August 3, 2017
Apgar campground to Rising Sun campground
Burnt by the sun
Today's the day we tackle Going-to-the-Sun Road, which includes 11 miles of steady 5-percent grades. We were up at dawn. We broke camp and were on the road by 7:00am. Traffic was light and polite. We were in good spirits as we made our way towards The Loop, the first switchback turn. However, time was slipping away from us. The park has placed time limits on cycling this section of the road. We were supposed to be at Logan Pass by 11:00am. At our current pace, there was no way we were going to make it. Pushing ourselves would have been counterproductive, so we slogged on and did our best while still enjoying the ride and the views. Traffic increased little by little, but no one seemed to be in a hurry. Cars were able to pass easily as we hugged the side of the road. Whenever we stopped at a turnout, people offered moral support and water.
We stopped at the last turnout for a short break. The pass was in view. I saw a park ranger's truck heading towards us, and sure enough, he stopped, stepped out, and sheepishly asked us for our ID's. He blocked traffic for about 10 minutes while "running our plates", and returned with warning citations. I asked him if we could ride the last half-mile to the pass, but he was insistent that we stay put until 4:00pm. I was tempted to walk the remaining distance, as other visitors were doing (albeit without bikes), but in the end, we decided to take naps and otherwise occupy ourselves until our curfew was lifted.
Well rested, we finished our climb, spent a few minutes as tourists at the pass, and flew the rest of the way to Rising Sun campground. The campground hosts were very friendly, as were our fellow hiker/biker campers. We met Marc, who is a long-haul bike tourist from Germany. On his recommendation, we dined at the nearby restaurant rather than firing up the camp stove. We also took the opportunity to shower for the first time in 4 days. I think this is the most adventure we've ever packed into a single day.
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Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 80 miles (129 km)
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