Well let's start this post by just saying steamboat springs is an awesome little town. I would love to go back there for the ski season. While we were in town Jeff (he who cycles in flip flops) and Colin (another divide rider who pulled into our mad max campsite after dark) both showed up and took rest days there as well. This made for a cool time swapping trail war stories, with a visit to the hot springs for sore legs (and numerous failed attempts at their climbing wall), and huge portions of Mexican food with equally sized huge glasses of margherita. Although as Jeff pointed out the huge martini glasses made it look like the best girls night out ever.
While in town I also took my bike for a new rear tyre and a check up. Well the drive chain was so worn I ended up with a new cassette, New chain, New middle chain ring, New rear wheel bearings, and a new tyre. The labour was super cheap though and the guys super helpful. But I spent a couple of hundred dollars on parts. Damn Wyoming desert sand!
However eventually we managed to leave the delights of steamboat behind. And boy is Colorado pretty this time of year. The colours as the trees change just keep getting better and better.
The first day out of town was a pretty easy day as well, gaining 2000 ft of elevation with virtually no effort somehow. Which brought us up lynx pass, where fortunately the forest service campsite we had been told was closed had reopened. And pretty nice it was too. However I have never camped as high as 9000(ish) ft before. It does mean staying in your tent till it warms up a bit in the morning for sure.
Well if you set off from a pass you expect the next day to start with some nice downhill right? Not really. In fact the whole next morning had a flat profile, which just disguised some viciously steep but short rolls up and down in the country. However a river fording provided a fun distraction. But if the weather hadn't been so sunny I think I may have been cursing. The Ford had, with some beaver help I think, got pretty deep. All the same I took off my shoes and socks, bundled them on the bike and waded through the icy water. I got some soggy shorts for my efforts but it was pretty cool. Of course on the other side, the one time I was bare foot, that's when a snake decided to come slithering towards me. Luckily he was just heading for the bush behind me.
At last we did reach a descent, which was a real enjoyable technical descent with some sharp bends ready to throw you off the mountain. Most stunning of all though was the view. A whole valley of trails below us, and the mighty Colorado river winding is way through. And as we descended the pine trees suddenly disappeared and the smell of sage and warm earth at once filled the air. A real striking change between elevations.
Later that night we pulled into kremmling, and met up with Colin. What I will remember most about that place was going for breakfast at the moose cafe and ordering moose cakes. These are pancakes but so damn big that only a moose (or Colin who is tiny and like some kind of unbelievable magic trick when it comes to making food disappear) could eat a serving.
Straight out of kremmling we road up the Colorado river, and again without too much effort reached the top of Ute Pass. The descent down will stay with me for ever. Just stunning mountain views, with gold, green, Orange and Amber all going by in a blur at 35/40mph. All the time I was whooping and hollering with the joy of it all. Simply awesome.
And now I'm in Silverthorne, which appears to be little more than a shopping outlet of a town. But I found a hostel, and its a little odd, but hey for twenty bucks I got a bed and a free meal, and watched college football. Notre Dame hammered Michigan state if you're wondering.
And now it's time to get on the bike again. Today I should pass through the up market and super expensive ski town of Breckenridge, and also to the top of Boreas pass. Eleven and a half thousand feet. New territory for me on a bike. Here goes!
Photos: for my mum (a ski jump fan for some reason) a picture of the ski jump in steamboat. The sheep with the two horses was hilarious, he clearly had no idea he wasn't some kind of thoroughbred stallion either. And you can see how dry a summer they have had here, with the boat launch on the reservoir completely out of the water.
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