Days 45-47: Rocky Mountain high
Day 45
We left our Rawlins motel late in the morning after working out a lot of trip-finishing logistics and rode on into the what would now be our last three days on the official Great Divide route.
As soon as we rolled out of our motel, we were hit by a relentless cross wind that stuck with us for the next seven hours as we climbed away from Rawlins, out of the desert and toward the continental divide. We took off our classy DaBrim helmet brims to prevent our heads from being blown sideways all day. I was amazed that the wind never let up for a single minute the whole time we were on the Rawlins side of the divide. On the plus side, the riding was beautiful.
...despite the long, grueling divide crossing.
(It was bigger and longer up close).
That night, after crossing out of the BLM lands and into the Medicine Bow National Forest, we arrived around dusk to our dispensed campsite by the Little Sandstone Creek. Ian and Tommy were camping there, too, and as we were arriving, they built a wonderful campfire!
Day 46
The next morning, we left our campsite and rode through a section of the forest road known as "Aspen Alley."
We rode out to Wyoming highway 70 and came across our four supported friends and their excellent support crew, whom we rode with for a little while (until they got ahead of us as per usual).
Highway 70 was a long, fast downhill ride that put us into Colorado in the metropolis of Slater.
There was not a state welcome sign, so I took a picture of the Slater, CO post office instead.
We took an oversize lunch break in a peaceful, shady spot by the Little Snake River and tried to find a place to stay two nights later in Steamboat Springs, CO, which we thought would be easy, but we were also forgetting that the rest of America was not on a calendar-less bicycle tour and were observing Labor Day that weekend. Everything appeared to be full, and there did not appear to be any good camping options within easy access of town. We tried reaching out to several potential hosts on warmshowers.org, but we had to leave messages and wait until the next time we had cell service to check them. It was a little stressful, and this was one of those times where we think we are really chill about whatever comes our way and ready to trust God with our needs, but then that gets tested, and we find out we still have some room for growth in that area.
After our long lunch break we started up the Slater creek watershed, where we saw some of the first oak trees I've seen since I don't know how long (Atlanta?), scrubby though they were. Around 5:30pm, we were planning to ride further into the evening to give ourselves a shorter day into Steamboat Springs the next day, when we passed by the Brush Mountain Lodge, where it turned out all our friends from recent days were staying. They beckoned us in, and the proprietor Kirsten came over and welcomed us with a hug and a freshly cooked wood stove pizza, and they all begged us to stay. We protested that we needed to get further down the road to shorten the next day's mileage, which included a significant climb up a steep mountain, but then Kirsten said she had an extra indoor cabin for us at the cyclist rate of half-price and could cook us breakfast in the morning. We were sold. We also felt more comfortable making this decision since Leslie and Jeff generously offered for us to stay with them in Steamboat Springs if we did not find a place to stay before we got there.
Throughout this trip bike trip, Pilgrim's Progress parallels keep coming to mind along the way as we meet different people and experience different things that remind us of Christian's experiences. But we were hoping this was not a Vanity Fair but rather a Pleasant Arbor or a Palace Beautiful where pilgrims can go to find rest (before climbing the Delectable Mountains the next day). We think it was more of the latter :)
We were really glad we stayed. It was great hanging out with our new riding friends Ian, Tommy, Chuck, Miles, Lars, and Hans, and the excellent support crew Jeff and Leslie. We also met Malcolm, another Divide rider from England, who was laying over at the Brush Mountain Lodge for a few days. The dinner was great, the room and shower were great, the HOT TUB was great, and we got a great night's rest.
But the big question was: where are Ari and Kirsten? (our Australian friends whom we met on Day 1) We had not seen them since Glacier N.P. We asked the proprietor (also named Kirsten) if she had seen them yet, and she had not. We suspect they may be nearby, though.
Day 47
The next morning, Kirsten made us a huge, delicious breakfast to start the day.
After breakfast, we said good-byes to our great riding friends and excellent support friends we had made over the last few days, not knowing if we would see them again later in the day. This was our last day on the official route, and it was the same for Miles, Chuck, Lars, and Hans. Ian and Tommy would continue on beyond Steamboat.
After we left, we rode further up the Slater Creek watershed before beginning a very abrupt, very steep 1.5-mile climb up the infamous "Watershed Divide." Actually I'm not sure how infamous it is, but I think this climb was the reason our map provided an alternate route around this area (which we did not take).
After a challenging but rewarding climb (which included its share of huffing, puffing, and pushing), we crested the Watershed Divide near Meaden Peak and found Lars, Miles, and Chuck!
I'm pretty sure this was the highest point we pedaled to on our trip so far at 9,840 ft, hence the title of this post (though we were in Colorado during this part of the route, we did not partake of their new state plant ;) ).
We rambled down the steep, rocky descent into the Elk River watershed on the other side of the divide (not to be confused with the Elk River whose valley we rode through for several days in British Columbia) then continued downhill on a fast paved road all the way to the Clark Store -- a combination general store, post office, library, liquor store, and ice cream shop -- where we found Ian and Tommy again and ate lunch in the shade while we hung out with them for the last time on the trip.
While we were at the store, we got cell service and learned that a warmshowers.org host had offered to host us in Steamboat Springs. From the store, we rode on into Steamboat, which was mostly downhill and relatively quick, and soon arrived at our host Richard's house. It was really nice getting to stay with him and his wife, and they live right near the edge of downtown Steamboat. This was the end of our ride on Adventure Cycling's Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. We had a date night in downtown Steamboat where we got world-class milkshakes at Johnny B Good's Diner (thanks to Richard's recommendation), bought food supplies for the next several days at Natural Grocers, and had dinner at Mountain Tap Brewing.
A hot spring bubbling in a city park in downtown Steamboat -- a much different setting than the hot springs we saw in Yellowstone.
We slept great in our soft, indoor bed for the second night in a row (!) and were ready for the last leg of our bike trip on paved roads from Steamboat Springs to Denver via Rocky Mountain National Park.
We left our Rawlins motel late in the morning after working out a lot of trip-finishing logistics and rode on into the what would now be our last three days on the official Great Divide route.
As soon as we rolled out of our motel, we were hit by a relentless cross wind that stuck with us for the next seven hours as we climbed away from Rawlins, out of the desert and toward the continental divide. We took off our classy DaBrim helmet brims to prevent our heads from being blown sideways all day. I was amazed that the wind never let up for a single minute the whole time we were on the Rawlins side of the divide. On the plus side, the riding was beautiful.
...despite the long, grueling divide crossing.
(It was bigger and longer up close).
That night, after crossing out of the BLM lands and into the Medicine Bow National Forest, we arrived around dusk to our dispensed campsite by the Little Sandstone Creek. Ian and Tommy were camping there, too, and as we were arriving, they built a wonderful campfire!
Day 46
The next morning, we left our campsite and rode through a section of the forest road known as "Aspen Alley."
We rode out to Wyoming highway 70 and came across our four supported friends and their excellent support crew, whom we rode with for a little while (until they got ahead of us as per usual).
Highway 70 was a long, fast downhill ride that put us into Colorado in the metropolis of Slater.
There was not a state welcome sign, so I took a picture of the Slater, CO post office instead.
We took an oversize lunch break in a peaceful, shady spot by the Little Snake River and tried to find a place to stay two nights later in Steamboat Springs, CO, which we thought would be easy, but we were also forgetting that the rest of America was not on a calendar-less bicycle tour and were observing Labor Day that weekend. Everything appeared to be full, and there did not appear to be any good camping options within easy access of town. We tried reaching out to several potential hosts on warmshowers.org, but we had to leave messages and wait until the next time we had cell service to check them. It was a little stressful, and this was one of those times where we think we are really chill about whatever comes our way and ready to trust God with our needs, but then that gets tested, and we find out we still have some room for growth in that area.
After our long lunch break we started up the Slater creek watershed, where we saw some of the first oak trees I've seen since I don't know how long (Atlanta?), scrubby though they were. Around 5:30pm, we were planning to ride further into the evening to give ourselves a shorter day into Steamboat Springs the next day, when we passed by the Brush Mountain Lodge, where it turned out all our friends from recent days were staying. They beckoned us in, and the proprietor Kirsten came over and welcomed us with a hug and a freshly cooked wood stove pizza, and they all begged us to stay. We protested that we needed to get further down the road to shorten the next day's mileage, which included a significant climb up a steep mountain, but then Kirsten said she had an extra indoor cabin for us at the cyclist rate of half-price and could cook us breakfast in the morning. We were sold. We also felt more comfortable making this decision since Leslie and Jeff generously offered for us to stay with them in Steamboat Springs if we did not find a place to stay before we got there.
Throughout this trip bike trip, Pilgrim's Progress parallels keep coming to mind along the way as we meet different people and experience different things that remind us of Christian's experiences. But we were hoping this was not a Vanity Fair but rather a Pleasant Arbor or a Palace Beautiful where pilgrims can go to find rest (before climbing the Delectable Mountains the next day). We think it was more of the latter :)
We were really glad we stayed. It was great hanging out with our new riding friends Ian, Tommy, Chuck, Miles, Lars, and Hans, and the excellent support crew Jeff and Leslie. We also met Malcolm, another Divide rider from England, who was laying over at the Brush Mountain Lodge for a few days. The dinner was great, the room and shower were great, the HOT TUB was great, and we got a great night's rest.
But the big question was: where are Ari and Kirsten? (our Australian friends whom we met on Day 1) We had not seen them since Glacier N.P. We asked the proprietor (also named Kirsten) if she had seen them yet, and she had not. We suspect they may be nearby, though.
Day 47
The next morning, Kirsten made us a huge, delicious breakfast to start the day.
After breakfast, we said good-byes to our great riding friends and excellent support friends we had made over the last few days, not knowing if we would see them again later in the day. This was our last day on the official route, and it was the same for Miles, Chuck, Lars, and Hans. Ian and Tommy would continue on beyond Steamboat.
After we left, we rode further up the Slater Creek watershed before beginning a very abrupt, very steep 1.5-mile climb up the infamous "Watershed Divide." Actually I'm not sure how infamous it is, but I think this climb was the reason our map provided an alternate route around this area (which we did not take).
After a challenging but rewarding climb (which included its share of huffing, puffing, and pushing), we crested the Watershed Divide near Meaden Peak and found Lars, Miles, and Chuck!
I'm pretty sure this was the highest point we pedaled to on our trip so far at 9,840 ft, hence the title of this post (though we were in Colorado during this part of the route, we did not partake of their new state plant ;) ).
We rambled down the steep, rocky descent into the Elk River watershed on the other side of the divide (not to be confused with the Elk River whose valley we rode through for several days in British Columbia) then continued downhill on a fast paved road all the way to the Clark Store -- a combination general store, post office, library, liquor store, and ice cream shop -- where we found Ian and Tommy again and ate lunch in the shade while we hung out with them for the last time on the trip.
While we were at the store, we got cell service and learned that a warmshowers.org host had offered to host us in Steamboat Springs. From the store, we rode on into Steamboat, which was mostly downhill and relatively quick, and soon arrived at our host Richard's house. It was really nice getting to stay with him and his wife, and they live right near the edge of downtown Steamboat. This was the end of our ride on Adventure Cycling's Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. We had a date night in downtown Steamboat where we got world-class milkshakes at Johnny B Good's Diner (thanks to Richard's recommendation), bought food supplies for the next several days at Natural Grocers, and had dinner at Mountain Tap Brewing.
A hot spring bubbling in a city park in downtown Steamboat -- a much different setting than the hot springs we saw in Yellowstone.
We slept great in our soft, indoor bed for the second night in a row (!) and were ready for the last leg of our bike trip on paved roads from Steamboat Springs to Denver via Rocky Mountain National Park.
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