Two turns to four

We've certainly lost ourselves lately in the divide...it's been another two weeks since our last post, and jam packed full of adventure again. One theme we've learned lately is to expect and embrace the unexpected...

We last left off in Rawlins, where after writing our post, we sat down to one of the worst breakfasts on earth- the coffee was cold, half our food didn't show up, and the half that did was cold and drenched in grease. O, well, though- we can't indulge ourselves all the time, right? We spent the rest of day 37 running errands and then indulging in another fairly disgusting meal. We finally set off and glady bid adieu to Rawlins, traveling just 21 miles to Teton Reservoir, the last good water source for awhile. The campsite was drastically calm and pretty in comparison to the depressing sprawl of Rawlins.

Day 38 we were up before sunrise again, hoping to beat the construction traffic towards Colorado. We enjoyed another phenomenal sunrise show as we packed up and rode south. The next 42 miles were probably the worst of the entire ride- barreling headwinds, bumpy washboards, bleak and grey scenery,  and no water in sight. Eventually, and wonderfully, we spied the tree line that signaled water, no wind, and Colorado!! It was the end of the basin, and the beginning of more delightful scenery. Water was still sparse, and the designated campsite no longer had a creek running through. So, on we went, happening upon Belvedere Ditch (not on the map). We both snoozed by the creek for an hour or two, before settling in for dinner.

We woke up on Day 39 to one of the most bizarre and unexpected scenarios. A person would normally count sheep to fall asleep, and yet here we were, at 6 am, counting hundreds and hundreds of sheep barreling our way. We jumped out of the tent rubbing our eyes and shooing the sheep away before they managed to trample our tent....a very exciting end to Wyoming! We spent the day doing an easy 52 miles to Steamboat Lake, just so content to have entered in to Colorado and trees. We enjoyed some very delicious Mexican food, and relaxed by the lake with a nice campfire.

Ahead of schedule again, we cruised the 42 mile mostly downhill to Steamboat Springs, where we would eventually meet up with Josh's family. We were 2 days early, so we stayed with some fellow cyclists in town (thanks again for all the hospitality Rich and Sarah!), and ran all of our errands. The fam showed up on Friday morning, and it really was a spectacular weekend! We swam in the pool, played board games, explored the town and mostly just swapped stories. The family was intent on taking care of us, and they treated us to some truly great food. Sunday Josh and his dad made their traditional egg rolls....so, o, so good! His sister, Jenny, sent us off with no-bake cookies and homemade granola (which I ate way too quickly!). We went to sleep early on Sunday morning, all of us needing to take off early in the morning....and man did we wake up- at 12 am the fire alarm starting blasting in the entire building. We all literally jumped out of bed, confused and blurry eyed. Eventually, the alarm stopped. And then went off again at 2 am.

So, up we rose at 5 am on Day 45, all of us needing to leave, but awfully drowsy from the midnight alarms. Josh's dad treated us to yet another wonderful breakfast, after which we had to say our goodbyes. We returned to the hotel room, where we accidentally fell back asleep. Eventually we tore ourselves from the comforts of the condo, and rode off towards Lynx Pass. At Stagecoach Reservoir, we met another GDRer, Tre, the first we had seen headed south to the border. We chatted for what must have been an hour, before we eventually rode off again. A few minutes later, Tre caught up with us and we decided to make our duo a trio. We ended our day with 37 miles at the top of the pass. We indulged in a great campfire and talked and joked the night away. Truly a treat to have some company!

Day 46 sure was a day of adventure, and seemed to solidify our gang together. First thing in the morning we arrived at a creek we needed to ford. For some reason, we decided to walk upstream and cross at an incredibly deep section, instead of just walking across....we hefted our bikes up over our shoulders (50 lbs each?) and walked very slowly across waist deep water. There was one point where I started to fall and picked a rock to stare out while I breathed deeply and tried to catch my balance. On we went, trying to find the next turn on the map. Back and forth we went, looking for this road that just didn't seem to exist. What we did find, was the remains of an old logging road that was covered in fallen trees, holes and berms. We decided it must be the road, and a little bit confused, down we went. And what a disappointing downhill it was. Walking and carrying our bikes for miles over fallen trees was not our most favorite chore of the day. At one point I fell onto an annoyingly sharp rock, bruising my hip and my cheerfulness. Eventually we exited onto a real road and found our way back on route. Only later did the light bulb go off in my head that I had written down the addenda to the map- we should have taken another road to bypass the closed one....oops! Next in our adventurous day, was an awesome downhill towards Radium. Josh and I rode ahead while Tre filmed the descent. Tight switchbacks, sharp cliffs, and great views- so fun! After 44 miles we found ourselves in Kremmling, and at Hotel Easton. We shared a Hostel room in the basement (highly recommended), and the hotel owners cooked Josh and Tre a buttermilk pie (!). We spent another fun night of stories, grilled steak and probably way too much food.

It's always hard to wake up early after riding hard, and even harder to drag yourself out of a warm, clean bed. We rose late on Day 47, and treated ourselves to great breakfast. After finishing our meals, we had a surprise guest- Cjell, one of the Tour Divide racers. It was so fun to put a face to one of the racers that we had been following, and he gave us some great route advice and a fresh tube. Finally, we departed, with Josh developing a migraine. Halfway along we decided to nap and try to curb the headache next to a lake. Still not really subsiding, we kept going towards Silverthorne where we could at least check in to a hotel. We crested Ute Pass, and immediately saw the oncoming storm racing towards us. We donned our rain gear, and as soon as we started descending, were onslaught with rain, sleet and wind. We shivered our way into Silverthorne, after 54 miles, and warmed up at a chocolate shop. The cold seemed to have helped Josh's migraine, which was one bright side to the storm!

Day 48, 35 miles, was quite possibly my favorite section of the entire Divide. Immediately after leaving Silverthorne, we rode a paved bike path the entire way to Breckenridge. Paved. Bike path. Through Colorado beauty. I think you can imagine my joy. At one point I was so happy, I achieved my goal #3, riding with no hands. In Breckenridge we saw the incoming storm, and stalled and stalled, eating soup and muffins while we hoped to wait out the storm. Alas, we had to ride on and up. Boreas Pass was seriously a fun climb (an oxymoron?). It was a long, gradual climb, with such great views to distract your tired legs. 1/2 mile from the summit, the storm unleashed its fury. We huddled under a tree trying to warm up and wait for it to subside, but it didn't seem to. So we hurried up the last stretch, where we found shelter at the top under a slightly stinky outhouse roof. The temperature was definitely dropping, and there was snow/sleet on the ground. Already cold and wet, we figured we might as well make the "easy" 4 mile downhill to camp. It was not easy. I have never been so miserable riding downhill, with my muscles so cold I couldn't peddle, and my hands so frozen I couldn't squeeze my brakes. We immediately set up camp, changed into dry clothes, and slept for 2 hours. Still, the rain hadn't stopped, so we cooked dinner inside the campsite outhouse, trying to ignore the smell. After meeting a fellow camper, Brian, we tried to start a fire, to no avail. Giving up, we went back to bed, hoping for a sunny morning.

Up we rose on Day 49, with everything still damp, but the sun shining hopefully. We all laid our clothes out to dry and took our time eating breakfast. By the time we managed to get ready, it was already noon. We rode a fast and fun 6 miles downhill to Como, which had a great restaurant. We figured we might as well eat lunch since it was about that time. Eventually we started out, not really sure where we would be camping. The ensuing mileage was cold, wet, sandy, muddy, and bumpy. When we arrived in Hartsel, we were disappointed to find that there was no potable water, and the general store's food was covered in dust and dirt....We shared a gallon jug of water, and packed along canned soup, with nothing to eat for breakfast. We had been told we could camp along any of the creeks 2-3 miles outside of town, so off we went ready to set up camp and find water. We chased dry creek after dry creek, beginning to worry as we ran out of daylight and water. Our hopeful 40 mile day turned in to 65, when we eventually found water and camping along Badger Creek. We were exhausted, but the night was beautiful with brilliant stars, a blazing campfire, and howling coyotes. It was a good reminder that everything will turn out great, and even better when you remember to laugh at yourselves.

Yesterday, Day 50, we woke up to blessed sunshine. Finally, we began to dry out and warm up. The first half of our day was uphill, with a phenomenal downhill reward on the other side. It would be so easy to ride straight off the cliff with your eyes glued to the massive 14,000+ ft mountains across the valley. Whooping and hollering we cruised right into Salida and straight to the bike shop after an easy day of 27 miles. Our bikes were beginning to wear and tear, so we stocked up at Absolute Bikes (the best shop so far on the Divide), and chatted with the most amazingly friendly people. Outside the shop we met the legendary unicycler, Gen, that we had been following since Banff. He was about the set off towards Marshall Pass, but we convinced him to stay in town and share a room with us. Later that night, we came across another legend- Swinde, a German cyclist traveling from Patagonia to Alaska. So far she had been on the road for 20 months- her stories were beyond impressive. The 5 of us shared drinks and food. I really can't explain how uplifting it was to be around such inspiring people, and to just be enjoying their company.

So here we are today, Day 51, still in Salida. Tre, Gen, Josh and I all convinced each other to take a rest day here, and enjoy the town. Ridiculously nice people, great food, music, parks, rivers...hard to pass up! I'll sign off here to go join the boys at the park where they're enjoying some bluegrass music, and then eat another delicious helping of gluten free pizza. We realized today that we have exactly one month left, and we are going to squeeze every last ounce of fun from it! Tomorrow we'll head into a 3-4 day remote jaunt through the mountains with Tre and Gen, where we'll encounter the largest passes of the Divide. Stay tuned for pictures of what it looks like to mountain bike on a unicycle....

(Apologies for no pictures this time, we were way too distracted having fun! We promise to add some in Del Norte in 4 days).