Waterton-Glacier Tour
Day 1 Kalispell, Montana to Dickey Lake, Montana

Montana ranch country

I woke up at 4:30 a.m. My body must have still been on Eastern time since my usual wake up time is 6:30 a.m.  I forced myself to go back to sleep for an additional 2 hours since I needed the rest.  

When I mounted my panniers and gear on my bike I discovered a problem.  Just before leaving home, I purchased a fleece sleeping bag liner to supplement my 40 degree (F) synthetic bag.

Unfortunately, the straps I used to secure my rear stack could not accommodate the bulky sleeping bag liner.  With some careful rearranging of my panniers, I had just enough room to stash the liner.  However, this left no room for food.  I decided to look for longer straps on the road.

I cycled North out of Kalispell on Route 93 in the cold morning air.  After several months of planning and preparation, it felt good to finally be on the road again.  I cycled approximately 15 miles past ranches to Whitefish.  At Whitefish, I stopped for coffee and found a strap for my sleeping bag liner.  Since Whitefish  would be the last large town that would pass for a while, I  stopped and bought my groceries for the day. 

Crosses on the highway.

I continued North on   Route 93. This stretch of the road was pretty desolate with lots of woods and white crosses mounted to red poles along the roadside.  The crosses seemed to appear every half mile or so.  I passed more crosses on this road than houses.  Most of the time there was just one.  Other times there would be two or even 3 of them grouped together.  This was a very  sobering sight.  

Even though traffic was light, I took good note and carefully monitored the approaching and passing  traffic.  This is a dangerous highway with two lanes, no  shoulder and a  65 MPH  speed limit.  It's  no wonder so many people died here.

 I was moving along with a nice tailwind.  I neglected to purchase gas for my  stove in Whitefish. When I reached the town town of Olney, about 35 miles into the ride, I stopped at a small gas station to fill up my fuel bottle.  The attendant told me about a "luau" featuring country music and an all-you-can-eat barbecue about 8 miles North at a place called Point of Rocks.  I told the attendant that I would think about it.  However, I wasn't very excited about the idea.   I'm a  blues and  rock kind of guy.  Country music just is not my bag.   Besides, I wanted to cover more miles my first day on the road.  

Food for a hungry cyclist!

I got back on the road, and continued North.  By this time, It was early afternoon.  I hadn't stopped for lunch yet.  After a few miles I started to get very hungry.  With each rotation of the cranks, that all-you-can-eat barbecue sounded better and better.   By the time  I got to Point of Rocks, I changed my mind.

When traveling, I never miss an opportunity to sample the local brew.  During this trip I grew particularly fond of Black Star.

I met lots of people at the luau including Mike Leib.  Mike was very interested in my trip.  I showed him my equipment including the couplings on my bike and explained how I pack the  bike into the suitcase for air travel.  Mike is an interesting guy who spent many years in the oil business.  His career includes a stint helping the Kuwaitis put out the many oil well fires set by the Iraqis after the Gulf War.

After two heaping plates of delicious BBQ and 3 or 4 Black Stars, I decided to move on.  The folks at the luau recommended a National Forest campground about 10 miles up the road at Dickey Lake.  The sky was starting to cloud up and I wanted to get to camp before the rain started.  Mike promised to pick me up if it started pouring soon.

Dickey Lake

I got caught in a very brief shower about 2/3 of the way to Dickey Lake.  It ended before I could get my rain gear on and the pavement was dry a half mile later.

I checked in to the  National Forest campground at Dickey Lake.  I was so stuffed from the luau, that I did not bother with supper.  

My total mileage for the day was 55.6

Continue to Day 2

Introduction
Day 1 Kalispell, Montana to Dickey Lake, Montana
Day 2 Dickey Lake, Montana to Fernie, British Columbia
Day 3 Fernie, British Columbia to Pincher Creek, Alberta
Day 4 Pincher Creek, Alberta to Waterton Lakes National Park
Day 5 Waterton Lakes National Park to Glacier National Park
Day 6 Going to the Sun Highway Glacier National Park
Day 7 Glacier National Park to Kalispell, Montana