Through My Eyes: Cyclists flood Going-to-the-Sun road Saturday underneath the “supermoon”

My shoes hitting the pavement pounded out a nice rhythm, occasionally interrupted by the whizzing sound of bike spokes, or the purr of a car engine, I plodded up Going-to-the-Sun Road.

The “supermoon” bathed Glacier National Park in moonlight, and I, like hundreds of cyclists was there to see the park from a new perspective.

Unlike the cyclists climbing from the Loop to Logan’s Pass, I was on foot.

I first heard people biked the road during full moons when I moved to the Valley in September. It sounded like an incredible experience — to see the park lit up that way, and the road full of bikes instead of cars. However, I am not a cyclist. Bicycles and I don’t get along, and I have the scars to prove it.

When my friends decided to do the ride on Saturday, I wanted to be part of it. Dodging bicycles in a car, in the dark, on a narrow road, sounded stressful, so as they took off up the road on two wheels, I grabbed my tripod and my camera and went looking for some nighttime views. I knew being on foot was a disadvantage, and I’d never make it even close to the pass before my friends came back down. So rather than focusing on the destination, I focused on the journey.

The air was cool on my face, and the park was quiet. The moon held its imposing view over the peaks, illuminating the snow on others,

Going that slowly up the road you really get to notice things you miss when you drive —like the shape of the rock face on the sides, or the intricate ridges on the mountains.

I was stuck once again by how spectacular Glacier National Park is. It has the ability to seem completely different every time you visit.

At each turnout I came to I stopped and took photos. If you know much about photography, you know night photography is a whole different ballgame. The lack of light requires you leave the shutter open longer, which requires a tripod. Adding artificial light to a nighttime photo can drastically change the outcome — sometimes in an awesome way, and sometimes in a very not awesome way. A good nighttime photo requires more thought, more planning and more time. Because they can be such a pain, night scenes are something I rarely shoot.

From the turnouts I could look up the road and see the lights from the cyclists climbing up, and zooming down. With the slow shutter speed on my camera to compensate for the low light, the bike lights turned into streaks, winding back down the road.

By the third turnout (yeah, I didn’t make it very far) I’d forgotten I was supposed to be moving upwards and was fixated on taking pictures. Photography is so much part of my job these days it’s something I just do, rather than enjoy. But standing under a giant moon, amongst Glacier’s stunning peaks, I remembered why I fell in love with it in the first place.

I stood at that turnout so long cyclists passing me began to ask if I was okay. I was great. Just standing and experiencing the park in a new way, and taking photos just for fun, was exhilarating.

When my friends made it back to me they seemed just as exhilarated as I felt, blown away by Glacier’s majesty in the moonlight.

We drove out of the park at 1 a.m., exhausted, but all riding an adrenaline rush. My experience had been completely different, but it was still amazing.

If you haven’t experienced Glacier National Park bathed in moonlight I recommend doing it the next time the moon is full and impressive. If you love to bike, great, if you don’t, go anyway. Walk up the road, find your own way of experiencing the ride.