The Rise Up Ride: Day 59, The Whitefish "Climate Ride" Headquarters Rest Stop
Date: 20 June 2021
Start Location: Kalispell, MT
End Location: Whitefish, MT
Distance: 28 km
Time: 1:55
Total elapsed: 7:40
Elevation: 166 m
With more than 2,700 km pedaled from St Paul in 80-110 km chunks, today was the shortest ride so far. I slept late, knowing that tonight I'd be getting very little shuteye, sitting upright on a train in coach class on the way to Seattle. I capitalized on a late check-out, writing, catching up on the news, and airing out my tent that had been packed damp in Wisdom while fleeing mosquitos four days before.
It was my good fortune that Caeli, Dennie, and their famously outdoorsy family were at their home in Whitefish on a Sunday in June. Her amazing non-profit organization "Climate Ride" has generated millions of dollars for environmental causes and brought together thousands of cycling activists on some of the best touring routes all over the world. I've ridden their events from NY to DC and along the California Coast through the Redwoods to San Francisco. Caeli fed me her freshly-baked sourdough on the deck while I chatted with their very cool kids, reorganized my bags, and changed into train-appropriate traveling clothes before coasting about six blocks down to the Depot.
So much has changed since I got off the same train (the Empire Builder that runs daily from Chicago to Seattle) at the St. Paul Station on 23 April. That train was almost empty and everyone had an adjacent empty seat. Today the train was packed with all seats taken. After two months of lackadaisical regulations, it was an abrupt return to 2021 with all masks, all the time. Welcome back to the lands of responsible public health measures.
Tomorrow I'll arrive in Seattle to spend the day with Duncan, catching up on sleep, doing a load of wash and preparing to climb Mt. Baker near Bellingham. Just two days until the ferry leaves for Alaska and the next leg of this adventure continues.
