Northern Tier
via bicycle from Anacortes, Washington to Fargo, North Dakota
with WomanTours
June 19 - July 23, 2010
978 miles with 42,647 feet of elevation gain for Sections 1 through 4
This will be the 4th time I have taken a long distance bicycle ride with WomanTours, and I don't plan on it being the last. The company provides great tours, great support, and great dinners cooked by a chef who travels with the tour.
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me on my Lightning R-84 -- a super light dual-suspension carbon fiber bicycle with a 3-pound frame made of aerospace grade carbon fiber, titanium, and oversized aluminum
I rode 130 miles
June20 - June 23
Anacortes to Winthrop, WA
I rode 273.6 miles
June 24 - June 29
Winthrop to Sandpoint, ID
I rode 148.1 miles
June 30 - July 4
Sandpoint to Lake McDonald, MT
I rode 203.1 miles
July 5 - July 9
Lake McDonald to Havre, MT
I rode _____ miles
Havre to Minot, ND
Section 6
I rode ____ miles
July 18 - July 22
Minot to Fargo, NG
wind up & shuttle to the Fargo airport or start driving home
July 23
click on the link below if you want to send an email to me
giving me comments and/or words of encouragement
and keep checking this website for updates on my ride
WomanTours has divided Adventure Cycling's Northern Tier from Anacortes, Washington to Bar Harbor, Maine which is over 4,000 miles long in half and has two groups riding the Western half in 2010 and will offer the Eastern half in 2011. They thought this would make it easier for us to fit the tour into our busy lives. The picture below shows the complete Northern Tier from Anacortes, WA to Bar Harbor, ME.
WomanTours designs their tours with women over 50 in mind, but women of any age are welcome. We will dip our tires into the Pacific Ocean on June 20 perhaps catching the sunrise over the city. We will then continue over back roads of the northernmost part of the United States. We’ll bike past Cascades National Park and stay overnight on the west side of Glacier National Park then ride through the park on the Going to the Sun Road. We’ll cross the states of Washington, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota. We’ll see some of the most beautiful sections of the country. In a little over a month, we’ll celebrate our accomplishment in Fargo, North Dakota.
From the beginning to the end the trip consumes 35 days, and we will bike for 28 of those 35 days. A daily itinerary with the tentative miles we will ride and the city we stay in each night is shown below. Notice that we have five rest days during the ride in Winthrop, WA; Sandpoint, ID; Lake McDonald, MT; Havre, MT; and Minot, ND and will spend a day at the end shuttling to the airport or starting the drive home.
the specific stopover towns and mileages are subject to change
Stopover Towns & Approximate Daily Mileage
for the Western Half of the Northern Tier Bicycle Trip
Date
Location
Miles
Section 1
June 19
Anacortes, WA
0
June 20
Sedro-Woolley, WA
38
June 21
Marblemount, WA
52
June 22
Winthrop, WA
91
June 23
Winthrop, WA - rest day
0
Section 2
June 24
Omak, WA
48
June 25
Republic, WA
69
June 26
Colville, WA
57
June 27
Newport, WA
85
June 28
Sandpoint, ID
47
June 29
Sandpoint, ID - rest day
0
Section 3
June 30
Libby, MT
95
July 1
Eureka, MT
67
July 2
Whitefish, MT
59
July 3
Lake McDonald, MT
40
July 4
Lake McDonald, MT
rest day
0
Section 4
July 5
St. Mary, MT
40
July 6
Cut Bank, MT
64
July 7
Chester, MT
66
July 8
Havre, MT
60
July 9
Havre, MT - rest day
0
Section 5
July 10
Malta, MT
92
July 11
Glasgow, MT
72
July 12
Wolf Point, MT
56
July 13
Culbertson, MT
57
July 14
Williston, ND
45
July 15
New Town, ND
74
July 16
Minot, ND
73
July 17
Minot, ND - rest day
0
Section 6
July 18
Rugby, ND
68
July 19
Devils Lake, ND
82
July 20
Carrington, ND
50
July 21
Mayville, ND
107
July 22
Fargo, ND
63
July 23
Fly or Drive Home
0
The maps below from Adventure Cycling show the route for the Southern Tier that I did in 2008 and the Northern Tier that I will be doing in 2010 and 2011. You can tell by looking at the two maps that the Northern Tier is a LOT longer than the Southern Tier--almost 1,000 miles longer!
(The loop in New Mexico is an optional route that includes Gila Hot Springs and the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.)
(The loop in Minnesota is another optional route.)
travel days prior to the tour
Terre Haute, IN to Anacortes, WA
I drove to Anacortes from Terre Haute in an Avis rental car so I could transport my recumbent without having to ship it and worry about having it damaged. I drove 636 miles from Terre Haute to Sioux City, Iowa the first day, 840 miles to Billings, Montana the second day, and 799 miles to Issaquah, Washington the third day. Then on the 4th day I only had 84 miles to drive to Anacortes. I listened to audio books on CDs as I drove so the long drive wasn't bad. I used MapQuest to prepare and print maps for each day; and if MapQuest routed me on state highways I modified the route as I wanted to stay on interstates. For the actual driving I relied on a Garmin GPS system, and if it told me to exit an interstate I ignored the command thus forcing the unit to recalculate the route. Having both a printed paper map and the Garmin directions worked well. I needed the maps as a backup in case the technology failed, and the maps helped me visualize the route, but I am spoiled now and would hate to drive without the GPS.. The instant you deviate from the route, a voice says "recalculating" and you know you are off course. You are then given new directions that will get you back on route. Going though large cities is very easy as you are told far in advance which lane you need to be in for a turn or to stay left (or right) when the road splits. Also you can relax and not worry about missing a turn as a voice will prompt you in advance of the turn and remind you 2-3 times.
During the drive I made one short detour for sightseeing purposes. While driving through the Black Hills in South Dakota, a rest area that I stopped in was a welcome center and I picked up some information on Tatonka (Story of the Bison) and a map of the Black Hills and Badlands. I then decided to drive the short Northern Hills Loop – my main interest was the Tatanka – Story of the Bison - site which was created by Kevin Costner. Up to 30 million bison once roamed the Great Plains of North America, but by the end of the 19th century (1900) it’s estimated that less than 1,000 survived. The centerpiece of Tatonka is a larger-than-life (125%) bronze sculpture featuring 14 bison being pursued by 3 Native American riders. The educational center depicts the relationship between bison and Native Americans through interactive exhibits.
Wind Cave, which is located in the Black Hills SW of Rapid City, was designated a national park in 1903. Long before Congress noticed its significance, the “hole that breathes cool air” was a powerful, special place for the Lakota people. It is traditional Lakota belief that the buffalo people emerged from this cave which has always been a doorway between the underground and above-ground worlds.
Tribes of the northern plains relied so completely on bison for every need that they are known as the “buffalo culture.” They made over 100 items from different parts of the animal, but tatanka (bison) meant more than that. The people of the plains were dependent on buffalo for spiritual as well as material needs. And daily life revolved around tatanka. The natural migration of the herds dictated where the native people lived, and the nomadic way of life meant adapting to a lifestyle that could abruptly move to where the herds were. In this particular living history setting, Tatanka: Story of the Bison has chosen to represent the year 1840. Costuming, activities, and household goods are true to life in a Lakota camp in that year.
I'm staying at the Marina Inn in Anacortes on the 18th which is across the street from the Anaco Bay Inn where the WomanTour tour group will be staying on the 19th. The Anaco Bay only has 18 rooms and was full on the 18th, but when I called they recommended the Marina Inn. Several other cyclists are staying here also. The small Anaco Bay Inn is pictured below:
Anacortes
The name Anacortes comes from Anna Curtis Bowman, the wife of an early settler. The population was 14,557 at the 2000 census. Anacortes is on Fidalgo Island and is surrounded by the Puget Sound and San Juan Islands on three sides and by the Swinomish Channel and the flats of Skagit Valley to the east. The weather is milder than other areas of the Pacific Northwest, because it lies within the Olympic Mountain rain shadow. Fidalgo Island gets 21" of rain per year, only half as much as Seattle.
Since I arrived early Friday I spent several hours sightseeing. First, I drove down and saw the old town and took pictures of several of the 102 murals that they have on the side of several of the buildings. Second I drove to Washington Park and drove around the 2.3 mile loop road--there were several good views. Third I drove to the other end of the island and drove up Mt. Erie which was suppose to have a 360 degree view; however, tall trees have obstructed some of the view. Finally I drove to Deception Pass, parked the car and walked across the bridge on one side and returned on the other side. I saved Deception Pass to the last because I thought it would be the best and I was right!
welcome sign for Anacortes
map of the island
Washington Park is in the upper right and Deception Pass is on the left
over 100 life-sized color cut-out murals decorate the town depicting the people and modes of transportation from Anacortes' colorful past - the murals above depict:
Mrs. Malone and her Sears donkey cart - 1902
Edna Whitney's tandem bike friends - 1910
a Model T family outing
Yankee Doodle, Anacortes passenger ferry - 1911
2 views from the loop road in Washington Park
2 views from Mt. Erie - 1,273 feet
the 2nd picture shows Mt Baker in the background
a view of the Deception Pass bridge and 3 views from the bridge
in the last picture the small dots lined up on the beach below the bridge are fishermen
Day 1 - June 19
Anacortes, Washington
The first day is always a get organized and get acquainted day, and we had a 2-hour orientation from 1-3 pm during which we met everyone, received more oral and written information about how the trip will operate, and received our bike jersey, T-shirt or biking socks, a water bottle, and a safety triangle. I already knew the two tour leaders as I have ridden with both Michelle and Linda on other WomanTour tours. Michelle will be our guide and Linda is the chef for the tour. I have also ridden with several of the riders on other tours.
In the evening we had our opening banquet which was a buffet consisting of three kinds of meat (salmon, halibut, and roasted pork), rice, red potatoes, toasted bread, and cream puffs for dessert.
. We start riding tomorrow!
for pictures of other vacations return to the Vacation
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