati-training ride (and our mom-and-dadiversary-- Happy Birthday, Janela!) 25 mile loop from our house, through Kennedy Heights, Silverton, Kenwood, Madisonville, Mariemont, Terrace Park, Milford, Camp Dennison, Miamiville, Indian Hill and Madeira. 221/1000

Who knew?

April 24 Twenty miles around Armleder and Lunken and over the new bike-bridge over the Little Miami into Anderson Township. 196/1000 miles

Let’s Crown the Nati!

A beautiful day for my longest training ride yet— 32 miles, with Sandy visiting from Wisconsin. From 50W to Loveland and a visit to the castle, which I had never actually been to in all these years. And back to 50W for beers and burgers and then Graeters to refuel after the ride. Ah, the advantages of entertaining out-of-town friends.

With Sandy in our matchy-matchy raspberry tops

A lovely ride from Loveland on the LMT with Tom and his mistress. (JK! His “mistress” is how Suzanne refers to his bike.)

A ride from Loveland with my new carefree, road-friendly haircut. Hopefully the construction on the new bridge will be done by the time we get back.

Biking in 90 degree heat today is not helping us prepare for spring temps in the western mountains! 128/1000

one of many stops at REI to gear up

I found morel mushrooms at a secret location along a bike trail in the middle of Cincinnati!

April 14 I biked 12 miles RT to Community Friends Meeting and gave my first mini-presentation about my FightCancerNotEachOther fundraising ride, and someone handed me a $100 dollar donation!

April 13 The first lovely day in a while, adding a few miles with each ride. 23 today. 101/1000

Wearing my new survivor rider T-shirt

I love it— “Get your Rear in Gear!” (and is that what my hair really looks like in back??)

April 9 How great that visiting niece Adriana is a cycling enthusiast too! Another 20 miles under our wheels. 78/1000

Good thing we were biking and not buggying!

April 8 What an AMAZING day! A gorgeous day for a sweet 19 mile ride before and after the TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN!!!! 58/1000

So hard to see the road while wearing eclipse glasses!

March 31, such a better day for our second training ride— Easter Sunday, whose theme of rebirth fits this journey! A 20 mile loop from our house, through Madeira and Indian Hill and the Little Miami bike trail. The sun even smiled on us just as we were starting out. 39/100 miles

March 9 and 10, 2024. Our first ride of the season, training for our FightCancerNotEachOther ride. We woke up to snow flurries and nasty winds. We completed 19 miles before bailing. Better luck next time! 19/1000 miles