top of page
Search

Going to the Sun?

  • Jon Cooperman
  • Sep 16
  • 3 min read

Today’s ascent of Going to the Sun road in Glacier National Park was supposed to be an epic bucket list ride with unbelievable scenery. Here was our view for the majority of the ascent:


ree

Between the rain, dense fog and cold temperatures at the top, this ascent was epic misery. The only good news of this ascent is that we did not see any bears. But we were ready — “black fight back, brown lay down and white say goodnight”, the saying conveyed by blog reader, and daughter of blog writer, Sarah (who runs a wildlife sanctuary) that Mary made us all memorize. We started with 20 miles of gentle rollers on a road along a river in overcast, but tolerable weather with views like this:



ree

And just as we were getting ready for the start of the ascent, along came the rains. Out came the rainwear and here is Art all suited up, ready to take on whatever may come:


ree

Little did we know. Going to the Sun Road is a narrow road with not much of a shoulder and a sheer drop to our right. The road was also pretty heavily trafficked. Rain turned to drizzle and dense fog as we ascended, and the cars seemed never-ending (including a convoy of Corvettes). I had few picture opportunities, but here are Serge (in yellow) and Mary (in blue) ahead of me at a rare clear moment:


ree

The last three miles of this ten mile ascent were really scary as the fog was so dense that most cars had on their hazard lights. I kept hoping that our flashing rear red lights would not run out of battery. And the temperature dropped to the low 40s so that Mary, Kevin, Serge and I were shivering when we reached the top. But we made it, although we were too cold to pose for a picture at the summit.


ree

But disaster struck for Art at about mile six of the ascent. He was riding with one of the tour leaders when a rock slide started coming down the mountain. They initially thought the noise was thunder, but the road was quickly showered with rocks. A basketball sized rock hit Art’s back wheel, bending it and knocking him off of his bike. Although his knee and ribs were sore, by dinner he was in his usual good spirits. According to our tour operator, this is the first time in 30 years of operating that this has ever happened. We are all mainly happy that Art was able to navigate away from something worse.


A few words about Art who is a real inspiration. He didn’t let open heart surgery three years ago deter him from quickly getting back on his bike. Just wow! Art has also suffered through two triple bypasses — okay, The Triple Bypass is actually a famous 120 mile bike ride from Denver to Vail over three mountain passes.


Art’s character dates back to his college days playing basketball at Brown. A perennial Ivy League doormat, Brown became a budding contender Art’s sophomore year. A win over first place Penn in the last game of the year would have given Brown its first Ivy League title in decades and a ticket to the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, at practice the day before the big game, Art collided with Brown’s star center, which caused a severe ankle sprain that knocked the star out of the big game that Brown then lost. For Art, receiving the silent treatment from the entire State of Rhode Island for next 2+ years must have been character building as it led to a successful business career and a retirement full of cycling. So a narrow miss on a rock slide no doubt will not deter Art.


Art was given a lift to the end of the ride by a nice couple with a pick-up truck. After huddling in the Visitor Center at the top of Logan Pass in an attempt to get warm, the rest of us put on all the layers that we had for an eight mile descent — it can get really cold on a steep descent. The dense fog lifted halfway through our descent and we were finally able to see some of the scenery:


ree

ree

So Going to the Sun Road, been there, done that. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be nicer and warmer. And hopefully our soaked cycling clothing will be dry by then. We are cycling tomorrow across the border to the Canadian Waterton National Park. And for today’s musical coda, here is what I was thinking about my wife (well most of the time) as, once again, she was way ahead of me on the climb:



 
 
 

8 Comments


Brie Santolli
Sep 17

Yesterday seemed terrifying!!! Glad that no one fell of that mountain (seriously)!

Like

Yvonne Caracci
Sep 17

OMG Catherine below or above summarized it correctly except to say “HOLY SH_ _”!!! I was reading this blog post on the subway and when I got off on Fulton Street I had to pull over to the side to continue reading it to find out that Art was good THANKFULLY!!! Hope it is a nicer day today. Keep following that Sun Road and be safe everyone!!!

Like

Catherine
Sep 17

STOP. That photo of Serge and Mary with the precipitous drop just inches from their wheel but combine that with rain, dense fog AND rockfall? How did you guys carry on?! And truly incredible resilience on display with Art recovering from a dangerous rockfall situation. What a day. Bravi to all!

Like
Guest
Sep 18
Replying to

When the fog got really dense at mile 7, a guy in a car opened his window and said that I really needed to get off the road. I replied “and go where?”

Like

Paul
Sep 16

Ambitious and impressive.

Like

Steve
Sep 16

At any point along that climb are you thinking “I’d rather be working?”

Like
Guest
Sep 16
Replying to

No. I was mainly concerned about how there would be another post after the Corvette convoy knocked me off the road and into the ravine.

Like

Drop me a line & let me know what you think!

Thanks for submitting!

© 2035 by Train of Thoughts. Powered and secured by Wix

bottom of page