West Glacier to St. Mary, MT
July 11, 2026
51 miles (I biked the first 19 miles)
Tour total: 777 miles; Personal miles achieved: 651 miles

We all started at 5:30 in the morning to have enough time to reach the summit before noon. Why noon? That’s when the national park rangers required eastbound bicycles on the west side of Logan Pass (the summit) to be off the road due to increased eastbound car traffic.

I rode my bike to the first SAG stop at mile 19 and then loaded it (and myself) onto the van. The road was one lane in each direction with no shoulder and the 10-miles climb that followed intimidated me, so I chose to ride in the van and help out at the SAG stop right after the Logan Pass visitor center. My reward was the opportunity to enjoy the amazing scenery climbing to and descending from the summit of Logan Pass. Photos do not do justice to the beauty and grandeur of the surroundings. There were large areas of snow pack that came right up to the road’s edge. There were snow-capped peaks in the distance. There were a variety of flowers and trees. There were waterfalls and weeping walls, roadside cliffs that were porous enough to allow snow melt to ooze from them to the ground. We saw mountain goats and big horn sheep. We saw what looked like prairie dogs, but a Google search identified as Columbian Ground Squirrels.

Helping out at the SAG stop at the summit was a lot of fun. I was there with Cindi, our lead guide, and Ann another guest who wasn’t riding. We helped out by cheering each rider as she arrived, and assisting with any clothing changes she wanted to make. The morning had started off in the low 60s on a fairly shady road and the Logan Pass summit was in the 70s and sunny. When Cindi had scouted out the conditions on the route yesterday, the summit was much cooler, so many of the riders had stashed more clothing layers in their SAG van backpacks expecting to need them at the summit. Instead, the weather at the summit and east side of the pass was warmer than expected, and the riders were shedding layers of clothing instead.

In all, this day gave me a taste of our guide’s role during the trip … an opportunity to enjoy the same scenery as the riders with the added bonus of assisting each rider as needed.

St. Mary to Cut Bank, MT
July 12, 2026
63 miles
Tour total: 840 miles; Personal miles achieved: 714 miles

Head winds, cross winds, tail winds! What a rush, both literally and figuratively.

Cut Bank to Conrad, MT
July 13, 2026
52 miles
Tour total: 892 miles; Personal miles achieved: 766 miles

Nice cloud cover, rolling hills, beautiful scenery. Had no idea that there were oil pump wells in this part of the country.

Roadside wildflowers - same species in different colors - purple, dark purple, yellow, pink, white.

Fresh mown hay smells so good. Passed one field that had to have been cut yesterday, but not yet baled. The field was huge … could have been 50 acres or more … it went off into the distance as far as I could see.

Stopped briefly at a memorial to Western Plains history and two perspectives of a meeting between the Native Americans of the region and Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis & Clark).

The picture of the Pony Expressions sign was taken in the town of Valier. I like names of businesses that hint in a fun way at the intent of the business. It's a shop that specializes in custom embroidery and screenprinting.

Conrad to Great Falls,MT
July 14, 2026
63 miles
Tour total: 955 miles; Personal miles achieved: 829 miles

Don’t let the contour map deceive you. Today’s ride was mostly flat or just slightly up or slightly down. Most of the route found us traveling on service roads with little to no traffic and parallel to the highway. The riding was easy and because there were few turns, the day’s journey was a bit meditative. All of the riders glided down the road.

Met Mir, a self-contained rider who was on her way to Helena, MT. She rode into the 2nd SAG around mile 40 and all of us who were there greeted her warmly and loudly. She was grateful for the snacks, water and electrolytes we shared with her. As she got ready to leave, I asked her if she wouldn't mind having some company and she eagerly agreed. We rode the next ten miles mostly side by side because the road was so quiet. By mile 50 she turned to head toward Helena and I went straight to continue onto Great Falls.

After dinner, walked with some of the WT guests to Sip ‘n Dip, which sounds like an ice cream store, but it’s actually a very cute tiki bar in the basement of an old hotel. There are "mermaids" in a huge fish tank behind the bar! I invite you, dear reader, to look them up, and if you’re ever in Great Falls, MT, it’s a must-do activity!

Great Falls, MT - layover day
July 15, 2026
0 miles

Monica set up an UBER ride to the Lewis & Clark National Park Museum and then a tour of all the dams around Great Falls. Thank you, Monica. Three of us joined her and had a wonderful time. I’m looking forward to reading more about Lewis & Clark when I get home.