Just letting anyone who is still out there I will be taking another tour starting May 14th. If you would like to take a look it is at www.pinballrally.blogspot.com. Have a great summer.

Best of pics and final shaggy pic

Here it is, the final shaggy picture. I will be hitting the barber a little after this post.
To answer some of the bike issue questions. I would say I broke the chain around 8 times. I got 3 new chains then just fixed the link. I never broke a chain before this trip. An estimate on flat tires would be 15, but 5 of those were in 2 days and another 5 were because I kept using tubes with patches. I think I made it the last 1200 miles without a flat since I was using good tubes. I didn't have any busted spokes after I got the rear wheel fixed at Pinedale WY. I broke 2 good seats. Threw away 1 cheap seat and am still using the 2nd cheap seat.

I went through all of my pictures and picked out what I thought were some of the best.

Thanks again for following along.

Big A signing off.

Day 148

Miles 68.9 Total for trip 5497.25
Avg spd 11.85
Max spd 35.58
Climb 3022
Alt chng --800

Today was it, the last time I would be packing up my tent, sleeping bag, air mattress, sandals, etc. I was going to try and make it to Boise today since I would have a lot of slow downhill and only one big hill out of Horseshoe Bend. I made it to Banks by 1pm and saw it was only 14 miles to Horseshoe Bend so I figured it would be no problem making it to Boise. It is funny how you remember hills. I have biked the Horseshoe Bend Hill before and remembered it to be around 600ft in a few miles. Turned out to be 1600ft in 5 miles, took about 1.5hrs to get up it. From there it was downhill to my last Mcdonald's run. I was finishing up my cone and my parents stopped by and gave me a ride for the last couple miles.

I am really happy I made this trip. I suggest if anyone has ever thought about taking a long trip of any kind to try and do it, because you might not get the chance next month, or next year.

What to do now? I am not sure, but it will involve getting a hair cut and beard trim. I will be going through my pictures and putting a best of set in my cool pics in a week or so.

Oh yeah, I think getting a job will be high on the list.

Things I will not miss from the trip: blowing up my air mattress every night, eating the same dried food for breakfast and most dinners.

Things I will miss from the trip: waking up in a different spot each morning, meeting great people, talking with other bikers about their trips, riding in new areas, seeing nature, and many more I currently can't think of.

Thanks for following along. I hope everyone enjoyed the trip, I know I did.

Day 147

Miles 36 Total for trip 5428.35
Avg spd 13.43
Max spd 29.22
Climb 250
Alt chng --3200

Cold!Cold!Cold! I rolled out of the tent about 8am to find ice on my tent. Mike left his pot with water on the picnic table and it had 1/2 inch of ice in it. I figured if I could get to the top of the pass fast I could coast down and get warmed up. The top turned out to be less then 1 mile. If I only knew. I coasted for around 8 miles, then I had a nice slow downhill. I am glad I had an easy day cause I broke my chain about 3 miles out of Lowman. I had to use my last link to fix it. Traffic was not too heavy so I decided to try and make it to Banks. I only made it about 5 miles and my chain broke again. Luckily it was right near a campground. I had to take a link out to fix it. Who knows how it will work, I will find out tomorrow.

Day 146

Miles 54.72 Total for trip 5392.35
Avg spd 9.70
Max spd 22.56
Climb 1939
Alt chng ++1243

Still going up today. It has been a long slow climb for the last 3 days. I should reach the top today or come very close to it. I stopped in Stanley to take a rest and eat lunch. About 8 miles out of Stanley I ran into a couple my parents know by the name of Albers. They offered me something to eat & drink if I made it to Bull Trout Lake later today. Thanks for the offer, but I ran out of gas and stopped at a campsite right on HWY 75. I stayed with another biker that left Missoula a few days before I did. We talked for a while, it looks like Mike is moving to Boise and look for a job.

Feels like it will be cold tonight.

Day 145

Miles 56.63 Total for trip 5337.63
Avg spd 10.22
Max spd 25.74
Climb 1892
Atl chng ++1200

Today I would be going through Challis ID. I was still on the 93 and would be getting on HWY 75 at Challis. I actually found an Idaho Statesman in Challis. The first time I have read that paper in about 5 months. I found a nice campground. I was the only one there which was surprising for Labor Day Weekend.

A day of coasting...

It seems Big A rode about 35 miles today and lost more than 3000 feet of elevation.

From sitting in front of the computer it appeared to be a pretty easy day.

Ride time was about 3 hours so he was averaging 12 MPH.

Day 144

Miles 35.38 Total for trip 5281.00
Avg spd 11.89
Max spd 26.61
Climb 950
Alt chng ++642

I got to bed a little late last night so I got a late start today. Still riding on the 93. Not much going on today, just a very slow climb today, 600ft in 35 miles. Much easier then the climb into Idaho. Found a nice free camp spot. during dinner there was a very windy storm for around an hour. My tent poles are going to be retired after the trip. I have to put a band aid on one of them to keep it standing up.

Day 143

Miles 20.41 Total for trip 5245.62
Avg spd 10.70
Max spd 23.14
Climb 491
Alt chng ++370

I woke up this morning and found out I set up camp a little too close to some big trees. My tent was dive bombed many times during the night. I did some serious washing on the outside of the tent. It looks like the birds eat a lot of berries in this area. Had a short day to Salmon today. I found a nice place to watch the BSU/Oregon game. Go Broncos.

Day 142

Miles 42.23 Total for trip 5225.21
Avg spd 10.84
Max spd 30.95
Climb 2654
Alt chng --570

Today was the big climb. I would be climbing to around 7000ft. The climb turned out to be 2492ft. there was a nice rest area at the top. I ate lunch and rested for a couple hours. For the remainder of the trip I have no set plan on how far I will be riding on any given day. I will try to do from 35-40 miles and find the next good camping area. today I found a nice spot about 20 miles out of Salmon.

Day 141

Miles 46.89 Total for trip 5182.98
Avg spd 10.37
Max spd 21.40
Climb 1247
Alt chng ++1020

Waking up this morning I did not know how far I was going to ride. I am waiting for some serious climbing that will happen before the Montana/Idaho boarder. I have been real happy with the shoulder and occasional bike path on the 93. It has been a very slow climb all day today. I ended up making it to Sula MT, only 13 miles to Idaho.

Day 140

Miles 43.78 Total for trip 5136.09
Avg spd 11.09
Max spd 27.48
Climb 832
Alt chng ++295

Sorry no pics for today's upload.

Today I woke up early to get to the USPS and retrieve my food package. I took a quick glance at the map to get directions to the post office. I was on Reserve St and could not find the post office. I called the USPS finally got through to a live person and was told there was no post office on Reserve St in Missoula MT. I went to a convenience store grabbed a pop and checked out the map. The guy at the store told me the grocery store had a USPS pick-up location in the store. My package was not there and did not make it on their delivery. I called the main office and found my food package. I finally got my package around 4.00pm hit the locale Mcds and was out of Missoula around 4.45 pm.

My map showed a campground around 20 miles out of Missoula. I couldn't find it so kept on riding. It was getting dark, I thought I might have to ride all the way to Hamilton. Around 10 miles out of Hamilton I found a nice spot a little of the 93 that would work for a campsite for the night.

Day 139

Miles 25.05 Total for trip 5092.31
Avg spd 9.72
Max spd 35.58
Climb 1172
Alt chng ++318

Today looked to be an easy ride because of the extra miles yesterday. It all depended on the state of the construction on HWY 93. The construction was all done the first few miles out of Arlee. I saw a left lane closed sign and thought the next 10 miles were going to be rough, no shoulder and a very small lane. I noticed on the other side of the freeway there was a finished road except the asphalt had not been poured. I got on the other side and ended up riding the last 10 miles with a couple lanes to myself. I was lucky it was a Sunday and the construction crews had the day off. Looks like the KOA tonight and tomorrow I will pick up my last food drop at the post office.

Day 138

Miles 57.84 Total for trip 5067.26
Avg spd 11.73
Max spd 32.69
Climb 1839
Alt chng ++75 Yes this is a sunrise. I figured this morning would be my last shot at getting a nice sunrise picture. I got up around 6 am to get the shot plus I did not know how far I was going to ride today. I did not see any campgrounds along today's route.

I changed my bike seat last night and it seems to be helping. I was about 30 miles in today by 11am and felt great. I thought 45 miles sounded ok today. I spotted a sign saying $10 for campsites in St. Ignatious. I got into the town, went to the local grocery store to get a couple bananas(yes fresh fruit), soup, and some chocolate. I asked the teller if she knew where the campground was, she didn't. She did tell me I could camp at the dam, but to take a gun because of the bears. I had spotted a small motel down the road, for kicks I went in to see about the price. He said $50 cash and said the motel across the road would be cheaper. He also said the campground closed down. I went to the motel across the road which was $49, plus a $5 deposit and had no phone or TV. She said it was a bad deal and I might want to check the campground that the other guy said was closed. I decided to keep riding. I found a nice RV park outside of Arlee MT and was glad I kept riding.

I saw a the dreaded road construction sign next 14 miles just after the campground. I am hoping the construction will not be very bad. I had a great dinner of wheat mac, mushroom soup, and a cheese broken up in the concoction. MMM....good

Day 137

Miles 25.52 Total for trip 5009.42
Avg spd 10.26
Max spd 29.22
Climb 1277
Alt chng ++101 It is tough duty but someone has to do it. I got to Big Arm State Park fairly early. I set up camp and found a nice spot right on the bank of Flathead and read for a while. Possibly might have taken a nap. Watched the locals sail their boats. After a few hours of relaxing I went into the big city of Big Arm to see about getting some soup. I saw the grocery store, but it turned out to be closed for good. A local said that Big Arm is closed for business since the Italian Restaurant in town also closed. After such a hard day I should be able to sleep like a baby.

Day 136

Miles 40.60 Total for trip 4983.90
Avg spd 11.50
Max spd 32.69
Climb 1426
Alt chng --39 I officially feel like I am on my way back home. Today took me on the 93 along Flathead Lake. With the rolling hills I almost feel like back on the coast. I was told the West Shore State Park is a nice quite park. It was really quite. It was just me and the host on loop A with just a couple campers on loop B. I was talking with the host who said the park will be closing in just a couple weeks. I went by some hometown fast food places that said they will be closing Aug 31st. I guess once school starts it really slows down in this area.

The park has a couple mile trail that takes you to the top of a little hill to get some great pictures. I hiked for a little while around the lake and got some nice pics. Tomorrow it is just a little way to the next park I will be staying at.

Days 134 & 135

I had a couple days off. Rode around the area for about 30 miles, did some laundry, and went to see the movie Hangover for the second time on the trip. Tomorrow I will be riding along Flathead Lake which is the largest lake West of the Mississippi. I plan on camping at a couple state parks near the lake on the way to Missoula.

Day 133

Miles 53.59 Total for trip 4943.30
Avg spd 10.50
Max spd 31.82
Climb 2184
Alt chng ++511 It looks like I am on my way back home. I will be staying on or close to HWY 93 for the next 10 or so days and slowly make my way over the Idaho boarder. I road from Eureka to Whitefish MT today on the 93. There is some construction from Poulson MT to Missoula, but it sounds like it is winding down. If it gets too bad I will find a frontage road or another highway.

I got to the Whitefish State Park around 7 pm and got a nice hiker/biker campsite. I was going to go to Glacier for a couple days, but decided to just stay at Whitefish Lake for a couple. The park is located right on the lake, but is also located about 100ft from a much used train track. I was warned about it before I went to bed. If a person is a heavy sleeper I could see them waking up in a pool of sweat, thinking something is on its way through their tent. I had no trouble since I am a light sleeper.

Day 132

Miles 30.70 Total for trip 4889.71

Avg spd 11.57

Max spd 27.48

Climb 636

Alt chng --488 I tried to get over the boarder, but was denied. I made my way back to Eureka and was happy to find a city park where I could stay for only $5 per night. I met a real nice couple from New Hampshire. Joe and Maggie are going from Maine to Portland. Once they get to Portland they plan on living there. We stayed up sharing funny stories until around 11pm. The next morning they were going to try a Bubba Burger so I ate lunch with them. I tried the Aussie, it had a burger topped with fried onion, a slice of beet, and a fried egg. It was great.

If you would like to check out their blog here is their link: www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/5363

What border delay?

I crossed it for about 10 feet. Just far enough to turn around and cross back into the good old U.S.A. It seems that Canada does not want anyone from the states to come into their beloved country that has any transgressions on their resume in the last 5 years. I unfortunately have transgressed within that time limit. Oh well, I might spend a few more days in Glacier.

P.S.- I was just thinking on my ride yesterday that summer was just about over and many schools were starting up......hope everyone had a great summer and have a happy new school year.

p.s.s- It was a generic bean & bacon. I am not saying it wasn't good, I am just saying I am glad no one else was in the tent, or near the tent for the night.