June 7, 2017
Hayden-Yampa, CO: CR 27 is my new favorite road
Yampa elevation - 7,881 feet. High point for the day - 7,881 feet.
This link takes you to an interesting blog post that convinced me to stay at the Van Camp Cabins. http://chasingbirds.org/2014/06/28/the-cost-of-a-just-okay-day/
Don't presume that because the google guy doesn't look at it, that the road is dirt. I had presumed the ten miles of county road the google doesn't show was dirt. It finally occurred to me to call someone who knows - the county road and bridge. It took less than 30 seconds for Carol to let me know that all of county road 27 is paved. End of discussion. Or so I thought.
Over dinner last night we talked about the merits of riding more miles with less climbing vs taking the county road, where the bumps aren't smoothed over. More climbing, but more pleasant riding. The choices are, our original route. 38 miles with 3,600 feet of climbing, all on county roads. Basically, uphill all day. Or 55 miles with 2,500 feet of climbing, all on main highways and passing through Steamboat Springs (tourist town with services).
I can tell you for sure I am for county roads, services or not. It remains to be seen what the guys decide. We have a 7 AM departure for everyone but Jacinto. He has allowed he will leave earlier because of the climbing. Now he knows it's a paved road, he's taking the country route.
Let's see what the final choices are.
Edit - that was all written from Hayden where we had lightning fast wi-fi. This is being written at the delightful Van Camp Cabins - no wi-fi. But Joe has showed me how to tether with Jacinto's phone.
Going this early in the season was a gamble with weather. It has paid off in that everything is nice and green from all of the spring rain. Even the country between Maybell and Craig was green.
On to today- The guys went to Wild Goose Coffee in the morning for breakfast at 6:15 (this did not include Jacinto at that hour). Steve commented that the little bakery is a jewel in the armpit of Colorado. That was an exact quote. He must have thought it was a good breakfast.
They were back and we were ready to leave at our standard 7 AM. I had to have help getting my bike back down the stairs. We topped off the air in my front tire and checked the psi with Joe's gauge. The five of us rode the first five miles together to the intersection of CR 27 (Twenty Mile Road) and Highway 40. It was basically flat, with a nice shoulder. There was plenty of morning commuter traffic heading to Steamboat. Joe and Jorge wanted to hit the Orange Peel Bike Shop in Steamboat.
Marty, Steve, and I made the turn. We knew this route would have more climbing, but less traffic. I like my handy Garmin because it helps me gauge my effort and make sure I have fuel in the tank for the climbs. On one hand I appreciated that the road wasn't immediately up. On the other hand, the flatter it is now, the more we would pay for it later.
I admired the nice smooth pavement with it's yellow center line and painted shoulder lines. This must be a more traveled county road to have white shoulder lines. We discovered a coal mine on down the road. There was very little traffic the entire route, but I suspect the mine is the reason for this perfect pavement road. I did not take a photo of the sign at the turn that said chain required to travel this road. I can see with all of the elevation gain, chains would be an excellent idea during snow season.
I soon pulled slightly away from Steve and Marty. It was easy to see Steve from down the road as he has a very bright flashing headlight. All of us had excellent tail lights. Climbing, climbing. I stopped at a little pond for a potty break. I went over to the sagebrush near the pond, but changed my mind when I saw all of the hungry mosquitos, waiting for their breakfast delivery.
More climbing, more excellent scenery. What a perfect cycling day. The road was up, but not too up. There was hardly ever any traffic. Most of it was big working trucks. To a one, they did not return my friendly wave and smile. I will presume that they were jealous to not be bicycling with me and not that they didn't like bicycle riders. I tend to wave at everyone on more lightly trafficked roads. Especially the big trucks. I want all motor vehicle drivers to think of me (and other cyclists) as friendly. Hopefully they won't squash me. It also helps get their attention if they aren't looking at the road. Or so I think. Usually people wave back. Who doesn't like a friendly greeting? Not these fellows. They belonged to the Grumpy Club. I kept waving. They weren't going to ruin my good day.
I kept watching the Garmin. I would gain 2-300 feet right up to 7,000 feet. Then there would be a downhill. Away my hard earned elevation would go. Then another climb. And another descent. Cumulatively, I gained elevation. I also watched the mile markers. With the road conveniently named Twenty Mile Road, I knew exactly how many miles left to Oak Creek.
I came upon a coal mine. There wasn't much traffic, but I did see some activity. It's crazy to think a coal mine exists so close to tourist centric Steamboat. There wasn't much coal exposed. I could see where ridges had been revegetated. Perhaps this is a poster child for mining? While I was taking photos, here came Marty. Steve was behind (unusual) he was taking some walking breaks with the climbing. He was also having some trouble with his seat slipping, but had tightened the bolts.
We decided to ride about halfway up the next climb. Then we might see Steve coming around the bend. I had taken a potty break conveniently behind the guard rail at the mine. Before I dropped trou, I debated where the mine's security cameras were located and if they could see me up on the hill with my altogether exposed. I took the chance. Of course, I did not know there was a rest area just at the bend of the road. That's the way it goes.
I had occasional cell service today. Sprint has had very little service this trip. AT&T seems good, T Mobile was good. Verizon was medium good. At 9:20 I had a message from Jorge that they were in Steamboat at the bike shop. He bought a fancy front light like Steve and Joe and had some things done to his bike. They give the Orange Peel two thumbs up. The employees there were extra helpful and got Jorge's exotic P-38 right in the stand. Plus the employees suggested taking the bike path to CR 14, which came out clear down by Phippsburg. Jorge said they saw very few cars and all sorts of cyclists on 14.
Marty gave me a sample of a Caveman Paleo bar. It was excellent and from Costco. Look! Here comes Steve. We all took off up the next big climb together. Emphasis on big. We hadn't gotten too far when there was a big crunch from Steve's bike. Had he tried shifting in mid climb? That doesn't make for a happy bike. I presumed that's what he did and kept riding. Steve stopped. I didn't see him or Marty again for miles.
Climbing, climbing. Checking out the scenery, looking for bears (the guy last night had told Jacinto to watch for bear), or at least deer. Nope. None of those. I saw sheep and cows and horses.
Did I mention perfect pavement? Smooth as a baby's butt. This is the life. I got to thinking about Lupita's tacos (mentioned in the blog link at the very top). I wondered if the guys wanted tacos. I couldn't believe I'm that far ahead of them. I'm a good climber, but a slow climber. Kind of like how I ride down the road. I don't win any speed awards, but I always get there with a smile on my face. Except in Canada on the rainy days. Maybe those days I wasn't smiling.
I've been using ridewithgps for mapping. Bertha tells me where to go every day. One of the features I like is the map shows me my location on the road and it also shows me my location on the elevation profile. That is a VERY useful feature in the mountains. We had lots of little climbs today and three bigs ones that were all in a row. I was very happy to get to the top of the last climb. I swooped down to the end of 27 where it intersects 131 at Oak Creek. Good bye 27, I will remember you fondly. It was short but sweet.
I decided to wait. The guys couldn't be far behind me and we could eat tacos together. Jorge had sent me another message they were leaving Steamboat. I wondered if they had eaten there. Probably. But maybe they would be coming down the road and we could all ride together. It was 11:30 - still early. I parked the bike and sat in the shade. I edited my photos while I waited. No internet service here. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. What the heck. I am not that fast, either climbing or descending.
Finally Marty shows up. He has quite a story. That big popping noise from Steve's bike was a spoke breaking. Marty had a fiber spoke, but the broken spoke was on the drive train side and they didn't have a hyper cracker. John Meiner - why weren't you with us?
Steve decided to hitch a ride to Steamboat. He didn't want Marty to wait, he would be fine. Marty and I agreed they had mostly been working trucks and not very friendly. We wondered how long it would take for him to get a ride. We hatched a plan that we would ask at the cabins if we could borrow their truck (everyone has a truck in Colorado, right?) to go back to look for Steve. But there was no way to call him, no service at that area.
We decided to proceed. There was road construction on 131 right in Oak Creek. The detour was around on a dirt road. I had my mind set on Lupita's. We asked a car driver if they knew where Lupita's was. Yep, at the top of the hill. Of course. Up the hill . . . just go down the alley and we would be there.
Lupita's is a roadside stand with lots of picnic tables. Right at the road construction. That didn't seem to slow things down much. It was a one man operation and a busy one. Marty and I both ordered fish tacos. Two for $8. I saw some burritos and they were huge. $8.50 for a burrito.
While we waited for our tacos, Marty fixed my fender so it wouldn't rub. One zip tie is all it took. He did note that the metal braces could be loosened up and retightened in a better position, but for the moment the zip tie is doing the job holding the top of the fender up to the rack.
The tacos were the best food I've had this trip. Marty did ask me if mine had any fish. That slowed me down a minute. Sure they did. Right? At least one piece? There was lots of the tasty cabbage slaw on top. The salsa was homemade, I'm sure. I debated getting two to go, but I didn't think they'd travel well.
Marty and I agreed were were feeling fat and lazy and not like climbing. The profile continues to show a steady uphill all the way to Yampa. 700 more feet of climbing in ten miles. I was hoping it was gradual and not any granny climbs.
While we were eating it was quite hot in the sun. The bank across the street said 76 degrees, but that seemed totally wrong. As soon as we got on the bikes, the sun was gone and we could see two different storms moving in. Oh, boy. Are we going to get wet?
Slow and steady was the name of the game. Before we knew it we were four miles down the road to Phippsburg. That left six miles to go. Then the rain started. Marty said he could feel something. I told him I was sure it was nothing, ignore it. Nope. No ignoring it. Marty was getting his coat. I continued on. We got a couple more miles in the bank. Then we could see lightning and hear thunder. That's no good. Wet is one thing. Getting hit by lightning is another.
131 at this point has no shoulder at all. There was a medium amount of traffic and everyone was polite. Cars waited for a chance to pass and gave us plenty of room. That is nice as we are still on 131 tomorrow to Topanas before we turn off.
Closer and closer. Lightning and thunder. But not much rain. I don't know why those cars have their wipers on. Just ignore the rain! Finally I could see Yampa. I remembered our cabins were on the far side of town. I pulled over. I hadn't programed the exact address in ridewithgps. It was just 5-6 blocks and we were there! Yay!
These cabins looked too cute. There is a motel in town, it even has bathrooms in the rooms, I imagine. But why stay there when you could be in a cabin with an antler decorations? The bath house was just steps away and is so clean you would think it was built yesterday. The only downside is no wi-fi. Joe has taught me how to tether to Jacinto's phone. So, here I am getting this written. My touring day isn't complete until the journal is done. I just can't get the photos from my phone.
I digress. Marty and I pulled up. After hearing our story about Steve, Suzanne not only offered to let us use her phone, but immediately offered her truck (see, I told you everyone in Colorado has a truck) to go back to get him. Talk about small town friendliness!
We got registered. Next in line for me was a shower. There's an advantage to being the only woman - for once the line in the ladies room is short!
I had just gotten out of the shower and here was Jorge and Joe. We were in the middle of hearing about their day and Jacinto pulled up. Jacinto had seen Steve on the road. He was in the back of a pick up truck getting a ride to Steamboat. Marty had also received a phone call from Steve that he had been to the bike shop and gotten the spoke replace. He had eaten a good meal and was going to bicycle here. Don't worry about him for dinner, but he would be here to spend the night. It is relieving that worked out well.
There are two places to eat in town. The 24 hour restaurant that has burgers and sandwiches and is cheaper. Then there's the Antler, which doesn't look like much on the outside.
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Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 174 miles (280 km)
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