Going to the Sun - by Charlie Potts

An early morning departure from the Apgar Lodge took us to the historic Lake McDonald Lodge just down the road.  We embraced the breakfast buffet knowing that we had a long day of biking ahead of us.  We were served by young lady from Clarion, PA who was a delightful personality and a fervent Pittsburgh Steelers fan.  For the Browns fans in our group, that was a downer.  However, as a lifelong Green Bay Packer fan, reliving our most recent Super Bowl win (over the Steelers) was a big upper.

We left the hotel full of food and anticipation of our long climb of 3200 feet up to the top of Logan Pass.  We attacked this slow, steady climb with determination and persistence.  A few short hours later, we stood proudly atop the mountain.  Curt was there to greet us and proudly took each of our pictures next to the Logan’s Pass sign.  We made it!!

Along the way, Peter struck up a conversation with a Native American of the local tribe, known as the Flathead.  We enjoyed each other’s company while we were stopped along the road due to some construction going on.  He generously called us “some OK white guys” and so we left feeling that we had made a friend.  Richard did a great job of taking pictures of us with our new friend as well as alongside of one of the famous red busses that transport tourists around the park.

Curt once again found us a great spot for lunch along one of the rivers leading out of the mountains.  We met a local lady on Monday who told us that the ride up the Road to the Sun will take you three hours to bike and then about 20 minutes to get down.  We found that to be pretty true, even though we were all braking most of the way down because it was both steep and a little stony on the pavement making it dangerous if we went too fast.

Once we got down the mountain, we made great time along one of the local highways compliments of a strong tail wind.  However, once we got to the east entrance of the park in order to make our way to the Manny Glacier Lodge, the tables were turned and we had to ride into that same wind.  At the end of a long day of riding, which part of the trip seemed MUCH farther than it really was.

 We got settled into the hotel, three very tired pups.  We showered, cleaned up, and headed right for dinner where our waitress was from France.  I spoke a little French with her and the rest of the guys peppered her with questions about her country, the food, and the beer.  She did “fantastique”.

Sleep tonight will not be a problem!!!