Sunday, August 4, 2019
Salida to Hartsel Photos!
Wildflower Identification in the southern Colorado highlands... sort of... #gdmbr #greatdividemountainbikeroute #Biketour
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Sargents to Luders Creek Campground
Today was a peaceful and easy day. I won't have many of these left...
I had a nice breakfast at the cafe at Sargents (such good food in these small Colorado towns) and then 13 miles of easy pavement mostly downhill, followed by 27 miles of not-too-bad beautiful dirt climbing to a reservoir. There I had a good lunch and waited out a storm that was dumping on the pass I was about to climb. I also drank some terrible pump water. Blech. Side note, it's rained on me every night so far.
I then climbed 9 miles to the top of the pass over muddy, but not terrible, roads whilst patting myself on the back for waiting until the storm passed. The frequent lightning and Strange Things -esque clouds made it easy to not want to ride into it. I enjoy it when a good, patient, wait yields such positive benefits.
I got up to this mostly deserted campground at almost 10k feet around 3:25pm, with 4:33 on bike and 53 miles. I pretty easy day, but I'd have to push pretty hard to to the next camp spot which seems silly. The water source is a tiny creek with tons of cow footprints in it, not ideal, but you either trust your water filter or you don't...
I spent the afternoon, day four since being back on the divide, puttering around and doing camp chores, and mostly finding peace. In some ways I feel like I'm breathing oxygen for the first time since my job stole it from me this year. I actually had a really good year otherwise, but the level of interpersonal need I dealt with last year completely burned me out it ways I'm just beginning to understand. Up here I'm completely alone. 50 miles from the nearest town over rugged roads, just me and nature. (and one other camper, but they are far away and I can't hear them.) I definitely need to find a way to find this nearer to home... or just put Andrea in a backpack next time. She is also a good source of oxygen for my lungs.
You know, I see a lot of beautiful things out here, but honestly one of the best reasons to see those things is so you can have some perspective when you are around someone like her, who's being shines better than the morning sun on a field of mountains, and who's essence easily eclipses the most breathtaking valleys. The same stardust building blocks can make up a giant vista or a tiny human, and in either form they shine the same, and have been for eons. I see the beauty of the world in her, and I see her in every amazing thing I see out here. I'm not talking about physical beauty, mind you, although both have that in spades, but there is more. The best of us it out here, and out here is the best of us. We've all been everything on this earth at some point, but some people you can tell were just recently a sunset and a babbling stream. It stays with them, and I think maybe their bits prefer it and will be it again. Her laugh sounds like happy birds ❤
I've been able to have deep, long thoughts the last few days riding and camping today. I don't ride with music or any distactions. Just the sound of the tires and, around here, numerous snaphoppers (the namesake of my bike, insects that snap as they fly). I've been searching for the essense behind reality for a long time, not just the cosmic dust that we are all made out of - that's there - we can touch it - and in fact are all touching it right now, but what's even there behind that. I do think the answer is in the search, rather some something you can find.
These last 4 days of riding have been so easy I was starting to think maybe I'd remembered the Divide wrong. But, doing some sobering map planning today, I realized that Colorado is just the easiest state on the Divide, by far.
I'm actually quite nervous about the next few days. Soon I enter a long stretch with contaminated river water I can't drink and questionable camping areas. Then I enter New Mexico where water gets even harder, and if there is too much water the route gets impossible and you have to find paved detours (which aren't mapped out well.) I'm about to enter areas with rivers that may not exist, wells that may be dry, and roads that could become peanut butter mud with little warning. This will likely be the hardest part of the Divide in some ways, unless I end up on the paved detours in which case it'll easier (I think) but dissapointing. I may not be getting many all-afternoon chill sessions in Aspens beside high meadow like today... but the challenge will be there. Some things ARE worth doing just because they are hard.
Friday, August 2, 2019
Salida to Sargents, two very different towns
Now this was a good day on the Divide. Colorado, you are not disappointing.
The riding today was hard but short, only 43 miles since I'm not trying to kill myself. It was stop here or ride another 30 or so to the next camp place with water, and I have some really hard days coming up so it made sense to take it easy today.
Not that today's riding was easy. The first 10 miles were a 1,000 foot climb on pavement, followed by a beautiful 3,000 foot climb on dirt through aspen and pine, creating a 27 mile 4,000 foot climb up to Marshal Pass, yet another Continental Divide crossing at 10,842 feet. It wasn't too steep though, and I was kept company by many motocross and ATV riders doing the same thing (the easy way).
After the climb it was a great 16 mile downhill into Sargents, despite a headwind for some of it. The dirt was nice and dirty, and roads nice and rough, and Snaphopper ate it all nicely. I'm having little of the issues I had last year when I started the divide since I know what to expect and have already learned the hard lessons, like run my tires as low as possible on dirt (and my fatter front) and that the hand pain will go away after a week or two.
So, I said goodbye to Steve from the UK today. He has to pace much faster than me to get done by the 16th. I, on the other hand, have am planning to finish around the 21st (or sooner, not sure). We had a good time in Salida last night playing darts and drinking beer in a pub since we knew it would likely be out last night to hang out. He pushed the extra 30 miles today, I explored Sargents.
AND SARGENTS IS AWESOME! Let me tell you. It's a small little hamlet, 30 people, nestled in a valley. I first rode around the town hoping to find a free place to stay, and struck up a conversation with a guy leaving an old 1920's school where he was closing up after a yard sale to raise money for new windows (1k a pop!) on the historically registered school. He gave me a tour of the school and I bought brownies to help out. I, however, was not able to hint my way into staying in the school yard for free, however.
Then I rolled back to the road where there is an RV Park/Campground/Resteraunt and paid 13 bucks for a campsite. I've had to pay to sleep every night so far. I HATE PAYING TO SLEEP, I CAN'T AFFORD THIS TRIP IF I HAVE TO PAY TO SLEEP EVERY NIGHT. The problem with Colorado is because so many people come here to adventure capitalism has decided they should have to pay for it. I'm right near the Continental Divide Trail, The Colorado Trail (which currently has a mountain bike race on it, I found out), and the Divide. Too many hikers and bikers around to them sleep for free on some grass, I guess.
However, it was OK this time.
So this RV Park / Resteraunt is under new ownership and they are really nice. Seems 7 people from West Palm Springs, Florida moved here to take over this resteraunt (great smoked meat, great food). So 7 of the 30 people who live here moved here from Florida a month ago. The town loves them too. They all hang out in the resteraunt Friday nights, and I saw the guy who gave me a tour again. Not it makes sense why he directed me here to sleep, he want to support the business.
There also a big dirt bike / ATV meet up this weekend here, which makes the campground kinda interesting, and I met Trip McGuffin, Fly Fisher from Texas, and we chatted away for a good while about - wait for it - fly fishing (pretty interesting, actually) as well as camping and backpacking, etc. I also met two riders on the Colorado Trail who came off-trail to Sargents to hitchhike into a bigger down because one broke his seatpost. Ouch. Of course, I've met scores of hikers as I've passed the CDT a few times, some through, some day, some doing the Collegiate Peak loop around Salida.
Now I write this next to a river, a great view of stormy hills, and dirt bikes. Tomorrow, I'll be in the middle of nowhere, and then Del Norte. After which I have to figure out how to water myself for a few days as I bike through EPA superfund mining sites which have contaminated all the streams I normally drink out of.
Stress for another day...
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Hartsel to Salida Photos
Harsel to Salida
Today was great riding, but also difficult. A good remind that much of riding the divide is suffering. Suffering that leads to at outcome - like getting to the next town - and other outcomes, which I hope to one day understand. I'm glad that my mental game survived the hiatus. Tough riding is tough, but you get there eventually if you relax and trust the process. Focusing on hurrying to your destination is the real suffering, and enjoying the suffering is the real destination.
The first 27 miles or so were over rolling rocky hills, very remote and very beautiful. The riding was tough at time due to washboarded roads and rocks, but nothing I'd complain about. My fatter front tire is really helping. It's an 2.6 Ikon instead of my old 2.3 (which is now my rear) and my old rear is worn out and decorating my garage.
Then there was a 7-8 mile climb that, at times, was very steep to about 10k feet, and then I descended 3,000 feet in 10 miles on a great downhill overlooking the a bunch of 14ners (The Peaks of Higher Learning, named after Ivy League Colleges and one Indian Chief) and the down of Salida. It was honestly one of the best downhills I've ever done. Screaming down on gravel, my fat tires eating rocks and smoothing out the washboards.
Salida has been voted the best town on the Divide several times. Yea maybe, if you have money. At 5k people and touristy there is no place to stay for free. Stealth camping also looked iffy. I ended up paying $23 for a hostel which is actually really nice and am now exploring the town.
Other options were riding 15 more miles to a campsite, but it's raining, so having an inside place to stay with other travelers is actually a pretty great deal.
Today I did 50 miles in 4:30 to get in around 2pm, not bad for a big 'ol pass. Tomorrow I have a 27 miles climb up over 3,000 feet of Marshal Pass, but it's steep railroad grade again, so it won't be bad.
Steve is staying at the hostel too. I ride faster but he catches me on the breaks. I don't know how long we'll pace together as he needs to move faster than me, but it's been good. I do want to find more solitude on this ride as well, last year really wore out what I thought was my inexhaustable extrovert battery.
Tonight though I hang out with a ton of backpackers hiking the 14ners around here at the hostel, while hiding from the rain. That should be fun. :)
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
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