Day 42, 40 miles
We left Steamboat rested and refreshed. Unfortunately we forgot to get a picture of Chris, Glenn and family. With new tires on a couple of the wheels and Glenn's tune up on Ina's bike we rode north. We had our first lunch of the trip with the convenience of a store, what a treat to get cold drinks and ice cream for or midday meal. It made leaving town a little easier. We started running into more riders doing the race as as we are now meeting riders in the middle of the pack, who are more chatty and talkative. From one rider we are asked to pass on a message to Matthew Lee, who is hosting riders at Brush Mountain Ranch a days ride away. Matthew Lee is a legend and the "star" and winner of the movie "Ride the Divide". He has raced the divide and won more than any other rider and he is a "Hero" to many. We had been planning to ride an alternative route but Matthew is on the main route, which includes another pass, so we start the climb. We summit the climb and start a wickedly steep downhill before making camp in a the trees. A not so long day, but after a late start, we are feeling good. We curse the bugs and seek shelter in the tents after eating and providing a meal as well.
We left Steamboat rested and refreshed. Unfortunately we forgot to get a picture of Chris, Glenn and family. With new tires on a couple of the wheels and Glenn's tune up on Ina's bike we rode north. We had our first lunch of the trip with the convenience of a store, what a treat to get cold drinks and ice cream for or midday meal. It made leaving town a little easier. We started running into more riders doing the race as as we are now meeting riders in the middle of the pack, who are more chatty and talkative. From one rider we are asked to pass on a message to Matthew Lee, who is hosting riders at Brush Mountain Ranch a days ride away. Matthew Lee is a legend and the "star" and winner of the movie "Ride the Divide". He has raced the divide and won more than any other rider and he is a "Hero" to many. We had been planning to ride an alternative route but Matthew is on the main route, which includes another pass, so we start the climb. We summit the climb and start a wickedly steep downhill before making camp in a the trees. A not so long day, but after a late start, we are feeling good. We curse the bugs and seek shelter in the tents after eating and providing a meal as well.
Day 43, 48 miles.
We start the day by meeting another rider on the race. Then we continue the downhill towards Wyoming. The miles go by and before we know it we are hanging out with Matthew Lee. He is a mild mannered, soft spoken man who has an amazing memory of all of the route. At one point we are talking about a stretch of the ride in New Mexico and he knew exactly where it was describing the surroundings and the trail. He shared watermelon, water and stories before we left for the few last miles of Colorado. Matthew wrote each kid a note in their journals, very sweet, and wished us well. Very cool meeting to met the man we had watched in the movie and had talked about with others and among ourselves so many times on the ride.
The ride was a mix of up and down and we soon found ourselves in Wyoming. No signs, no change just a new state. Yippee!!
We hit pavement and then climbed for 17 miles on the quietest stretch of pavement ever. we got passed by less than a dozen vehicles all afternoon. quite a treat to ride pavement with no traffic.. Ah pavement!!!!
We finished our day by riding thru Aspen Alley, which is being logged as I type this. For all the hype of Aspen Alley I think on of our stretches earlier in the day thru the Aspens was more beautiful and some stretch not affected by the caterpillars in New Mexico were just as, if not more beautiful. We stop short of the edge of the basin or tree line for water and camp and provide another meal to the biting and blood sucking bugs.
Not to bad of a day,...Shade, water, little wind and we all fall asleep as the sunlight fades.
Day 44, 58 miles.
The theory is it's down hill to Rawlins, but we start the day with an uphill. Granted we do loose more than we gain but we earning our downhills. The wind picks up as we ride and we are blessed by tailwinds and sidewinds. the sidewinds send us skittering across the rode, causing Maya to lay her bike down at one point. Wiley won't ride downwind from me after a close call of a gust of wind sending me across the road and almost into him. We ride and walk as some of the hills and loose gravel and sand send us into a slow grind, and if one person dismounts we often find the rest of us following suit. why wait at the top when you can converse/pant on the way up.
We meet a few more racers who are all struggling against the headwind, some think that we have no idea what head winds are like and I grin and laugh and explain that we are all too familiar with the blasted wind. The family will blast right by the riders if we are on a downhill with a tail wind, where I am stopping to chat, I explain that we have learned to make the most of the wind and downhills as it is a rare thing for them to be in unison. We ride, we sail and we get buffeted as we spin/grind the 58 miles into Rawlins... Yippee a rest day!
We'll start the great divide basin soon, a stretch of wind, sand and no water, sounds like new mexico, the only difference is the temps are now in the 90's. Hopefully the wind gods will be kind to us and we'll be able to make the miles we need to.. Water will again be the issue... the question is how much do we haul, at the expense of speed/distance or do we haul food and water for a longer crossing. We are thinking we'll go light and push the milage... now we need the wind to push or die as headwinds will crush our mileage...
Till our next update
cheers
We start the day by meeting another rider on the race. Then we continue the downhill towards Wyoming. The miles go by and before we know it we are hanging out with Matthew Lee. He is a mild mannered, soft spoken man who has an amazing memory of all of the route. At one point we are talking about a stretch of the ride in New Mexico and he knew exactly where it was describing the surroundings and the trail. He shared watermelon, water and stories before we left for the few last miles of Colorado. Matthew wrote each kid a note in their journals, very sweet, and wished us well. Very cool meeting to met the man we had watched in the movie and had talked about with others and among ourselves so many times on the ride.
The ride was a mix of up and down and we soon found ourselves in Wyoming. No signs, no change just a new state. Yippee!!
We hit pavement and then climbed for 17 miles on the quietest stretch of pavement ever. we got passed by less than a dozen vehicles all afternoon. quite a treat to ride pavement with no traffic.. Ah pavement!!!!
We finished our day by riding thru Aspen Alley, which is being logged as I type this. For all the hype of Aspen Alley I think on of our stretches earlier in the day thru the Aspens was more beautiful and some stretch not affected by the caterpillars in New Mexico were just as, if not more beautiful. We stop short of the edge of the basin or tree line for water and camp and provide another meal to the biting and blood sucking bugs.
Not to bad of a day,...Shade, water, little wind and we all fall asleep as the sunlight fades.
Day 44, 58 miles.
The theory is it's down hill to Rawlins, but we start the day with an uphill. Granted we do loose more than we gain but we earning our downhills. The wind picks up as we ride and we are blessed by tailwinds and sidewinds. the sidewinds send us skittering across the rode, causing Maya to lay her bike down at one point. Wiley won't ride downwind from me after a close call of a gust of wind sending me across the road and almost into him. We ride and walk as some of the hills and loose gravel and sand send us into a slow grind, and if one person dismounts we often find the rest of us following suit. why wait at the top when you can converse/pant on the way up.
We meet a few more racers who are all struggling against the headwind, some think that we have no idea what head winds are like and I grin and laugh and explain that we are all too familiar with the blasted wind. The family will blast right by the riders if we are on a downhill with a tail wind, where I am stopping to chat, I explain that we have learned to make the most of the wind and downhills as it is a rare thing for them to be in unison. We ride, we sail and we get buffeted as we spin/grind the 58 miles into Rawlins... Yippee a rest day!
We'll start the great divide basin soon, a stretch of wind, sand and no water, sounds like new mexico, the only difference is the temps are now in the 90's. Hopefully the wind gods will be kind to us and we'll be able to make the miles we need to.. Water will again be the issue... the question is how much do we haul, at the expense of speed/distance or do we haul food and water for a longer crossing. We are thinking we'll go light and push the milage... now we need the wind to push or die as headwinds will crush our mileage...
Till our next update
cheers