On July 10th I did 60.7 miles to Routt National Forest. On July 11th I did 62.6 miles and camped along the Yampa River. On July 12th I did 68.9 miles to Williams Fork Resevoir. On July 13 I did 66.4 miles to Boreas Pass Road. On July 14th I did 68.1 Miles to Ute Trail. On July 15th I did 21.7 Miles to Salida. On July 16th I took a zero.
Listen to “Green Onion” by Booker T & the M.G.’s. I’ve finally hit my groove and this song’s keyboard helps me pump up the mountains. The Blues Brothers covered this song, and I’d like to think I’m an honorary Blues Brother since I'm on a mission from God and I hate Nazis. I probably don’t do enough drugs to be a real member but I do order 4 whole fried chickens and a coke when I get to town.
After leaving Rawlins, WY I went through another section of desert before I started to hit patches of Aspen. Aspen grow above 6,000 feet on the Divide and require more water than most trees meaning i’m going up in elevation and will be in more hospitable environment! I took my time heading towards Steamboat Springs, CO. I could have pushed and done it in two-days but decided to be a little more chill about it and did it in 3. It felt good to enter Colorado and get back into the mountains, the only downside is the amount of mosquitoes out right now require me to put extra stakes down for my tent to make sure they don't carry it away. I also hit one of the head waters of the Colorado River. I believe it was the North Fork of the CO and I had to take a picture next to it since it was barley bigger than a creek but when I was on the Hayduke a 1000 miles away it was a formidable force that defined the area.
It now seems like a given that I have to stop into a bike store every town stop. I burned through another chain and had to get a replacement in Steamboat. Steamboat is a cool town and I could have stayed there for awhile but I knew I was going to take a zero in Salida so I just did my chores and rolled out.
I’ve been on mostly forest roads but had a few sections of pavement which wasn’t that fun. Colorado drivers are surprisingly assholes to bikers; really clean Tacomas and Subarus with “Coexist” and Human Right stickers love to buzz me. You would think the fresh mountain air and copious amounts of weed would make Colorado drivers chill, but I guess nothing can trump the entitlement that comes with a trust fund.
I'm back in big pass territory and I am doing 1 or 2 passes a day and Im finally feeling strong (ish), it has taken me 1700 miles to get my body in shape and to better understand what routines I need to do everyday to not be completley fatigued. I can throw myself at a trail and push through just about anything on foot, but on bike I have developed a dozen practices that all seem to be critical to my journey, some of the practices includes timed salt intake, timed chain lubrication, timed water breaks, timed naps (that’s my favorite one) and timed stretching. I’m hoping the last third of the trail will go a little easier if I can stick to my routines.
While the drivers in Colorado suck (on the CDT Colorado was the hardest state to hitch in) the people in towns are amazing. When I roll into a town people know exactly what i’m doing, what passes i’ve been on and what passes i’m going to be going over and a bunch know who won the race. I once started to leave town the wrong way and a lady sprinted after me to let me I was going the wrong direction. When I was in Silverthorne I saw a guy with an Ohio flag sticker on his bike so I had to talk to him. His name is Steve and he is a local who does supported rides across America to raise money (his website is https://onthevertigo.org/) he has ridden from Denver to Columbus and is also sponsored by Reser Cycles in Newport (they are a great bike shop). We talked for awhile and he gave me directions out of town. He rides an e-bike since pedaling a standard bike 100 miles a day doesn't work with his disease. He wanted to see me out of town to make sure I didn't get lost and we switched bikes for the 10 minutes ride. I have to say riding an E bike was fun, and I was able to really enjoy myself on it. Maybe next time i’ll get an E bike, or better yet a motorcycle.
