The bikes are boxed and the bags are packed for the train trip tomorrow. We have a solid plan now, with improvements all around thanks to lots of helpful advice from CycleBlazers and others. The biggest change was to scrap the leg from Portland out to Astoria and back, and just stop at Portland. We've been to the Oregon coast before and would rather slow down and spend the time exploring the interior.

Here's an updated Ride Collection of trails and routes we are linking up:

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Going to the Sun

Amtrak made a decision for us on the first leg. I looked more carefully at the little line on our ticket to West Glacier that says "No baggage service." A call to Amtrak confirmed that means we could get off the train there, but our bikes and bags would rumble on to who knows where. I'm still a newb at train travel. 

It works out fine though. We changed the tickets to get off the train at the next stop in Whitefish which does have baggage service, and will ride back to West Glacier the next day. That'll give us another day to adjust to the 3,000 mile altitude jump before we ride up Going to the Sun Road.

Going to the Sun Road is closed to cars above Avalanche Creek, and we'll have to turn around about 5 miles short of the peak at Logan Pass at the avalanche barrier. That still leaves us plenty of miles to gawk at beautiful Glacier National Park, and much of the ride will be car-free.

Our first WarmShowers stay will be at the end of this stage when we get back to Whitefish. Quite a few WarmShowers hosts have responded positively to my inquiries. These are the best stays, where we get to learn about the local area from interesting people with their own travel stories.

Northern Tier

George Hall's journal about his Northern Tier ride is a great read. It gave us a better look at this part of the Adventure Cycling Association cross-country route. I'm awed by his determination to push past one obstacle after another - health challenges, road closures, record heat, forest fires – nothing stopped him! Whatever we may run into, I'll take his dogged persistence as inspiration to keep moving. In George's journal I saw Kelly Iniguez's advice on the Ksanka Inn in Eureka MT -  great tip.

We'll get to ride almost 300 miles of this route, from Whitefish through the Idaho Panhandle to Newport in eastern Washington. Our WarmShowers host in Sandpoint has invited us to stay an extra day to see the town. Sounds like a great idea after a couple hundred miles in the mountains. There are a few camping nights on this leg, including one at Dorr Skeels, a primitive U.S. Forest Service campground. I can't tell if they have bear lockers. Hope so, but if not we'll hang the food in the bear bag and hope for the best.

Centennial Trails

Much of this part runs on Centennial State Trail from Spokane WA, to the North Idaho Centennial Trail, to the Lake Coeur d'Alene Scenic By-Way. We're here for all of that, and three more nights with WarmShowers hosts. Spokane looks like a fun stop. We'll take an extra day there to paddle the Spokane river and see some of the city. 

Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes

I've heard various pronunciations of this ... Kurr deLen? daLeens? daLaine? Whatever it sounds like, this paved 73-mile rail trail looks flat-out gorgeous. We'll see it in both directions between Harrison and Mullan before continuing south to camp in Heyburn State Park. It'll be great to do part of it on a day ride without the bags from Kellogg to Mullan and back.

The Palouse

We're stretching out our tour of the Palouse to spend more time around these ethereal rolling grasslands. After winding up to the top of Steptoe Butte, we'll ride through Colfax and Palouse and spend a night in Kamiak Butte County Park. Parts of this section run on US Bike Route 81. The Bill Chipman Palouse Trail runs from Pullman WA to Moscow ID; there's time for that too.

For a big finish to this section, the route drops down to the Snake River on the Wawawai Road southeast to Lewiston. From there we'll take a day for a boat tour into Hell's Gate, the deepest canyon in North America. It all feels like a lot of beauty to pack into 190 miles.

Lewis & Clark Trail to the Columbia River

Much of this section, plus the final leg to Portland, follows the Lewis & Clark trail published by Adventure Cycling. One of our stops will be the hiker-biker campsite at Lewis & Clark State Park, where the Corps of Discovery camped in 1806 on their way home from the Pacific Coast.

Walla Walla Washington is another layover stop. From there we'll detour south on advice from Scott Anderson. He and Rachael have had some uncomfortable experiences with traffic on the ACA route and suggested some quieter alternatives. The south route from Walla Walla avoids a busy stretch of U.S. 730 along the Columbia to Umatilla. We have time to take the calmer road.

Columbia River to Portland

The last stretch continues r0ughly along the Lewis & Clark Trail with more freelancing ideas from Scott to avoid uncomfortable traffic along the Columbia River. The first big detour cuts north of the river to Rock Creek and west on Bickelton Road to Goldendale. Or we could turn west on Old Highway 8 for a shorter steeper ride. The next day, another detour swings south on Old Moody Road to the Dalles. Any of these paths require big climbs up to the high ground- inevitable when riding away from the river. But when we get up there, the views of the gorge should be awesome.  There are several ways to go; we'll see how we feel when we get there. Whatever we do, it's so great to find advice here from people who know the territory.

The whole trip is close to 1,300 miles over four weeks. We're so excited! Better wrap this up so we can get up early tomorrow for the train. 

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Scott AndersonYou certainly look ready. Good luck!
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