Posts filed under 'Vacations'
We were told that breakfast started at 6:30 and that we had a bit of an early start, so all of us where camped out waiting for the restaurant to open. Much to the surprise of our trip leaders. Guess we gave them a little shock. I just wanted to make sure that I had plenty of time for a good breakfast and to get all packed up.
We did a little hike around the lake to meet up with the van and get fitted for our new bikes. After a bit of adjusting, we were off. It took a little bit to get used to the bike. But once I did, wow was it nice. Now I want one at home. *snicker*
We did about 13 miles over rolling hills along quiet highways. Then turned left and for our first uphill. 5 miles of uphill. As would become the norm … there was the van with snacks and water refills. Woo hoo. A girl could get used to this. As luck would have it, I discovered that Joanne and Liz were similar in speed to me so a new little riding group was formed. Off to the big hill. This was quite a change for me. The rolling hills were a snap, but this uphill was pretty taxing. I was having a little trouble keeping my heartrate / breathing down. So … I decided to take lots of “scenic” rests. This put me at the back of the pack, but it was nice to be able to get all the way up the hill to the lookout without having a wheezing attack.
At the scenic overlook, there was the van again. I had decided on the long uphill that I would quit for the day at the top. Putting my ride at just under 20 miles. Joanne had different plan. *snicker* She convinced me to ride the next segment which was mostly downhill with just a 2 mile uphill before the Canada border. I am really glad I did it. It was still quite a bit of work, but the views were again great. AND …. have you ever crossed the border into Canada wearing bike clothes and on a bike? It was really a hoot. “Do you have any firearms?” That was the funniest thing of the entire day. Where did they think I would have it hidden? In my spandex shorts? Maybe under my lycra shimmel? I know that they have to ask, but it just really hit my funny bone.
From there we had a spectular and thrilling downhill ride to the park where lunch was being served. That was probably the fastest I had ever gone on a bike. And a bike I had only ridden for a few hours at that.
Joanne and I decided that we would take the short option at the lunch stop and ride in the van to the end of our journey for the day. I’m very glad we did since there was another long uphill to another overview and then a nice downhill, followed by a stretch right into a big headwind. Bill indicated that the headwind was nothing like it seemed in the van.
Our lodging - Prince of Wales. It is a truly beautiful lodge with a truly magnificent view. To top it off, our entire area of the floor was Backroads guests. =) If only Joanne had talked louder … we could have figured out what she truly thought of us. *snicker*
September 21st, 2005
This morning our our Backroads Trip begins. We are met at 8:00 am in the Grouse Mountain Lodge parking lot by the Backroads crew. They have a lovely spread that we are to make snacks and pack lunch out of. We get to meet our fellow travelers (Joanne, Kathy, Shaun, Bill, Sarah, John and Liz) and our trip leaders (Shoshannah & Melissa). After brief introductions and a couple passes around the food table, we all pile in the van and our adventure begins.
We did the first of our multisport things. A van ride. We got to try this sport several times, and I can highly recommend it in some situations. After a brief stop at West Glacier, we proceeded up the Going to the Sun Road. This is a great way to experience this road. Bill thinks biking it would be a hoot, but I’m not convinced. It is a long uphill that winds around the mountains. We stopped for photos along the way and saw several people biking.
We arrived at Logan’s Pass in the late afternoon. The views are spectacular. We then moved on to our second sport, hiking. This was the first try out for my new hiking boots. Let me say … they rocked. We hiked out a little over 3.5 miles to another wonderful view down the valley. Some spots were a little dizzing due ot the drop off down to the road, but the garden hose hand rail just made us feel so safe. =) We ate our lunches and then hiked back to the van. Our new home away from home. *snicker*
We then had a nice van ride through some of the eastern parts of Glacier to arrive at Many Glacier Lodge. The best description of our stay there can be that it is a view with a room. The room was very small. But when you are in the middle of no where staying in a lodge that is almost 100 years old, I guess it was just fine.
September 21st, 2005
We have the entire day on the train. I keep forgetting how empty North Dakota and most of Montana appear. It is just rolling fields and an occasional town.
We were hoping to have made up some time during the night, but that does not appear to be the case.
One of the new activities on the Empire Builder is an afternoon wine tasting. We happily all signed up. As expected, the wines are passable but nothing we would buy at home. But they had a fun little trivia game that rewarded us with a bottle of wine to take with us. Scott had a little help from his Treo since we were able to get a connection long enough to find out Popeye’s age. 34 in case you wanted to know.
We arrived Whitefish MT around 10 pm. Still a bit late - but not a huge deal. We had reservaations at the Grouse Mountain Lodge and after departing the train, there was a van waiting for us to take us to the Lodge. The service they provide is really nice. The room is your basic large ski lodge style but it is nice to have a big bed. Off to sleep we go.
September 21st, 2005
We are all packed and ready to leave on the train tonight. It is hard to pack for 3 different types of activities and keep it all in one medium size bag.
Scheduled departure - 11:15 pm on the Empire Builder out of St. Paul. Train delayed. We actually got on the train about 12:30. So late start, but still ok.
Our bed was all made for us and waiting for us to fall fast asleep. What a start to the trip.
September 21st, 2005
We recently returned from an active vacation trip to Glacier. We had a truly wonderful time. It was the most fun vacation I have ever been on. It was our first “active” type vacation and it was completely low stress. Who would have thought?
Going with our normal vacation planning process, Scott, Bill and I had a bottle (or two) of wine one Sunday night and discussed possible things we could do. After looking at the wonderful Backroads brochures Brenda had lent us, books on the USFS park lodges and train information. We decided to try a Backroads trip to Glacier / Waterton park. Starting and ending with a train trip on the Empire Builder. We booked it Monday am. =) (Just giving brief history.)
So we left on our adventure on August 18th. Here is my continuing version of our trip. =)
September 21st, 2005
Well, we went to Menomonie, WI for the Weekend on Wheels that is sponsored by the TCBC (twin cities bike club). Overall, I would have to say it was a complete hoot.
We drove down on Friday evening, after stopping for some Sesame Chicken at The Oriental Restaurant on the way out of town. Carbo-loading. =) Found the registration area easily enough, signed in and picked up our jerseys. Then it was off to the hotel. Found it after seeming to drive forever. On the complete wrong side of town. After a bit of mucking about, found out it was the wrong hotel and that instead of reservations at the Comfort Inn it was actually reservations at the Country Inn on the other side of town. Doh. Embarrassing, but it all worked out fine and by 8:30 we were sitting in our room and drinking Sangria with Scott and Eric.
Saturday am: We got up early to have breakfast. Met in the lobby at 6:15 and walked over to Perkins to fill our tummies for a day of riding. After breakfast, we went back to the hotel to get our stuff together and head to Riverside Park for the start.
We picked up the maps and a little food to eat on the way and left on the S1 route. It was the longest / hilliest route available.
We rolled out and all looked like it would be good til we had gone just a little ways, then the first hill appeared. Just like the Ramsey hill at home. Oof. Tough way to start out the ride. I couldn’t get to the top on my bike and had to walk the last 1/3. At the top I figured, that is over and I’ll do better on the next one. Unfortunately, the next one was just like the first one. Walked again. High spirites from the start were starting to flag. Wondered where the “rollers” were that we trained for. Rode on a little further, more big hills. Not quite so steep - but longer. Sigh. More walking. On the 3rd hill started wheezing. Not the best way to start out a full day of riding.
As we rolled down the hill, I called a stop. Felt like my rear break was dragging. My energy was just waning too fast. After a little looking, turns out I broke a spoke and my rear brake was in fact dragging since the wheel was completely out of round. Eric did a little bit of road-side repair work to get the wheel more straight and they loosened up the rear break so it was not dragging any more. Headache had set in so I took some tylenol and off we went. Unfortunately, after about 20 minutes we were on a nice long uphill stretch and the wheezing came on full force. I had to stop 3 times on one stretch. Everytime head down and gasping for breath. Just not good. I was completely freaking and couldn’t breathe.
We biked over the crest of the hill and I finally told Bill that he should ride ahead with the boys since there was no way I was going to do 100 miles that day and I would just ride along at my own pace. He was clearly unhappy with the thought of leaving me behind, but we worked out a messaging scenario so that we could keep track of eachother while riding at our own pace. So off he went with a wave.
I mentally changed my goal for the day from 100 mile push to just getting back to the car. We were now about 10 miles into the ride and I was a little out of whack. Only 12 more miles to the first rest stop. So I started looking at the scenery and taking way more stop breaks to catch my breath. After a couple miles, I was feeling better and moving along at an ok clip. I took in the beautiful vistas between Menomonie and Elmwood. I talked to the dogs that came out to run with me. I enjoyed the woods and valleys. I even made it up the next few hills. Life is good.
I rolled into Elmwood to find a worried Bill and crew waiting for me at the rest stop. I assured Bill that I was in fact ok and that the ride was getting better. I told them to feel free to ride their own ride and that I would message whenever I stopped and had a signal. Turns out T-Mobile does not have good coverage in WI if you get too far off the freeway. I spent my time at the rest stop chatting with other bikers that were there and then packed up my bag and headed out to the next stop. Leaving town seemed good, until we hit a nice big and looooong hill heading out of town. It didn’t look bad from the bottom, but when I hit the first turn and the hill continued to go up I felt my heart sinking. Then I realized that I hadn’t actually eaten any of the food I had acquired at the rest stop. So I stopped and had a snack, then continued on. I rode on my own through some of the most beautiful scenery I have seen in a long time. The country road they picked were just wonderful. When I got to Dunnsville I found the trail cutoff and took the Red River Trail to the Downsville rest stop.
After enjoying a little rest and chatting with some people, I took the trail back to Riverside Park. All said I did 53 miles and finished the ride feeling very glad I did it.
Later, I’ll put in the Sunday info. =)
Here are some pictures that other riders have put on the web. Click here.
August 15th, 2005
We took a wonderful trip to Cozumel this winter. Click here for pics
February 8th, 2005
We recently completed a wonderful journey on Amtrak through the Western US. We left from St. Paul and went to Chicago on the Empire Builder. Spent a lovely night at The Drake Hotel. Then got on to the Southwest Chief for our journey to Los Angeles. After a short layover at the station in Los Angeles, we boarded the Costal Starlight to journey up to Seattle. We spent a great day touring around Seattle and staying at The Edgewater. After a couple days, we once again got on the Empire Builder for our trip home.
Pictures from our trip
October 9th, 2004
Since we have embarked on a new fitter life, we have gotten more into the outdoors. Here is a link to pics from our recent camping / bike trip. We stayed at a wonderful state park on Sakatah Lake which is located on the Sakatah Singing Hills Trail. This was a wonderful weekend for us. We biked from the camp to Makato on Saturday (55 miles round trip) and then from the camp to Faribault on Sunday (28 miles round trip).
Sakatah Pictures
September 20th, 2004
Well, I’m going with the better late than never category on this and posting the link for pics from our Italy Trip in September. Take a peak and enjoy.
Click for Italy Pics
December 7th, 2002
Next Posts