Scott and Ian's Dangerous Ride

During breakfast at an Idaho cafe, Ian Ladomer saw a chilling newspaper article.

"Hiker mauled by grizzly," the headline said. There was a photo of the man, hospitalized with tubes in his nose. The bear had bit him in the head.

Ian showed the ominous article to Scott Ashton.

The Michigan men, biking across the northern United States on densely wooded roads, were jittery about grizzlies in the Northwest. If one approaches you, they'd been told, lie in the fetal position, protect your neck with your hands, and play dead. Hardly reassuring.

When they reached Idaho's Priest Lake ranger station, they learned the route ahead, near the Canadian border, would take them through six miles of road long closed to re-establish grizzly habitat. But it was that or the interstate.

The sun was setting when they reached the gate, posted CLOSED.

"This is it," Scott said. Apprehensive, they took their mountain bikes around the barrier—and pedaled fast into the netherworld.

Suddenly, the rocky road narrowed to a path a few feet wide, with thick growth on either side. If a grizzly was in that tangle, they'd be right on top of it before they knew it.

"Hey, bears!" Scott yelled, hoping to frighten them off. "Coming through! Don't mind us!"

"Nice woods you've got here!" Ian joined in.

Adrenaline surged through their veins as they longed for the end of this frightening gauntlet. Soon they ran out of things to yell.

Ian began singing loudly.

"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip—that started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship...

And then: "Come and knock on our door! We've been waiting for you!..."

And, you know, it worked. They reached the other gate—oh, blessed gate!— without so much as a whiff of a bear.

That was six weeks ago, 10 days into their trip. Now, almost 3,000 miles since they left the Seattle area—where they flew with their bikes in August—Scott, 26, and Ian, 25, friends since grade school, have reached northern Michigan.

This week, they're biking home to Grosse Ile. The trip, just for the fun of it, has been a good one, they say, but they wish they'd seen more wildlife.

This story originally appeared in The Detroit Free Press and has been published here for portfolio purposes only. The photo is not the original photo.