More June 16 (rest day in Rawlins)
While walking back from the Carbon County Library after the last post, I ran into two mountainbikers named Kevin (son) and Bob (dad) riding north on the continental divide trail. They seemed to be in good spirits, and the wind blowing from the southwest was helping them along the way. They also met Tyler (from Dubois to Lander ride), who was staying at a hotel near ours. Unfortunately we didn't catch up with him, but it seems like he's moving along quickly.
June 17: 112 miles from Rawlins, WY, to Walden, CO
The day started with a strong tailwind that blew us east along the interstate, but this turned into a crosswind as we turned south. The wind blew very strong and did not give us a rest all day. A crosswind isn't as bad as a headwind, but it still slows you down and tries to throw you off balance when blowing 20 mph. The scenery wasn't very good, either, until we got to Colorado.
Despite the elevation, there were still plenty of cow pastures and standing water, which meant that mosquitos were abundant in Colorado. This is motivation to keep moving, and this was necessary for such a long ride. Also, restaurants in small towns like Walden close early. We had a very nice dinner, though, at the one restaurant that was open.
Along the road, we met several cyclists:
1) An older couple from Belgium who claimed to be famous. This was later confirmed by the group in (4). They were riding the Trans-Am from East to West
2) Trey, a college grad taking a year off between college and medical school (Texas Tech) riding north to British Columbia from San Antonio. His plan was to then ride south into California.
3) A guy named Dave from New Jersey, who was maybe in his late 20s. He was riding East to West along the Trans-Am currently. He started from Jersey, worked his way down to Virginia, and was doing the Trans-Am plus spent some extended time biking all over Colorado. His sister lives in Portland, and he's hoping to find a job there as well.
4) A couple riding towards Missoula before going along the Norther Tier route. The guy has been riding around 6000 miles, and the girl joined his ride and has put in 1500. He talked about the gray area between riding around the country and being homeless, and how he wasn't sure where he stood along the continuum.
June 18: 78 miles from Walden, CO, to Kremmling, CO
The original plan called for us to ride 120 miles from Walden to Silverthorne, CO, but after the previous day's ride we decided that this was too much. The trip to Silverthorne would be cut short, and we will make up the miles on some other days where we could afford the extra miles. In addition to the wind and hills, the road had large cracks in it that were definitely bad for the bikes and not too comfy on our butts. This had persisted throughout Wyoming and in our brief tour through Colorado.
The morning started with a continental breakfast at the motel, which had plenty to eat so we were happy (2 bagels, yogurt, applesauce, and a muffin for me - and I was hungry less than 2 hrs later). The ride began with a mild uphill plus a climb up the Willow Creek Pass (9,683 feet), which really wasn't bad. We enjoyed some sandwiches at the top, although we got a little bit of rain that cooled us down. Surprisingly there were mosquitos at this elevation! I couldn't believe it. This is where the rain was actually useful, because it took care of our mosquito problem.
The rain stopped shortly before we began descending from the pass. We descended for 18 miles, although at times we found a powerful headwind that would slow us down to 10 mph. After this descent was a 20-mile ride directly west to Kremmling. This was technically downhill as we lost elevation, but the wind was blowing so strong that it was a fight for every yard. We were glad to have made it to Kremmling, despite the improvement in road quality that our westward turn provided.
We arrived in time for Larry to check out the bike shop. He had a broken spoke in his rear wheel, which isn't good to ride with anyways, much less if you're riding long distances over questionable roads with a BOB trailer pushing down on the rear wheel hub.
June 19: 48 miles from Kremmling, CO, to Keystone, CO
After several recommendations from the townsfolk, we had breakfast at The Moose. It was pretty good, although nothing spectacular. The weather was great, though, and there was NO WIND! These conditions lasted all day and made for a smooth ride up to Keystone, which sits around 9000 feet of elevation.
We arrived at the Leichnetz residence around 12:45, and were greeted warmly by George and Athalie. Bella, the 2-year-old yellow lab, wasn't too keen on the bikes and BOBs, but she warmed up after we changed and provided some scratches. We ate lunch outdoors on the deck and for the rest of the day actually felt like we were on vacation. I ate 3 sandwiches, Larry ate 2, and we had plenty of chips with the special dip that Athalie makes. Grapes were also provided, and fruit has become a real treasure to plunder when available.
We were chauffered to several bike shops before finding one that could replace Larry's spoke. They were selling the spokes for a whopping $1 each, so he bought a few of them since the bladed spokes are tough to come by for a given wheel set. I got some new tires, as well.
Following the tour of bike shops, we checked out some of the gorgeous scenery in the area. Keystone, Breckenridge, Silverthorne, Dillon, and Frisco are all very close to each other and are somewhat centered around Dillon Reservoir. This is a 27-mile lake that adds even more beauty to this mountainous resort area. It makes for some nice pictures, I might add. We then headed up to the Loveland Pass, which sits at 11,990 feet. This is the highest we've been on the trip, and is higher than the Hoosier Pass, which is the highest point to which we'll ride (and is coming up tomorrow). Ooh, and the scenery isn't bad from up there.
Following the high bar set by today's lunch, Athalie and George cooked a wonderful dinner for us. I could probably write paragraphs about it, but I'd simply like to emphasize that it's nice to get a home-cooked meal complete with peach pie a la mode.
Pictures from Keystone
June 18, Ride from Walden to Kremmling
June 17, Ride from Rawlins, WY, to Walden, CO
Trey, the soon-to-be medical student
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