Originally Posted by
raybo
I didn't miss your earlier post. It was recommended that I ride Going to the Sun road East to West and I am trying to create a route that allows that. This means coming into Glacier NP from the east, which is why I created the route from Missoula going east.
Another option is fly into Kalispell and the ride Going to the Sun road in both directions or blowing off the recommendation and riding it West to East.
Any thoughts on this?
From West Glacier (Apgar) campground to Logan Pass is 29.3 mi, 4,060' climb.
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2343111
From St Mary campground to Logan Pass is 17.0 mi, 2,610' climb.
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2343122
W2E is more difficult by 12mi/1400'.
If you start from Avalanche campground, Logan Pass is 15.8 mi / 3,550', which is shorter than SM->LP, but average steeper grade. If you depart Avalanche at 0700, you should make Logan Pass before the 1100 "no bikes climbing GTTSR deadline" - that's averaging <4 mph. It takes most bicyclists <3 hrs to cover this distance (according to GNP), but many of them are not loaded for touring. If you were worried about making the deadline, you could ask a motorist stopped at The Loop to carry your bags (minus valuables) with them to Logan Pass, and make the rest of the climb unloaded.
It makes sense to detour to avoid difficult climbs to some extent, but I think in this case, starting at Missoula and traveling >200 miles to avoid 1400 feet of additional climbing in a single morning is not the best choice, if this is your primary reason for starting in Missoula.