Welcome to Laura and Kevin’s cycling tour through Glacier National Park Montana and Waterton Park, Alberta Canada. The tour - the Glacier Park Alpiner -- is run by Timberline Adventures a cycling/hiking tour company operated by Carol & Dick Gottsegen, that specializes in challenging cycling tours throughout the American West and the Canadian Northwest.
Kevin and I have been cycling for a little more than two summers and in January 2002 we decided that we would like to take a cycling vacation. Kevin’s search on the internet and talking to the Chad Kayser, manager at College Park Bicycles, led us to contact Timberline Adventures. We wanted a challenging ride that had good mileage, incredible scenery, great food, no sleeping in tents, and an experience that would keep us coming back again and again. We spoke with Carol Gottsegen and learned a great deal about the many different rides Timberline Adventures offers. We couldn’t make up our mind so we asked Carol if you had to pick a tour that would make us want to do it again, she immediately suggested the Glacier Park Alpiner.
The Glacier Park Alpiner is a 7-day cycling tour that begins in Kalispell, Montana and travels through the Glacier National Park, in the Montana Rockies, crosses the Canadian border and visits the Canadian Rockies and Waterton Lakes National Park, the sister park to Glacier National Park, and travels back down Kalispell - a total of 335 miles.
We experienced challenging climbs (the longest was 20 miles) and were rewarded with spectacular mountain scenery (Going-to-the-Sun Road, Chief Mountain, Marias Pass, Looking Glass Hill Pass), screaming downhills, water falls, winding rivers, crystal blue mountain lakes, bears, sheep, brilliant flowers and bear grass, warm, sunny days, cold rainy days, flat tires (3), 20+ mile headwinds, great local food (huckleberry cobler, boar/venison sausages), impressive national park lodges, and new friends to share the experiences. We had a great time seeing the sites and learning about Glacier National Park and Waterton Park (Canada).
The following pages are my web-based album of our experiences on this first of hopefully many cycling tours throughout the United States. Hope you enjoy the album as much as Kevin and I enjoyed the tour.
--Laura Murnane, September 2002
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