June 18, 2022
Day 28 - Silverthorne, Colorado to Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado
Bad Tummy/Good Scenery
We stayed at The Pad hostel in Silverthorne. We had a 4 bed (2 bunk beds) room with just the three of us. It was spotless as was the communal bathroom. Corey’s bed was made up inversely. The sheet was on top of the bed spread.
The lobby had a bar, and a pizza company set up outside. They made 10-inch pizzas to order. I had a pizza and two Viennese amber lagers. Just what I wanted. Or so I thought.
We retired to our room early because the lobby bar became very crowded mostly with locals gathering to listen to the live band. (This hostel really does have it all.)
As for sleep, I was up all night with tummy problems. Was it the beer? The runny huevos rancheros? The exertion at altitude? Covid? Monkeyrotovirus?
We had places to go so my tummy woes and sleep deprivation had to take a back seat to forward progress.
We rode to a local diner that Corey and Mark ate at in 2019. It was quite good. After a quick stop at Target for Clif bars for Mark and Pepto for me, we – clad in our cold weather gear – headed west along the scenic Blue River
The first thirty miles were downhill with a tailwind, except for a hilly (as in not mountainous) ride on a side road around a reservoir. Prior to the reservoir, we stopped to commemorate the site of Mark and Corey’s 2019 TransAm abandonment. From that point on we were all in unfamiliar riding territory.
The water level in the reservoir was shockingly low. I stopped at a high spot to change out of my cold weather gear. It took me 20 minutes to do, I was that wiped.
Not long after we rejoined the main road. I felt much better in shorts and a shirt. I managed a decent showing getting to the town of Kremmling.
We ate lunch (maybe the best cheese burger I’ve had in a decade) and verified that camping was unavailable in Hot Sulphur Springs, our planned destination. Mark worked his magic and secured us a two-bed motel room. Corey volunteered to sleep on floor.
On the way to Kremmling we lost 1,700 feet in elevation in 41 miles. The 17 1/2 miles to Hot Sulphur Springs seemed like a net downhill but we actually gained 300 feet from Kremmling.
The scenery did its best to keep my mind off my misery. Tall mountains with snow drooling down their faces were followed by scenes of meandering rivers, replete with fly fishermen. We crossed the Colorado River and the impressive Green Mountain dam. We even saw two TransAm racers and were duped by a third eastbound rider who appreciated our enthusiastic cheers.
Every five miles gave us a different landscape to admire.
I managed to pull myself together for about ten miles but the last five were not much fun.
If you are on Strava, you should follow Corey Kapteyn and Mark Ferwerda. They are taking scads of pictures.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Tomorrow we plan on another 60-mile day, this one featuring our third mountain pass and our second crossing of the Continental Divide.
Miles today: 59. Tour miles: 1,443.
Today's ride: 59 miles (95 km)
Total: 1,445 miles (2,326 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |