Amtrak + Bike Trip to Ride Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier CAR FREE! 

Rode Going to the Sun in 1981 when I rode from Mexico to Canada. I was riding a fully loaded Univega touring bike and was half way up when my Suntour freewheel exploded, dozens of tiny ball bearing scattering all over. Just then a guy, a famous photographer named Art Wolfe, who was up early to capture the light, offered to help. His Porsche was full of large format cameras and didn't have room for my bike, so we hid the bike off the road hoping bears would not tear into my panniers, and we crammed my rear wheel into the Porsche. Meanwhile, my companions continued climbing before the road closed to bikes at 9:00. He took me to Whitefish where I got a new freewheel and replaced the rear axle which was also broken. Later that afternoon, Mr. Wolfe took me back to the place where my bike was stashed, found it ok. It was after 6:00 so the road was open to bicycles again. He left me there and I put my rear wheel in the dropout only to find the new axle was too long and I could not close my quick-release. I had a half of a hacksaw blade in my tool kit, so I went to work there on the side of the road. After an hour or so, I finally got the bike back together and started pedalling again. I made it to Logan Pass about 8:00 PM, looked around then headed down to St. Mary's Lake. I found a message there on the bulletin board informing me my friends continued on to Canada, so I kept going. In Bab I was able to get a hamburger just as the cafe was closing. I continued, going up the the Chief Mountain highway to the border. It was midnight and the border me as closed so I slept on the U.S. side and in the morning, crossed into Canada, fulfilling one goal of the trip; border to border. My friends were at a campground only a few kilometers from the border and was able to have breakfast with them. Definitely one of my top three rides of my life. Spectacular country for sure!

videos like this make me want to sell everything and just go ride everywhere

Glad you guys had a great time! (saw you on your downhill with Cricket as we were climbing up!) Also, as a side note for those interested, from July 1 - Labor Day there is a Glacier Express Shuttle ($10) with bike racks that runs from Whitefish to GNP - the road may not be car free any longer, but it is rideable (with some restrictions between 11am-4pm, so start early!), and so you can do a trip completely car-free!

It's a shame you guys didn't have time to ride all the way up from Whitefish. That's a fantastic ride either way. If you ever get back, a gravel grind up to Pole Bridge on the West side of the park is pretty incredible too! Great video.

If you ever get the chance you should come back and do the full moon ride down Sun. Last year there were hundreds of people, it was amazing. I love seeing people enjoying my home as much as I do

Even though West Glacier isn't a baggage stop, it now has bike service! I used it this weekend. 3 mile ride to Apgar Campground from the train, then directly onto Going-to-the-Sun Road. It is a 60 mile ride, or you can use the free park shuttle if it is running.

So glad I caught tis video. I'm headed to the resort in late June and shuttling to the border to do 30 days worth of the GDMBR. Looking forward to finally meeting Cricket!

DEFINITELY YOUR BEST VIDEO TO DATE! I had the opportunity to ride The Going to the Sun Road last July. Can't wait to go back and ride it in the Spring. Also stayed at the Whitefish Retreat last year too. Great place!

Train & Bike - what better way to travel this world!

So envious right now. This has to be one of the best biking experiences in the world! Stunning roads and scenery. A bucket list ride is an understatement! 🤩

I've watched this video three times now, and each time I want to go more. Thank you for producing such inspiring content.

You guys are so inspiring. Videos like this remind me that there’s so many amazing places to ride through in the world, something that’s easy to forget when the great British weather is hammering down outside!

Holy crap that was #spectacular The video just kept getting better and better with every min. From the Amtrak ride to the mountain top! The cinematography was fantastic. It's now on our bucket list from down here in Sydney.

not really sure how i overlooked this video for so long... wow, this is super cool and gorgeous. i hope someday i can do something like this.

Damn. So happy for yall, what a beautiful trip and memory to have.

Probably your best, most fun video ever! Absolutely spectacular! Thank you guys for taking the time and effort to share this. I gotta go ride that road...beautiful.

Wanted to do this ride years ago on a three week vacation trip, but the word back then was that the road was under construction / repair and was closed to all traffic. Did manage to squeeze in Trail Ridge Road a couple of times though .. not the same, but still worthwhile.

Hi Russ & Laura, I just watched your visit to the Chris King shop and also recently watched your ‘Going to the Sun’ Road. You guys have a great way with mixing up your subject matter. A little smattering of tech talk and reviews gently mixed in with absolutely stunning rides. You do a great job in showcasing the bike as a perfect and simple way to see this stunning world we live in! Keep up the great work! Cheers, Harm Rotorua New Zealand

I LOVE the Empire Builder very much! I have ridden on Amtrak long distance trains a number of times and I love it because sleeping on the train is fun, plus the beautiful scenery! One time, I actually observed a live birth take place on the train, I’m not joking. Back in late March 2019, I was riding the California Zephyr from Davis to Glenwood Springs and on the train, there was pregnant 19 year old girl from SFSU traveling from Emeryville to Denver with her boyfriend. They normally fly home from college for holidays/breaks but because their due date was close (due date was April 5th and they departed on March 29th), they had to use the train since airlines do not allow women to fly in the last 6 weeks of pregnancy. During the ride at 1 AM, the girl’s water broke and the attendant for our sleeping car (Justin Woods, a young guy in his early 20s based in Chicago) volunteered to deliver the baby since he had seen how it was done online before. The girl agreed and Justin did so in which he went into the first aid kit, got his gloves on, then squeezed himself into the roomette to have the girl push while he caught the baby when she was born. The baby ended up being born on the train - a healthy baby girl in a ROOMETTE!!! It was a fabulous story and the girl, her newborn and boyfriend were taken off the train by paramedics at the next railroad crossing. The train was in a remote location between Elko and Salt Lake City at the moment which required a helicopter to meet the train and have her airlifted to the nearest hospital which was more than an hour away (an ambulance can’t drive more than 30 minutes away from it’s base and SLC would take longer than that, so they used a helicopter). As it is, I observed the whole thing as I was holding the girl’s left leg as well as recording this with her boyfriend’s phone. I’ve wondered - if you are female, suppose this happened to you where you (or your wife/girlfriend) suddenly went into labor on an Amtrak train and the train was going across a remote location at the moment. Would you at all be able to tolerate giving birth unmediated, while crammed into a Roomette, on a bed that was not flexible (unlike in the hospital), on a train that speeding up to 90 MPH, the baby’s umbilical cord having to stay attached to you until you got to a hospital (no scissors/clamps on the train), and the person delivering your baby is an Amtrak conductor/attendant with no medical training or license of any kind??? Seriously, this girl was incredibly brave and was lucky that there were no complications, PLUS it only took 20 minutes for her to push the baby out (water broke at 1 AM, and the baby was born at 1:22 AM) What do you think of all this!!!???

I have done a lot of long bicycle trips. I started in the 80s last trip was 2005. I miss it . I done a lot of walking in the Columbia gorge, ha ha hella head winds😂 I can no longer ride 😢 peace ✌️

Fantastic video. What a great way to access the park via Amtrak. Multi-modal 👍🏼. That is classic. There is a lot of history behind GNP (Glacier National Park) and the railroad. Anyway brought back many great memories of a summer spent working at Many Glacier Lodge years ago. Have to give a shout out to the guys at Glacier Cyclery. Wonderful shop. Whitefish is a great town and good to see they are furthering their bike related support through the lodge you stayed in. That is fairly new. Another great ride that the shop there used to do was a full moon ride up the same route you guys took. This was done I believe during the same period of time before they officially open the road to traffic. I did it late June back in the summer of 2001. That was epic. Anyway great video. Great channel. You guys are inspiring. Keep up great work.

Thanks for sharing these videos! You both have a great vibe, and your optimism and enthusiasm for cycling are infectious.

Amazing ride! Another one for the long list 😀 I don't do well along drops with no barriers but can deal with that for views like that and no cars!!

great video! I took the train from Portland to Whitefish (minus the sleeper car) and rode to Glacier/Going to the Sun Road in 2015. It was such a fun ride! an amazing first day in my tour from Whitefish to Albuquerque, NM.

Excellent video , and inspiring Adventure ou there!

Jasper, yes you can change the tire after a flat if you carry a spare that is pre-glued or carry sealant.

One of my all time favorite rides.

Beautiful place, exciting ride, just so peaceful! Then to share with someone special makes it lovely! 😊

That place is gorgeous.

That’s probably one of the most beautiful places too experience a bike ride thanks you guys for the video I’m looking for a place too ride that has the Mountain View’s this hit the bucket list 👍

Wonderful bike trip Daniele Italy

So beautiful. Montana is truly the last best place. May god bless you both.

Glad you guys had an awesome time! Come back!

That looks absolutely beautiful

That lady with the Moots bike though!!

Sat here in the South of England, looks stunning we have nothing to compare although the Scots may beg to differ.

The Gorge is a great bike ride too

Incredible video, thanks for this! Never knew about this and now it's at the top of the list!

2:39 incredible shot man, the timing and readiness!

Great trip/video/ride! I like the color profile you gave the video. It feels nostalgic.

That looks like one to add to the bucket list! Thx for sharing 👍🏼

What a great video. We plan to visit after our cycling tour in Montana. I HOPE we'll be able to figure out how to ride there if it's open to cars then. But you guys ROCK. Well done! Thanks for the inspiration.

I'm leaving to ride from Calgary to Whitefish through Banff, Lake Louise, and Glacier next week. I'll be taking the train to Seattle and riding to Portland via Olympic National Park as well. Good to know I don't have to box my bike from Whitefish to Seattle. Super stoked but I refuse to watch the rest of your video because I'd rather see it in person! Thanks for the info!

Awesome fantastic adventure! Thanks for taking us along.

This is on my "to do" list. My cousins and I have discussed meeting there. They would be coming from Portland and I would be coming from the Twin Cities.

This video shows exactly why I love living in montana

One of the best videos you’ve do. Absolutely epic vistas. It’s on my bucket list 👍

What a stunning location...

AMAZING, always wanted to do this... thank you for posting this y'all!

Yes from Seattle

Wish you had included information onnthe expenses. Thank you very much. What beauty!

What an awesome trip! Train ride and bike ride combined. How good is good? Really good! :-)

Really enjoying these videos.

Beautiful ride

Gorgeous scenery and a great video!

Funny how taking a train in the US sounds like taking a flight: "Checking in" and "Boarding" ...

Wow! Great story and amazing footage!

Awesome video!

Bikes ,Amtrak ,Montana .. All Great :)

Looks like I've found a place to go after I graduate. Great video, one of the best y'all have done. Video idea: interview a local Randonneuring club.

Parabéns, vídeo sensacional e a qualidade das imagens ficou muito bom mesmo.

Great video. Would love to do this ride.

Great job with the video. Now I am planning a trip

great ride hope to do it sometime.

Awesomely done video and trip!

Wow, one of your best videos! (That I've watched)

Fantastic, you guys!

When in the “preseason” did you go and how did you select your dates? How does a person living 1000 miles away plan a trip so that the GTTSR is mostly clear, but not yet open to auto traffic?

I'm heading out to Glacier for some riding later this month. We're also taking Amtrak, but from Chicago. We'll start at East Glacier, ride to Rising Sun, camp, ride to Fish Creek, camp 2 nights, and then ride up to Polebridge, and stay the night in a cabin before riding to Whitefish and the return train ride home. Super excited! Question, do you have recommendations of how to dress for riding up the road? Was there a big difference in temps from the bottom to the top?

You've inspired me to go. Is it closed to cars always or only during certain times

looks awesome !

I want to experience this ❤️❤️❤️

I love it!

Video rocks, thanks.

I saw this and went to the Amtrak web site to find tix for me, my girlfriend and baby to go to Sun. I walked thru there 20 years ago; met a bear, she was empathetic, and quite deferential.

Love the images around 8:25

Such an epic vid! Thanks

another good video thank u for sharing

Awesome ride. What is the mtb being ridden. It looks good.

We are planning on riding Bikes on Going to the Sun Road in 10 days (5/20/21 through 5/22/21) any tricks to know what time each day the gate is open ? We will be there Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Thank you very much!

Thanks for the video. It's awesome! Just a question about bike box. After you assembled the bike in the destination, what did you do with the bike boxes? Saw them on top of the garbage bin...

Great Video! Thanks!!

Great video! Thank you! What bikes are you riding?

This is rad!

Does anyone know what kind of porteur rack Russ is using in this video? It looks nice!

Bucket listed. But is it a special event they close the road to motor vehicles or winter closures?

did you provide the bike box? I thought Amtrak now have bike racks?

great trip! Greetings from Germany. I`ve go a question about your feedbag at the handelbar. Where did you buy it or is it a creation by yourself?

WOW !!!!!!!!

Thank you for sharing this. What time of year did you go?

Awesome

That path you guys rode is it just for bikes or do vehicle drive on that road too.

Great video. Makes me want to do this ride as well. Is GNP closed to cars and only open to hikers and bikers on certain days/weeks?

That was amazing! Esp that you could go by train too. These videos make me want to get my wife into riding. She is interested, but is a little nervous about the saddle comfort. Any suggestions on a comfy saddle?

Exactly what times of the year did you guys do this? Is there a train possible from Seattle? Thanks!

Ive been wanting to do this trip too! what time of the year is best time to go? Im flying from Wisconsin, am I better off renting a bike or flying my bike with me?

It's a nice video. Why so many quick shots? Hold the shots so we can enjoy the views like you do on the bike. The quick edits detract from the video.

Really want to do this. What time of year do you go to have it car free? Thanks love the vids!

Do they hang on to the bike box for you at the train station?

spacehorse!