Following last year’s epic cycling tour, we chose a shorter yet still ambitious route for our next adventure.  This one will take us from Whitefish, Montana – just outside of Glacier National Park – to the coast of Oregon and Washington – hence the name of our tour, “Glaciers to the Sea.”    The route is about 1,400 miles, and we plan to complete it in 4-5 weeks.  Along the way, we will follow the Clark Fork River, cross the high plateau to reach Spokane, then cycle the Columbia River valley to Portland.  Dipping down to Eugene, OR allows us to visit relatives, then we’ll cycle the sea coast up to Seattle.  Amtrak will then deliver us back to our car in Whitefish.

Our three previous cycling tours have all followed the water’s edge for most of the itinerary.  This one will be a bit more discontinuous, but still clings to that theme by using river valleys (which also minimizes hills) and traveling the coastline.

Having a 2-month tour under our belts already, we feel far more comfortable with the prospect of diving into this tour.  We have lodging for our first few nights planned out, and beyond that it’s all flexible.  Rich has scoped out potential stopping points where we can find lodging and food, and we’ll take it one day at a time from there.

As before, Rich and I plan to blog along the way. Rich posts updates on the Crazy Guy on a Bike website for the benefit of other cyclists interested in this route.  You can view his posts here – be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page where there is a Table of Contents for his individual posts.

I will add links  below for each of my entries as I write them.  We hope you will follow our progress!

Here are the progress reports from our trip:
Pre-trip Summary: Announcing Glaciers to the Sea
Packing my Gear: Tour preparations

Week 1 – Montana, Idaho, Washington
The trip begins: We’re Off and Cycling!
Montana Heat: Summer Returns
Scenic cycling: Following the Clark Fork River
Montana-Idaho-Washington: Crossing Three States
Sights and sunset: Grand Coulee Dam Camping

Week 2 – Grand Coulee and Columbia River
A gorgeous ride: A Worthy Detour
Getting into daily cycling: In the Zone
Great bike trails: Reaching the Columbia River
A long day: Are We There Yet?
An eventful night camping: Sprinkler Attack!
Columbia River Gorge: All About the Journey

Week 3 – Columbia River to the Oregon Coast
A picture perfect day: Photo Opp!
Oregon hospitality: We’re Sagging
Part 2 of the trip: Back in the Saddle
Our first rain: The Rain Jacket Jig

Week 4+ – Coast to Seattle
A really rainy day: You know it’s raining when…
A great day of cycling: The Epitome of Cycle Touring
Meeting great folks: It’s all about the People
The end is in sight: Counting Down
The environs of Puget Sound: Circling the Sound
Reaching the end: The Last Few Miles

Post-cycling trip home
Sightseeing: Seattle by Foot
Amtrak back to the car: Riding the Rails
Facts and figures about our trip: Glaciers Cycling Tour Stats

Here are additional posts about our trip:
Molly’s blog posts – All blog posts related to the Glaciers to the Sea Cycling Tour, including those leading up to the trip and after thoughts.

Rich’s view of the trip – He posts to the Crazy Guy on a Bike website, which is a widely used portal for long distance cycling trips. Scroll down to the bottom of that page to Table of Contents to find the individual posts.