September 8, 2024
Day 21: Hello Colorado
Goodbye Wyoming
Distance: 117km
Climbing: 1719m
Max elevation: 2560m (new record for this trip, soon to be broken though)
We’re in a new map section now. Map Here.
In the middle of the night we heard many coyotes howling and yipping in the distance. I’ve never heard so many - very cool. I also had a mouse climbing my tent wall until I knocked it off from the inside - not so cool, but it didn’t come back, or I slept through it.
Knowing that we would get to Colorado today, and that we were booked for Brush Mountain Lodge tonight was pretty motivating. Much of the riding was on a very lightly used, paved scenic byway with a lot of rolling hills - big climbs and fast descents.
We saw a cooler by someone’s gate that said “water” but when we checked it only had empty bottles. This would have been handy as the water was a bit scarce in this section. Then an hour later we saw a bunch of streamers on a bush and little sign saying “GDT H2O”. The trail angel who left this one must maintain it regularly as It was cold and full of water bottles, soda, and a few other options. We had cokes and topped up our water. We have a lot of paying-it-forward to do.
We saw a strange looking dead animal on the road. It didn’t match any of the usual things you might expect. The huge claws and general look made me think it was a wolverine. I looked them up and found that it’s estimated that there are 15 total in all of Wyoming (now 14?) but perhaps this was another variety of weasel (wolverines are the largest in the weasel family). We didn’t stop for a picture so no way to confirm.
The landscape was changing noticeably as we approached Colorado. More trees, more and bigger mountains in the distance, etc. I had lived in Colorado over 20 years ago and it was feeling more and more familiar.
Once we crossed the border we left the paved road and headed up a gravel road for the final 20km to the lodge. It was a bit of a grind, especially as we hadn’t had as much climbing in the last week or so, and because it was the end of the day, but we made it to the lodge with plenty of time to get showers, cook a meal, hand wash some laundry, and relax a bit. This is a great spot, catering to riders on the GDMBR May through July, and then hunters mostly August to early November.
We have a big climb tomorrow up to 3000m of elevation, but then a big descent into Steamboat Springs, another resort town like Fernie or Whitefish. It should be a tough, beautiful, and fun day.
A quick note on health: while the climbs can get really tiring, I’m feeling very healthy overall, perhaps my healthiest ever. Exercise, fresh air, great food (thanks Andrew!), almost no meat or alcohol, and almost no sitting (in front of a computer). Yes, sitting really is the new smoking. At home, despite riding often and moving around a lot working at a bike shop, I was still sitting a far bit in the evenings. Riding an average of 40km per day I was getting leg cramps at night (usually hamstring), now riding 110km per day I haven’t had any leg cramps since the first night after Banff.
No world news has been a nice break too. Just focusing on food, water, route, weather, where to camp, etc. is great “mental floss.”
Today's ride: 117 km (73 miles)
Total: 2,439 km (1,515 miles)
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3 weeks ago