To Salida

7/3

Lee is always one for devious plans. And today was no exception. He noticed a large bend in the GDMBR route that could be shortcutted to make a loop. This would enable him to drive out, cut the loop, then ride with us for a few days back towards Salida. And it’s in an area where he’s always wanted to ride: the Colorado trail along the divide south of Marshall Pass.

So the plan was to meet around 5-6pm on State Highway 114. We had about 50 miles to ride and one pass to conquer and Lee had about the same distance and some unknown trail conditions.

It was a bit of a dubious plan, for sure, but if it would work it would be golden. A nice side effect of this plan was that we got a lazy morning to relax and recover a bit. So we checked out late, washed some clothes and did some internet stuff. We ate a big breakfast and a gas station lunch.

We rolled out around 12:30 from Del Norte. It looked like it was going to be warm, but the breeze kept us cool. We quickly left town and found ourselves in the middle of nowhere. It was a very interesting road through some high desert country. It was actually nice to be out of the trees and into the desert, though not the hot desert. The rocks roon began to remind me of Tucson Mountain Park. There were some sections (ledges even) that were straight from the park. Even the cliff faces around were reminders of TMP.

The road wound out of the way, paralleling our next road, so it was a bit frustrating and also a bit sandy, but I like these sections of little used and fun roads, rather than all forest and wide graded roads.

We turned ride on “old woman’s creek” road and were flying down the valley with an incredible tailwind. This continued for 10 miles, all above 20 mph. Wow.

Of course it was short lived and we soon were climbing with that wind in our faces. Ouch. Gradual slow climbing up Carnero Creek. But the climb was easy enough as soon we were back in the trees with rock faces galore. Nice stuff, really. We topped out at Carnero Pass (10,161 feet) then rolled down to find Lee.

We didn’t see him by the Forest Boundary and momentarily I was worried that we wouldn’t meet up. The trail could have been bad, non-existant or anything oculd have gone wrong. But then I remembered who I was dealing with. I knew Lee would make it to us, by hook or by crook, it was only a matter of when. We hopped back on the spun down towards 114 and sure enough, there was Lee by the side of the road.

It was great to see a friend from Arizona. We rode the highway to Rabbit Canyon (about 5 miles) then rolled up the dirt to find a place to camp.

Then, boom, our first bike problem: Paula’s rear went flat! We pumped the climb tube up but it kept deflating. Currently it is holding air, we’ll check it in the morning. But, so much for our perfect record.

56 miles, 4800 feet of climbing

7/4

Big day today: 95 miles from our camp in Rabbit Canyon all the way to Salida. It wasn’t exactly an easy day since we climbed two passes — Cochetopa at 10,100 and Marshall at 10,870.

The heavy slime we’ve hauled around in our tubes has decided to earn its pay: Paula’s flat rear tire held all night and throughout the 95 miles of the day. Amazing.

We got a good start (no frost on the tent and a nice warm morning), and soon wound our way up to Cochetopa pass and another continental divide crossing. The Cochetop hills were a nice, pleasant surrounding. Nothing spectacular compared to what we have seen, but sometimes comparing areas is fruitless. The road throughout was a very nice surface–almost like pavement.

We popped back onto State Road 114 for a mile or so then realized we were fairly low on water. 14PP, the road over to Doyleville, didn’t seem like it had any creeks, so we were a bit desparate. Normally I would have filled up higher up, near Dome Lake, but for some reason we just forgot. At any rate, we inquired at a Colorado road maintenence yard (the only thing that was there), but the guy there was not being helpful. He said he didn’t have any he could give us and that the water that comes out of his hose is not good for drinking. Uh, huh. Lee chatted with him for a while and it turns out he’s tired of cyclists and hikers coming in and asking for stuff. It’s an almost understandable position except when you realize that the number of people asking is still minute, and that you don’t have to be even a remotely kind person to grant someone’s request of water. How you can refuse such a request (as this guy did) is almost unfathomable.

As we sat there a cyclist rolled down 14PP without carrying a load. She and her husband are riding the Colorado section of the GDMBR in pieces–whenever they can get the time. This was there last section of dirt to ride. She said her husband would be down with the truck and plenty of water, then she turned to hammer back up to meet him. A microburst storm kicked up a drizzle and a powerful wind, but she was unphased, riding strong through it.

Her husband treated us to fresh cherries and plenty of water, then we crested and cruised downhill to Doyleville. 12 miles of pavement followed with a good shoulder but tons of Holiday traffic. This area is THICK with motorized recreation. It seemed one in 3 cars was pulling an ATV or 3. What a shock from the empty roads of New Mexico.

We reached Sargents and gas’ed up on snacks at the store (cafe not open). Tire Tuffy’s (as we call dirt bikers) kept rolling in and asking about our trip. One group said they had been “all over–just about everywhere around here.” When we told them where we had been just today they backed down, of course (we had done more miles). Another guy pulled up and would not let go of his “I’m better than everyone else, have ridden these trails before anyone else and I know everything” attitude. He kept telling us about all the trails we’d missed by taking the roads and was unable to grasp the concept that we can’t really ride up technical and steep singletrack trails while pulling 50 pounds. “It’s all easy for me… nothing technical or anything.”

As we climbed the railroad grade to Marshall Pass he rode by and said he caught us in 5 minutes. “That looks pretty grim,” he said. Well, riding a motorcycle and missing everything looks pretty grim to me, buddy, so it’s just a difference of opinion.

I got into a nice rhythm on the climb–for about 1000 feet of vertical, then my knees got a little stiff from the cold air, so I slowed down. The top was just incredible, and I was very tempted to stay and ride the Monarch Crest / Colorado trail / Silver Creek. It was just too nice of an area and one I’ll have to come back and visit. But we’re keeping our bikes pointed towarda Canada, so we rolled on. Lee’s truck was at Marshall Pass (he had closed a 130 mile loop), but he followed us into Salida to get some grub and a motel.

The downhill was again a railroad grade and was yet another 25 mile blast into civilization. From 10,800 to 7500… easy miles. But still, a fairly long day.

95 miles. 5800 feet of climbing.

7/5

I see that Mt. Graham is on fire! Nuts, but I knew it would probably be the next to burn. We’re getting smoke from it here in CO.