Up at 5::15am. A little sore this morning. It’s a cold 39 degrees outside. I didn’t get supplies yesterday for todays ride, gatorade and snacks. It’s going to be a long, remote ride so hope something is open in town here when I leave. A little slow getting started this morning.
Packed up and ready to roll at 6:10 stopped at the Kum and Go this morning got two bottles of orange juice, some Gatorade, some candy, and a slice of breakfast pizza. Scarfed down the pizza drank one bottle of orange juice I accidentally got orange juice and mango, it’s pretty good haven’t had that before. But ready to start the day now it’s 6:25 and on the road.
Foggy this morning. 2.8 miles in and turning back on gravel.
7:09 AM at 5.8 miles in and in the middle, at least I hope it’s the middle, of a long climb out of Kremlin 7 and 8% grades so it’s not crazy but it’s just long. Lots of people passing me this morning with inflatable rafts and pontoon boats so there must be a big lake up here Somewhere
7:53 AM 8 1/2 miles and I think I’ve topped the first climb at 8,230 and feet. At least 20 inflatable rafts have passed me this morning up this dirt/gravel road. Expect to see a big mountain lake up here somewhere soon. Taking a short break eating a cherry fruit pie I bought at the gas station this morning. And it’s not that great, taste like it’s been on the shelf for about three years, but it’s energy.
Going down the mountain and now I see all these inflatable raft are going to the Colorado river which I can see running below.
9:05 AM at 16.4 miles in and 7,670 feet. Today is just going to be ups and downs, up to about 8000 down to around 7000 up above 8 down below 7…rinse and repeat….
9:25 AM pull into Radium. it’s a little place with a railroad track crossing and this is where everyone’s coming to launch there boats and canoes to go down the Colorado river. people fly fishing on the river here, it’s called Radium on the map, but there’s really nothing here, no services just a few houses. Somebody’s missing an opportunity to start a grocery store, shop café, something because this seems to be the destination for Fisherman and people putting in their boat in the Colorado river. I’ve got around 60 miles to steamboat springs and a lotta climbing.
9:44 AM 21 miles in tough climb out of radium grades between eight and 11% I’m at just over 7,000 feet and still climbing.
10:56 AM I’m at 24.5 miles 7,813 feet of climbing 10 to 13% grades and head wind is killing me. This might end up being the hardest climbing day yet. I’ve got to get up to 9,200 feet or so to Lynx pass in a short few miles. The altitude isn’t the problem—been a lot higher than this—it’s the steep grades and wind that’s a killer. I just Gotta make it through this next eight or 10 miles.
Just found a headlamp that a biker must’ve dropped going down this chunky gravel it’s easy for stuff to shake off your bikes in this kind of riding—Gotta have stuff secured well. That person is not going to be happy tonight when they discover they don’t have their light.
12:54 PM stopped to get my Gatorade and my spare water in the back I’ve gone through a lot of water this morning with hard climbing. I think this is the hardest climbing so far the grades are just crazy. I am at 8,757 feet I still have a little ways to go to get to the peak today. I actually think there’s two peaks. I’ll get just a little over 9000 drop and then go back up to 9000 then it should be good after that. Ate some gummy bears drank some Gatorade and water rested a little feeling a bit better, But my legs are tired.
1:33 PM I think I’m at the top of the first pass 9138 feet so now go down a bit and I go over the main pass, Lynn pass and then I should be feeling a lot better. If I said earlier this should be an easy day, strike that. This is shaping up to be one of the hardest, if not the hardest days of the trip, it’s most definitely the hardest climbing day just because of the ups and downs and the crazy grades on these climbs.
2:10 PM came to the first Creek that crosses over the road. The water is too deep and swift to ride across, so I have to change from my riding shoes to my off the bike shoes and push across that way I still have dry riding shoes and socks. This water is going to be cold.
3:07 pm at 40 miles an 8,817 feet. Still climbing ready for it to be over. My shoulders hurt, my neck hurts, my arm hurts, my back hurts, my feet hurt, my eyeballs hurt, I am in pain I just hurt.
3:29 PM made it to lynx pass summit at 9,030 feet I still have 35 or 37 miles to go to steamboat springs but hopefully it’s mostly downhill.
5:10 pm and as of things couldn’t get harder I have a flat on my rear tire. I’m running tubeless tires so I’m looking to see where the puncture is, because I should be able to just plug it, air it back up and be on my way. I can’t find the puncture hole. So, as a last resort I’m going to have to take the wheel off remove the tire and put a tube in it. When I start taking the wheel off I noticed I have two broken spokes. So that explains the flat without a puncture in the tire. Since it’s tubeless, when the spokes broke then the air seeped out of the spoke holes in the wheel as did all of the sealant from inside the tire. I do have spare spokes to replace those with but that would be at least an hour long process if not more. The wheel seems to be rolling through, so I just bent those broken spokes around the good ones to keep them clear And so the wheel would roll without being obstructed. I took off the tire put in a tube and then used one of my CO2 cartridges to air it up quick. Put it back on, and everything seems to be working fine. I’m about 40 miles from steamboat Springs so as long as it holds up there’s a bike shop there and I should be able to get things taken care of properly and get the tire set up to tubeless once again. This was about an hour and a half long delay in my ride today and I’m exhausted.
7 PM, and still 20 miles from steamboat Springs I decide to camp at a Stagecoach state park and then get up and ride into steamboat early in the morning have breakfast wait for the bike shop to open and then have them fix the back wheel.
I set up camp here at the end of the hardest day yet. 5,449 feet of climbing today with some serious grades. Tired.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tdf47o34w0uv28q/AAC8sxj0YB6KCHfxPMrrREiya?dl=0
