Day 4: Swan Lake Anyone?

Bike Distance	Avg Speed	Total Ascent	Saddle Time	Calories
75.52 miles	16.6 mph	1216 ft	00:04:32	4711 cal

Early bird gets the worm:

I hit the sack early last night with hopes that I would wake around 7AM. I have a big 73 mile day today so I want to get an early start. Since I have not had connectivity I am unsure what weather/wind awaits. Sure enough I woke up precisely at 6:55AM. Not bad eh? Shockingly my Quebec and Chicago neighbors were also up and about. I threw on my long cycling pants and smart wool pull over as it is pretty darn chilly here in the morning. I quickly packed up and had some banana bread for breakfast. I said my goodbyes and headed towards West Glacier.

I made easy work of the first 16 miles and even the 4 and 5 percent grades I encountered were no biggie! Albeit, they weren't for more than a half mile so that definitely makes a BIG difference! Eventually, I reached the West entrance, shed my warm clothes and rolled into West Glacier where I could smell eggs, bacon and coffee! I haven't had coffee in days and miss it in the morning. My neighbors at Avalanche would all be sipping their morning cup of Joe and all I could do was watch in envy. I think having a hot beverage just takes the morning chill away. Naturally, I pulled in and had a cup. Delicious! I might stop and purchase some instant stuff in my near future. :)

First Contact:

I finished up and sat outside curious to see if I could get some reception. As luck would have it I had edge service! Very bad but enough to call my Shonu and hear her voice. Was nice to speak with her and catch up. I then sent sms messages to mom and my sister as I knew they would be worried. I then turned onto route 2 and headed toward Columbia Falls some 15 miles away.

Long lunch:

The wind gods were with me today as I made good time into Columbia Falls. I was starting to get hungry and knew there was an A&W restaurant in town. Sure enough, around 10:30 I passed a giant billboard saying "A&W 1 mile ahead on the right". I pulled in and had a double cheeseburger, fries and two Pepsi. As I was eating I managed to once again get edge service only this time with data. Every notification possible started going off! I proceeded to attempt a blog uploads from the blogger app. It was taking forever (45 minutes) and eventually got stuck. I had to clear the apps data and this time I uploaded without pictures. It indicated that the publish process was successful. So, I did the other 2 days as well. Problem is that it wasn't successful! wtf Google! I then went into the Web browser and noticed that were uploaded but not published. I had to complete the task in the browser. Unfortunately day 1 and day 2 got reversed due the crappy app so sorry for that. After 2 hours I was on the road again...

Route Change:

I pulled onto route 2 and then made an immediate left onto route 206 south. This road absolutely sucked as it had no shoulder to speak of and the speed limit was 60mph! Yikes! About 2 miles in I see a van in a small parking lot waving for me to pull in. I pulled off and the gentleman said he too was a cyclist and he had a much safer route for me to take. Apparently he passed me earlier. The change would only add about 1 mile or so but heck anything is better than this! He drew a map and explained in detail how to navigate it. I thanked the man and he even gave me his pen as I managed to lose mine. The route was mostly paved with the last mile or so as gravel. Worked like a charm!

Destination on the left:

The next 40 miles were actually somewhat uninteresting until I entered Swan Lake. It was now 3:30PM and I was feeling quite good. I was kicking around the idea of skipping Swan Lake and motoring another 38 to Holland Lake. I figured I would first check out the campground and then make a decision.

I could see the Swan Lake Trading Post and Campground approaching on the left. I immediately saw that tent sites were $15 and cabins were only $25. A few miles back I was getting a little drizzled on so I figured I would see if a cabin was available in case it rains tonight . All booked. The lady was really sweet and this place actually served food in the store. I figured this place is pretty nice so I will just stay here. Besides, it wouldn't have to cook dinner or breakfast and coffee is free in the morning! Yay! They even have showers which you know I took advantage of. I contemplated using their laundry room to clean some clothes but instead did a sink wash which worked just as well. Before going to setup camp I had a scoop of Huckleberry ice cream and a sweet tea. Delicious!

After setting up camp, showering and sink washing clothes I headed inside for dinner. They custom build sandwiches so I had a turkey and ham with chips and 2 sweet teas. The lady mentioned that they had free wifi. SCORE! I found the nearest electrical outlet, parked my butt and am writing this post. They are open til nine so I might just stay here as the campground isn't all that exciting. I will most likely not have connectivity until Missoula so I want to be caught up.

I want to thank everyone for all the blogger and Facebook posts. It is really nice of you to take the time to do it and it is a joy to read them. Til next time....