Epic Bike Trip 2026

9/21/2026 The day’s plan was to bike from Wabasha to the Great River Bluffs State Park outside of La Crescent. But again the weather conspired to change our plan. Rolf drove the truck and John, Greg, & Mark biked the 61.5 miles (all paved) to the park. But when Mark & Greg got to the campground it was raining steadily and pretty cold. The rain was supposed to stop mid-afternoon, but it persisted, so the group chose to break camp (John & Rolf had already set up their tents) an

9/20/2026 Today was designed to be a short day to allow the group to see people and the National Eagle Center in Wabasha. Rolf worked as the executive director of the National Eagle Center in Wabasha for 7 years and still has connections to the area. Red Wing Reform School / State Prison Rolf drove the truck and John, Greg, & Mark biked the 32.7 miles from Red Wing to Wabasha. As we rode out of Red Wing we passed the former Boys Reform School, now a MN State Prison. Rolf secu

9/19/2026 Our route began as a 66.3-mile trip to Bay City Campground, Bay City, WI, all on paved roads. But the weather conspired to make some changes. We altered our destination to a hotel in Red Wing due to rain. We departed, again, from 4600 France Ave S and rode the Minnehaha Creek Trail past Minnehaha Falls and across the Minnesota River on the Highway 62 bridge. We proceeded southeast through Inver Grove Heights and along the Mississippi River, past the confluence with

9/13 - 9/18/2026 I suppose you've been wondering what has become of the four fearless bikers. Or, more likely, you haven't been thinking about us at all, you've got more important and pressing items on your plate. On Day 33 we left our hotel in Winthrop, WA in the truck. Rain was steady, Washington Highway 20 was full of Sunday traffic and for most of the ride down there was very little shoulder. We thought descending from that elevation to sea level in pouring rain on a busy

9/12/2026 Today’s route was planned to be 53.6 miles long (all paved) and end at a National Forest campsite. We learned some history along the way But the intrepid bikers looked at the weather forecast and saw that heavy rains were predicted for the entire area beginning in the wee hours of 9/13, so we opted for a hotel in Winthrop, WA. This shortened the route to about 47 miles. BUT . . . the route did include a pass in about the middle of the day. About 10 miles out of Omak

9/11/2026 This route was all paved, but long – 82.1 miles and ended at a hotel in Omak, WA. Today’s truck driver was Greg and John, Rolf, & Mark biked. It began with the last mile uphill to Sherman Pass and then descended 15 miles in another whirlwind of downhill speed. Leaving the campground toward the pass View from Sherman Pass Once we hit the bottom, we began to climb again almost immediately heading to Wauconda Pass at about 4300 ft. Again, another long, slow plod up the

9/10/2026 Greg & Rolf getting ready to go Turns out Rossland, BC is pretty much at the top of the hill. No matter how you approach it, it’s hard to get there. But leaving there is easy! Today’s route covered 67 miles (all paved). We passed through US Customs just 10 km away from our campground. Rolf just passed US Customs Greg being welcomed to Washington The first 12 miles were all downhill. We hit speeds on our bikes we’ve not seen before (and are never really comfortable

9/9/2026 Today’s route followed Canada Highway 3A and some local roads, all of which were paved. The route was 55 miles long, with 5,193 ft of elevation gain with about 3500 ft of descent. John outside Nelson The weather was beautiful with temperatures in the 60s and low 70s and magnificent scenery for the entire route. Mark drove the truck and John, Rolf, & Greg cycled. Part of the route was on a dedicated bike trail with its own tunnel. The one caveat is that the day’s elev

9/8/2026 Another long day of cycling, 74+ miles in all and over 5000 ft of elevation gain. The route was all on pavement following Canada Highway 3A north to Kootenay Bay, then a ferry ride across the lake, finally southwest along an arm of the lake to Nelson. Another mountain biking hotspot. Rolf manned the truck while John, Greg, & Mark cycled. There was lots of uphill and downhill as we followed the highway. The traffic was light and the weather was great, except for the c

9/7/2026 Our 66.5-mile route today was all on pavement along Canada Highway 3. And it was mostly downhill. Greg handled the truck and John, Rolf, & Mark cycled. This was a day to get through. We left in the rain and it rained, misted, or drizzled the entire day. Rolf along Kootenay Lake Our plan was to camp in Creston, but with the rain and cold, Greg found us a Ramada Inn for the night. The magnificent mountains we knew were there were nowhere to be seen, covered in clouds.

9/6/2026 Our route today took us over 62 miles, 60% unpaved. John drove the truck, Rolf, Greg, & Mark cycled. The first part of the ride was almost all downhill on Canada Highway 3. But then came the gravel, over 30 miles of it, up some crazy hills. One hill took Mark 1 hour, 9 minutes, 22 seconds (that’s what his Garmin reported). And it was less than a mile long! The cycling group stayed together for moral support and also to scare away bears (we didn’t see any). Rolf blew

9/5/2026 Today’s route was 50.7 miles all along Canada Highway 3, all paved and mostly downhill – after we went over the pass. The pass was not very steep. BUT the day began and ended in the rain, with rain most of the day. Mark was scheduled to drive (which he did) and Greg & John elected to ride in the truck. However, our intrepid biker, Rolf did the entire route and said it was one of the easiest 50 mile days he’s ever ridden. We stopped for coffee in Coleman, AB where Rol

9/4/2026 Today’s ride was 43.9 miles, 28% unpaved. The gravel section in the middle of the route was hilly, but fairly easy to navigate. The route finished for the final 3 miles along Canada Highway 3 – a busy road which Eileen had warned us about. However, while the traffic was heavy (especially on Labour Day weekend), the shoulder was wide and all went well. Rolf drove the truck, while John, Greg, & Mark rode bikes. The route was with the mountains to the west and mostly gr

9/3/2026 The group left Cardston under cloudy skies and strong winds (20+ mph with gusts to 32) from the west. Rolf, John, & Mark pedaled west making slow progress. We got the 16 mile point at a small store where we purchased some food and drink. Mark was toast and elected to text Greg in the truck saying he needed a ride. Rolf & John also decided to hop into the truck and we all visited Waterton Lakes - the Canadian side of Glacier Park. We all had lunch in Waterton. Watert

9/2/2026 Our route today took us over 68 miles and Ride With GPS (RWGPS) said it was 30% unpaved. But, RWGPS was wrong and it was all paved. John drove the truck and Rolf, Greg, & Mark pedaled their way to the end. The day was beautiful and we passed more ranches and some cropland. A beautiful day of riding. As we got to Cardston, the sky was becoming more cloudy and just as predicted, the rain began at about 5:30 pm. We decided to go to a pizza place for supper and it was ju

9/1/2026 John, Rolf, & Greg rode this 60.5 mile, mostly gravel route, while Mark drove the truck. The group made a minor change to the route that eliminated some of the gravel. The day began with a glorious sunrise. Approaching Canada Customs About 6 miles north of Whitlash we passed through US immigration and then Canada customs and immigration. Greg had his pepper spray taken from him because that’s an illegal weapon in Canada, while those of us with bear spray were allowed

8/31/2026 This route of 37.8 miles was supposed to be 53% paved, 47% unpaved. But it turned out that all but 6 miles was gravel and we faced a strong northwest wind all day. Some of us thought, despite the relatively low mileage, it was the most challenging day of the trip thus far. The Sweet Grass Hills came closer every mile as we skirted the hills toward Whitlash. At the last census, Whitlash had a population of 4. Lots of hills on this route, so we were going into the win

8/30/2026 Our route continued along US Highway 2 covering 60.5 miles – all paved. BUT, since we were facing a strong west wind, we decided to shuttle to Chester and ride the route in reverse. John drove the truck and Greg, Rolf, & Mark cycled the route. As we cycled along we noticed the Sweet Grass Hills coming into view. They were a beautiful site and gave us some foreshadowing of the terrain to come. After cycling back to Havre, we all climbed into the truck and motored to

8/29/2026 This day was the longest of the trip so far – 91 miles, all paved, along US Highway 2. The route began to have a bit more up and down and we noticed the countryside slowly chang from crop land to ranches and grazing cows. The route was a bit different from our original plan due to not being able to find acceptable lodging on the several days leading up to today. The route traversed part of the Belknap Indian Reservation. We came across some information about the out

8/28/2026 Today’s route covered 70.9 miles, 26% was supposed to be unpaved. However, we found that the unpaved portion on Old US Hwy 2 was closed, so the group (John, Greg, & Rolf) stayed on US 2 into Malta. Mark was truck jockey for the day. Our campground in Glasgow was behind the Cottonwood Inn & Suites and was administered by the hotel. The grounds were well cared for and we found a nice place to set up camp under the shade of some cottonwood trees. Our campsite in Malta