I am physically and emotionally drained. Not only did we go a long way, that’s no big deal, but again we did a lot of climbing – just shy of 5000 ft in total - with one especially significant climb. But first things first. Last night we were in Craig, and I thought I’d show you the lay of the land from our campsite at Moffat County High School. The second picture is of our camp site, which was an odd place because we were restricted to piece of land that was sloped. That made sleeping somewhat awkward.
Diane slept in this morning and took down our tent, which made for an easy morning for me. But that’s where easy stopped. The first part of today’s trip was to Steamboat Springs, a ski resort town. There wasn’t much climbing but there was a lot of traffic and a strong headwind, which made those first 80 kms or so feel like a lot more. The biggest problem for me was that I was tired to begin with. This was the fourth day in a row of significant distances that included a fair bit of climbing, plus we are at high altitudes. A number of people, especially those with lung related problems such as asthma, simply cannot handle the altitude and have to take a couple of days off or be sagged up the big climbs. I’m not sure if it was the altitude or just plain tiredness, but it was a hard day.
Today’s significant climb is known as Rabbit’s Ears pass. In the first 12 kms of that pass we climbed over 3200 feet; that was the toughest part and it took me just under 2 hours to complete it. That included quite a few breaks to drink water and rest. Once we got to the first summit, it was an up and down trip over 6 kms, and while the true summit – the Continental Divide – was over 9400 ft., the highest point we reached was almost 9600 ft acc. to the GPS system we use. One of the girls on the tour, whose name I won’t mention, took 4 hours to complete the climb, imagine that, but she was that determined to do it.
After that it was a fabulous ride down, reaching speeds consistently over 70 kph without trying, until we were about 30 miles from our destination. From that point on there was a lot of up and down, though mostly down, but every hill seemed like another mountain. What a relief to finally arrive. I only took 3 pictures of the trip, missing all the wild flowers up on top because I was too exhausted to look. Diane assured me there were plenty of them there, however, and she and the kitchen crew enjoyed a picnic in the midst of it all. The first picture is a shot about 1/3 of the way up looking back, the second is self explanatory, and third is a shot about 2/3 of the way down looking ahead.
For the first time in a couple of weeks we also had some rain in camp. A brief thundershower passed over us, sending everyone running for cover, but it didn’t last more than 10 minutes or so and now everything is calm again. Supper is done for most of us, but there are still a few people on the road. I can only imagine how tired they are going to be. Oh well, tomorrow is a short day – 55 kms – although that will again involve some significant climbing. Saturday will also include a mountain pass which will bring us to an altitude of over 11,000 ft, but that climb comes early and then it’s a long coast in to Denver. But now I’m looking ahead, and our regular reminder to each other is “one day at a time.”
Today’s stats:
Distance: 154.11 kms
Average speed: 20.4
Maximum speed: 72.6
Time in saddle: 7.33.02
# of flat tires on trip 6
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