Gear

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Crossing Colorado

Colorful Colorado has been full of colorful surprises. For a state that I hadn't intended on biking to when I first left Burlington, I now couldn’t be happier that I did. The wonderful front range towns of fort Collins and Boulder, with their biking, beers and babes were all so wonderful and relaxing. And of course crossing the highest point on my trip in Rocky Mountain National Park wasn't too bad either. But there is another side to Colorado, and it lies west of the mountains.

Having crossed RMNP, I descended into Grand Lake, which sits at over 8,000ft high. Did a small day hike to Adams Falls and generally allowed my legs to return to normal. Leaving Grand Lake, about 2 miles out, my drive side pedal began screaming the most hideous sound I have ever heard. So I prayed for a bike shop in Granby, and lo, there was. A scant 2 hours later after rebuilding both corroded pedals and I was on my way, but not alone. No, it seems 30 other bikers were going my way. Bike and Build, a non-profit that has crossed the country for over 8 years on various routes, has bikers biking and then stopping and building for Habitat for Humanity. Their route mirrors mine all the way to the Tetons, and in Colorado I saw a lot of them. From Granby it was a wonderful downhill day to Kremmling. A night of camping and the next day it was off to Steamboat.

On the way I had two passes, Muddy and Rabbit Ears. And I had to cross the divide twice. Accomplishing this was well worth the 7 mile, 7% grade descent into Steamboat Springs where I maxed at 38 mph. Stayed with a group of amazing people and on my day off went to a concert to see my home town music star, Grace Potter. All in all, I enjoyed the Boat and the relaxed attitude. Leaving Boat had me heading on an 85 mile day to Maybell, which I was told is conveniently located in the middle of nowhere. But, it did have me and 30 other people camping in their little park for the night. Got some dinner, talked about Peace Corps, meet a guy walking west to east carrying a cross, and enjoyed watching the comradeship these people had with each other. I left early the next morning on a 90 mile stint that took me through the desolate but pretty western edge of Colorado, past Dinosaur National Monument, into the actual town of Dinosaur, and finally into Vernal, Utah where I am now.

I entered Colorado on July 1st and left on July 16th, having taken nearly a week off in Boulder. The altitude isn't as bad now that I'm only around 5,000 to 6,000 feet. Making better time, got high spirits and lots of amazingness on the way. Next up is Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, home to the largest aspen grove and perhaps the largest living organism, excluding the planet. From there it's back into Wyoming and towards the Tetons and Yellowstone. For now, I'm loving the desert landscape, the sagebrush, the sandstone cliffs, the red and white and bluish mountains. I so look forward to coming back to Utah, but ion the south and in October. But this landscape is breathtakingly beautiful, quiet, and harsh.

Check out all of my Colorado pics , and of course, as always, with freedom and love, keep pedaling.

2 comments:

One-Leg Chris said...

im interested in the walking guy portaging a cross. sounds familiar...

Rachel Rubenstein said...

Wait a minute...you saw Grace Potter? And it wasn't awful? Hmm, very interesting! Hope you're doing well, your pictures are incredible!