Sandpoint, Idaho to Glendive, Montana
June 21 to June 30
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Westbound: Tacoma to Sandpoint Eastbound: Glendive to Fargo
Montana is a very big state with big mountains and big spaces. Oh, and Big Sky too. It seems like only US 2, MT 200, US 12, I 90, and I 94 traverse its width. The tourist has only a few choices and cannot easily change his mind en route. Adventure Cycling chooses U.S. 2 for most of the crossing. My default—I really am comfortable on Interstate highways—was I 90 and I94, but I could not forget the climb to the continental divide east of Butte. It just wasn’t appealing. Discontented, unsettled, and, sigh, apprehensive, I continued to explore the internet and my other resources. Then I found the on-line report from a New York City physics teacher. Glenn Elert’s description of crossing the continental divide on MT 200 between Missoula and Great Falls completely captured me. The next question was whether to continue further north to US 2 or to stay on MT 200.
In 1967, I had driven across US 2 and remembered it as a reasonable route, but I was interested in seeing something new. Central Montana, however, is neither densely populated nor overly-commercial. Lodging and support services could be a problem. An advantage of living in the Puget Sound area is that one finds many people with roots, connections, and experience in Montana. I asked all I encountered for advice, but few could adopt the perspective of the cyclist at 12 mph instead of the motorist at 75 mph. I understood. We all describe distances in units of hours behind the wheel. One source, however, went home to Montana for Thanksgiving of 2002 and came back with an unqualified recommendation for MT 200. That answer being what I wanted to hear, I judged the sources highly qualified.
Wanting to do 200 and being able to do it are, however, distinctly different propositions. Great Falls, Lewistown, and Jordan are big enough to generate points of interest and lodging in Street Atlas. They are also far enough apart to be challenging tour segments. Yahoo’s Yellow pages identified additional lodging in Stanford, Winnett, and Circle that promised manageable days and achievable destinations. With those needs met, planning could continue.
Now having ridden MT 200 almost all the way across that huge state, I cannot claim that 200 is 100 times better than 2, but I heartily recommend it to anyone comfortable with 80 mile days.
Click below for day-by-day accounts.
Tacoma, Washington to Sandpoint, Idaho
Glendive, Montana to Fargo, North Dakota