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Notes From the Road – The Midwest and Montana

Except for an occasional freak warm day or two, San Francisco is usually pretty chilly in the summer months. In the morning, in many neighborhoods we wake up to the marine layer, otherwise known as fog. Sometime around lunch it can push back out to the ocean for a few hours, only to return in the early evening. Rarely do you get a glorious sunset. Various more inland and protected neighborhoods, like The Mission and Potrero Hill can go for days without ever seeing this fog. So around July I like to get out of town and travel to warmer climes.

The Goin’ to Madtown 300

In 2024 I once again did the bicycle ride from Minneapolis to Madison, Wisconsin an activity now called “bike packing.” I have chronicled this trip before.

Minneapolis to Madison by Bicycle – June 2022

This was my fourth year doing the ride.  One of the main differences in 2024 was the fact that the Mississippi River and other rivers were running very high. Entire campgrounds were flooded which made for some fun improvisatory sleeping arrangements. Thanks to Sarah and Dan at the Humble Moon in Stockholm for their hospitality. Indeed, in the hinterlands of the country it takes people consciously committing to community no matter the histories or differences to build community.  People and music over Packer games.

The Trempealeau Hotel is still awesome with delicious food, great beers and friendly people. Come to think of it – no televisions in that place too.  I had a few nights when it rained but my Nemo Hornet OSMO Ultralight 2P Tent worked great. Big shout out to La Mexicana restaurant in Sauk City that had some delicious lemonade and tacos that made me feel like I was still in San Francisco. The ride from Sauk City to Madison is actually pretty nice. I like to go through Marxville. One of the roads was closed and being resurfaced but that did not stop this bicycle.

Madison to Columbus Amtrak by Bike

This year I took a little different route to the Amtrak Station in Columbus Wisconsin. It is about a 40 mile ride and you can get out of Madison on mostly trails. Also, the best way into Columbus is weave your way on the farm roads like Marshall Road – a really sweet ride. As always before you get on the train cool off with a swim at the Columbus Aquatic Center. The Empire Builder heading west leaves Columbus Wisconsin at 5:55PM daily.

East Glacier to West Glacier

Riding a bike from East Glacier to West Glacier is very fun. Sure there are some climbs but the open spaces and amazing views make it all worthwhile. Last year I documented the ride.

I reunited with some friends that I met last year and made some new ones. At one point, at a campground I ran into Ernest and Jack from Switzerland. They were riding across the entire United States at a pace of about 80 miles per day. They were pretty hard core about it all, wearing red, white and blue jerseys emblazoned with a flag of the United States and some lettering “America Tour 2024” in hopes of being received congenially during their ride. I suspect they are either spies on a mission of discovery or players in an upcoming Netflix series. Later on my ride in Glacier I camped with an interesting Czech fellow who has biked in over ninety countries. I shared my dinner of pasta primavera – all the food I had left. Below is the recipe. It was delicious after a day of riding the Going to The Sun road.

Glacier Zucchini Delight

1 zucchini
12 cloves of garlic – entire garlic bulb
1/2 bag of elbow macaroni
olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
salt and pepper

Directions
Cook up macaroni al dente and set aside
Chop up zucchini, garlic and basil and sauté in olive oil
Combine ingredients
Add more olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

The Empire Builder is Amtrak’s northern train through the west. It is good to reserve space for your bike ($20) beforehand however many agents at Amtrak are not very knowledgeable about bikes on trains.

If you are going through Portland on the Empire Builder you have to ride to Whitefish (you cannot get your bike on in East Glacier) and put your bike in a box (Amtrak provided for $10).  It is possible to to get your bike on the train in East Glacier but you have to go through Seattle. This year I rode an extra thirty miles to Whitefish where I put my bike in a box. Whitefish was nice with very good lake swimming, breweries and a farmers market.  There are probably more interesting bike routes than the one I took as I was advised to ride Highway 2 and I improvised some of the side roads to get away from the cars and trucks.

The Amtrak trains in the summer of 2024 are being delayed because of the heat and speed restrictions but I made my connection in Portland on the Coast Starlight. Amtrak comes through again!

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Symphony Bicicleta – July 2023

First Movement

La Familia
To the edge of town we ride along this winding river, through gnat-filled forests, over bridges that dodge the morning commutes. Breakfast at a familiar diner busy with ribbon-wearing war vets and regulars, then farewells to a buddy who navigates me each year to the start of this tale. Past cows, horses, pigs and more cows, fields of corn, by mailboxes with clever designs. Silos of corn. Roadkill large and small plastered to the asphalt in various stages of morbid decay. American flags abound tell me the wind.
Nighttime thunderstorms cool the air as hungry mosquitoes buzz outside my simple tent. The morning is clear as I pedal over the Chippewa and streams too many to name. By the evening I arrive at the timeless Trempealeau Hotel on the Mississippi as locals with guitars gather for songs, laughs and beers.

I rise with the sun to venture over wetlands forgotten save for the cranes, robins, yellow finches, redwing blackbirds and blue herons. A hundred miles of trail to ride with tunnels, old bridges and rail stations from long ago. Nervous rabbits endlessly scamper across the trail. Through quiet small towns where even the bars seem asleep I pedal.

Camping in Elroy with my sis and her pooches as we eat, drink and marvel at our rain-free luck. One more day on farm roads, climbing then flying down these rolling hills and glens dodging more rain to then but roll into my brother’s crib, not far from where I was born.

Second Movement

Continental Divide
I hear trombones and french horns.
Stacked fifths.
Parallel motion like a moose crossing the road.
Earth tilted so that streams can sing and dance.
Strings on a unison line with leaps unknown.
A solo trumpet hands off to a flute.
Timpani rolls.
Octaves call out a forgotten
Blackfoot melody to an open unending sky.

Third Movement

I see Meriwether Lewis in the rear view mirror driving a big rig, horn a blastin’ down Interstate 84. His sidekick Clark riding shotgun. Eyes bloodshot, he pulls a long draw on the flask. Back to the scene, two hundred years in the future as a bird of prey unknown soars high above.

The Columbia Gorge once sang a fine tune. Now it is the never-ending hum of the Interstate and the trains that clamber up and down this geological miracle, shaped by glaciers, volcanos and spastic floods building bridges to the gods.

Fires now burn the hairs that grow like fur on the ranges leaving only gray pointy sticks from once verdant pine. Hike up the canyons, the blackberries now just ripe while the timeless waterfalls wash the modern madness away like cymbals crashing persistent.

THE BACKSTORY

Paul Lyons - Adventure Cyclist

July I spent traveling around three regions of the United States primarily by bicycle. The Midwest and the 300 mile ride from Minneapolis to Madison, much on rail-to-trail paths. Glacier Mountain Park and East Glacier to West Glacier. Portland to the Columbia River Gorge. I traveled between regions with an Amtrak Rail Pass ($499) which worked great. You can get your bike on the train ride for $20. Just remember when you get off the train, you get your bike directly from the baggage car not at the baggage terminal!

The writing above is my summary of these travels. I saw some amazing country and met some truly remarkable people.