Glacier National Park to Cut Bank, MT

Today we find ourselves on the east side of the Rocky Mountains and looking down the long straight double yellow lines of the prairie. Things are not only different here geographically, but socially as well. We got our first real exposure to a reservation, which left us all feeling a little disappointed in the problems our society is capable of neglecting. People are incredibly friendly regardless, and we accepted an invitation from our waitress at the C & L Cafe to camp in her backyard. We sat around on the deck for most of the evening with Meghan and her mom Ann, learning more than we ever expected to know about northern Montana.
Ever heard of Hutterites? Neither had we, but apparently they are amazing farmers, cooks, speakers of German, and quilt makers, and they live around here. Karl should probably marry one.

We are now into the second phase of our trip, hoping to make good progress across the mostly flat areas of Montana and North Dakota. It's hot during the day, but apparently Cut Bank is annually the coldest place in the continental US. Biting ants swarm with particular aggression- serving as pockets of bio-schrapnel while riding and completely suffocating us if we stop. We are happy to be here though and we are actively looking to help people with MS in the towns we ride through.

-Mason

Eureka to Whitefish

After waking up in the Riverside Park in Eureka MT, yesterday started with a delicious breakfast at Cafe Jax in Eureka, home of the world's best bacon. Arriving at Jax we were met by our new touring friends Keith and Donna. We thought we were way ahead of them at that point, but as Keith so nonchalantly told Don, "oh yeah, we had an 88 mile day yesterday." They are hardcore! It was going to be the last day of their trip as Whitefish was their destination. We'll miss seeing them on the road, they are very nice folks, so nice in fact that they sneakily bought our breakfast for us. So kind. Thank you Keith and Donna!!

We eventually made our way out of Eureka and punctuated the day's ride with another delicious food stop in Fortine at Meadow Creek Homemade Pies and Espresso. Renee's huckleberry milkshakes were amazing.

The afternoon brought us a much needed swim in Stillwater Lake and a nice siesta afterward. That evening we rolled into Whitefish MT under smoky skies and near perfect temps. It had been a particularly hot day, but the evening portion of the day's ride was beautiful.

We quickly got to the important tasks of refueling and imbibing at the Great Northern Bar and Restaurant. We listened to a pretty good Irish Punk band and met some really nice locals. Our conversations eventually led us to the comfortable front yard of Lynnwood, a very kind Whitefish resident whose band will be playing their first gig tonight (Good Luck!). The sleeping situation in the yard was adequately comfortable, and all of us enjoyed it. Don, however did seem to take issue with the topography of the yard at about 3 am. It was a fun night. :)

Today, to Glacier National Park! Keep the emails and comments coming, we love them!

-Devin

Eureka

We are sitting here at the Riverview Park campground in Eureka, Montana. Today our ride took us along the Kootenai River and along Lake Koocanusa. We just had pizza and beers after a good 74 mile day. Throughout the day we passed maybe 1 car per hour and had the wind to our backs.

We are about to unleash our secret fundraising weapon - something so amazing it may ultimately cure MS. If you donate $1 you will get a kiss from Karl Miller himself. That's right! Extra value menu or a kiss from a stud - it's up to you..

Its getting late and the mosquitoes just came out. We should be in Whitefish tomorrow and Glacier on Tuesday - should be awesome.

DF

Good Morning Sandpoint Idaho

Hello all.

We survived another night on the road, although the trains passing 30 feet from our tents provided a good scare at 4 am- my tent was rumbling so furiously I thought the guys may have dragged me right onto the tracks. The morale among team BTUSFMS is soaring with our arrival in a new state, and we are conflicted as to whether we should continue making progress into Montana or stay here in Sandpoint for the rest of our lives. This place is awesome- beautiful lake, exciting atmosphere- I think Don and Devin are reliving the magic of Dirty Dancing all over again. The "rift" between them as leaked by Karl has healed, and they are even "cycling" together again. As for Karl, the man has to be the most talented random song generator I've ever known, spontaneously spouting off 3 or 4 lines of songs most likely to get stuck in my head and moving on to the next without remorse. His theory about the bull urinating on his food bag is questionable to me, as this injustice has Don written all over it. New evidence in the case of an ill-fated laptop and a swift blow from Judge Judy?

We have a nice balance of personalities in our group for a trip of this nature, some not so serious and some more motivated at times, but we all seem to agree on important decisions and the best interest of the group is usually put first. We all dealt with our first dose of adversity like champions. We have had great reception to our cause thus far on the road, with most people enthusiastic about our ride and its good natured intent. We are still trying to get our footing a bit on how to explain to people what we are doing, as we don't want to seem obnoxious or pushy for donations, but I think we will soon become competent agents of charitable procurement. Suggestions are certainly accepted.

Thanks again to all the folks who helped us get off the ground and who continue to pedal our cause, and I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say hi to my friends and family.

Also of interest, Karl just ordered "raisin bran and bacon, and uh, thats it" for breakfast. Impressive indeed.

Hello from Sandpoint!

We made it to Idaho - now only 14 states, 2 mountain ranges and 3,850 miles to go. I must say that Sandpoint is beautiful and everyone has been incredibly welcoming so far. As we crossed the bridge into town a woman looked at our bikes and said, "looks like someone should welcome you to Northern Idaho!" We are happy to be here even though it's a short visit - if everything goes well we should be in Montana in a few days.

Not quite sure what Karl meant about Devin and I bickering. I think Karl was trying to "spice-up" our blog. It worked because a few people have asked if we are getting along. Sometimes its hard to get along with anyone when you're very tired or hungry as we tend to be, but we all get along quite well and honestly I wouldn't want to ride 4,295 miles with any other guys.

A very cool older couple, Keith and Donna, are riding along our same route from Everett, WA to Whitefish, MT...and they are serious bikers! Just when we think we've passed them for good they come riding by. They are both 60ish and Keith has MS! Admirable to say the least....slow down dammit!

Tomorrow we will send out some info and work out volunteer opportunities but now it's time to enjoy Sandpoint, Idaho and this Best Western RV Park. Thanks for the emails!

Donald

Aw Yeah!

It's official. Karl has set Colville as the bar in recreation. Water falls to swim in, delicious, fresh local beer to drink, free camping in a clean site hosted by a really nice guy AND, the prospective future wives of Karl Miller club has acquired a new member. Actually thus far she's stepped directly up to the chairwoman's podium. I won't divulge too much because I 'm a gentleman but oh man! This place is cool.
Don and Devin are at it again, the constant bickering is starting to drive me crazy. I feel as though they can only relate to each other through abuse. I guess as long as they leave me alone I'll be alright, but I'm about to get together with Mason and figure out a way to "calm things down" There's a lot of empty space out here. I hope they remember that.
Anyway, yeah, things are great! My legs hurt a bit today. I think that because of my superior physical state I take a little while longer to warm up than the other guys, whatever their names are. I feel as if a small fire smolders inside of me and it takes gentle stoking and care to work it up into a raging inferno that can't even be stopped by the Devil himself. Like I say, I think the other guys aren't really putting their whole hearts into it all of the time. I guess if I make it it's still a success.
So last night, when I was trying to put up my bear bag, I got the thing about ten feet up when the whole branch broke off and came crashing down. Now, this is unfortunate to say the least but, considering my experience with bear bags thus far, namely mice eating my sugar and the good stuff out of my trail mix and the bull in Wauconda pissing on my bag during the night(it obviously wasn't in a tree), I was ready to spit. It took two more attempts, the last one with a rock the size of a small melon, to get my stuff hung up.
The Raccoons ate the grape juice and dead yellowjackets out of a plastic bottle trap right outside Mason's tent. I think that it was a sign of trust and love on their part towards Mason. I don't know why they'd want to do that but there animals so you never really know. Wild, wild animals.
I'm about done with my coffee and going to go eat my leg, because I'm starving again! I don't really know how I'm going to deal with this in places were they don't have food, like North Dakota. I guess I have to load up in Sand Point. I've got to get rid of my long johns if I want to do that. And the slingshot.
-K

Colville

We've finally made it through the North Cascade Mountain passes. It took a few days, a lot of trail mix, a lot of water and a few safety meetings. But, now we're in Colville. We've really put in some miles the last few days considering the elevation gains. Washington, Rainy, Loup Loup, Wauconda and Sherman Passes were all beastly, but we put in the granny gear and just pedaled up 'em all.


It finally feels like we are in a new landscape, desert. No more lush Western Washington forests, now we have the rolling hills and Ponderosa forests of Eastern Washington. It feels just like I'm back home in Northern Arizona, very reminiscent of the Kaibab Plateau. The vistas are huge and gold, and they just don't end.

With great results, we've done some guerrilla camping the last couple nights. Sunday we rode until about 10 pm and just collapsed in a nice and comfortable field in the country. Woke up in a bull pen, literally. All of us really got some good sleep that night though. Last night was probably the best spot yet. After a huge dinner at the Hudson Bay Steak and Seafood Restaurant (the only food stop for miles) we found a great spot outside Kettle Falls right on the edge of the Columbia River/ FDR Lake. Perfectly terraced for the tents, protected from traffic, great spot to bathe and do laundry and the best sunrise so far. It was a wonderful sleep.

Today, we are just going to hang out in Colville for a while and then head out to the hills nearby and find a nice spot to camp near a river. It should be a very relaxing day. Right now we're all in a little espresso shop, I'm on their public computer while Mason Don and Karl are on Don's laptop being preached to by an Evangelical Baptist with a sweet trucker hat on. It's awesome. Friendly folks here for sure.

Enough for now, time to go use the wheel truing facilities at the local Sports Shop and get Mason's wheel back in shape. Keep the emails coming.

-Devin

Okanogan to Republic, WA

The past 24 hours have been interesting to say the least. We woke up in Okanogan - a small town on the east side of Loup Loup Pass. After a delicious breakfast with Bill and Suzanne at "On The Ave." we head out for another great day of riding. The headwind was strong and it was HOT making the ride pretty tough. After an hour or two of battling headwinds Mason lost his front tire into the soft shoulder and took a spill. We were all tightly packed because of the wind and Karl went over with Mason. The spill resulted in a bent fork on Karl's bike and a wobbly tire for Mase. Devin did a nice job of truing Mason's wheel and we were off shortly after the incident. I think we were feeling a little over-confident so this was a good reminder how quickly things can change if we don't pay close attention. Pedaling our bikes down these highways really is dangerous so feeling totally comfortable is something we should avoid. Overall I'm proud of our attitude and ability to fix the problem and continue on our path. The fall took a little wind out of our sails but not enough to keep us from conquering Wauconda Pass and camping in a pasture under the stars later that evening.

We are now in Republic, WA grabbing some food and preparing for the highest mountain pass in Washington State - Sherman Pass. We are becoming more aware of what our bodies need to continue on these hot afternoons. One of the most important things I've learned to keep going is to drink before you're thirsty and eat before you're hungry. Otherwise you'll wake up in a random yard with someone asking if you're ok - but we learned that lesson on Day 1. We have been going through nuun like crazy - it really is a life saver on these hot days.

Well the battery is running out and we have a mountain to climb - update again maybe in Kettle Falls? Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

Donald

Okanogan dreamin and Tonasket on the rise

We stayed last night in Okanogan, after climbing Loup Loup Pass. It's short but steep. Ate two consecutive times at On The Avenue, the restaurant in Okanogan. Our hosts Bill and Suzanne were very nice and Morgen, our ever-patient waitress may very well have been the most beautiful this side of the Mountains. Thanks guys!
Coming out of Okanogan, Mason and I decided that we hadn't been rolling in the dirt enough so I promptly ran him over after he fell down. No injuries, just a bent wheel on his bike and a fork on mine. It's good excuse to go slow which is handy because it just got really, really hot!
Donald and I are sitting in the Junction in Tonasket which is awesome. They have DVDs, gas, fried chicken, copy machine, car wash, laundromat, and stuff I can't even seem to find. This may be my paradise! They also have wireless internet access. As you probably guessed we're not here for fried chicken or a car wash.
Anyway, we're chillin' in Tonasket, Mason and Devin are trying to find a place to swim and we're going to go enjoy some Okanogan breezes. Back with you soon.

Karl

Washington Pass

We finally conquered what we had been looking forward to/dreading for months leading up to the ride: Washington Pass. The whole climb was about 25 miles to an elevation of ~5,400 ft. What a beautiful area - gorgeous scenery the whole way up. Luckily we had a great tailwind to give us an extra boost, much needed for our first real test of endurance. The logging trucks and RVs also provide a nice push. It is strange how quickly I've become comfortable with huge trucks whizzing by. Most drivers are courteous and leave lots of space but there is always the occasional bicycle-hater who must speed up as they pass - or in Devin's case a few months ago slow down to tell him to "get a life, get a car!"

Coming down the pass was AWESOME and perhaps the most invigorating thing any of us have ever done. It was basically a 20 mile drop to Mazama where we stayed the night on the Methow River. It is fascinating to see the climate difference on either side of the pass - the desert-like conditions are beautiful and we finally feel like we have traveled some distance. All of us have been to gorgeous places like this but there is a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction knowing we pedaled here.

We are currently relaxing in Winthrop, WA, a small town just east of North Cascades National Park. After yesterday our legs need a short break. Can't stop too long though, still another 4,072 miles to go! We will update again soon, maybe in Okanagan? Until then have a great weekend -

Donald

Day One- Seattle to Arlington

Thanks for the great send-off yesterday! We left Golden Gardens with a nice crowd of frends and KOMO 4 News there to send us off. It was great riding out of town on the Burke-Gillman Trail with beautifully sunny skies and not much of a headwind.
Already, the calorie consumption has begun. Crackers, vacuum packed tuna steaks, much much more. And of course Nuun!!
I only expected us to get around 40 or 50 miles under our belt on the first day, but as it turned out we rode about 75.
We bedded down next to the beautiful Stillaguamish river right near a really cool abandoned railroad trestle. Karl and Don and I fished for a bit with Don's collapsable pole and I caught a nice sized little trout on my third cast! A great end to a long-awaited day.
Thanks to everybody who has been donating the last couple days!! The generosity we're seeing is awesome! We love getting the emails from everybody, keep 'em coming! All for now...

-Devin

Moving out

The wave of enthusiasm we rode into this morning from our party success last night is quickly subsiding and giving way to the reality of vacating our home, which some of you may know- and the rest probably assume- will require
serious attention to make it look as if nobody has lived here for 18 months. Long story short, if you live in the Seattle area and would like to support Bike the US for MS in a different capacity, please feel free to come "hang out" at our headquarters.

In all seriousness though, we are stoked beyond words about the help, support, and interest we have received from friends and strangers alike. Anticipation about the trip is entirely positive and the general sentiment is that we expect an adventure loaded with fulfilling encounters and experiences. As much as we are trying to prepare appropriately for this trip, we are also prepared to be unprepared at times and seem to be at ease with the probabilty of the occasional ordeal.

Additional incentive to come by: leftover beverages from the party last night available on our porch. Thanks.

-Mason