It was a cold night. I didn’t want to get out of my sleeping bag, and that alarm went off so early, but I now had the resolve to finish and get this over with. I had been worried about wildlife inspecting my food so I had stashed my whole bike in the pit toilet. It was still there 4 hours later when I left.
It had not warmed up any since I got up and I had all my layers on to try and keep warm. I knew there was a water crossing today sometime before the climb up and down into Radium, but I forgot it was so close to Lynx pass. The sun was still just trying to peek over the mountains when I got to the creek. I was about to get even colder, if that was possible.
Thankfully the water wasn’t above my hips this time and I was able to just take of my shoes, socks, and leg warmers and heft my bike across to the other side. Just one trip this year instead of the multi-crossing we had to do with panniers and heavy bikes the first time around. If I wasn’t awake before, I was now.
Radium is in a valley next to the Colorado River, so there’s a rough climb up to the rim of one side, and another climb out toward Kremmling. The climb up above Radium isn’t too bad, it just seems to go on for a while, and the roads are pretty rough. I remember one section that fooled me last time where it appeared as though I were being drawn up a hill. It was really a slight downhill, but it felt uphill. This is the same section that I saw two moose unfurl themselves like UFOs beaming down enormous legs. It was a creepy sight and it really took a minute for me to understand what I was seeing. This time there were no moose to freak me out as I headed toward Radium.
The ride up and down to the valley floor wasn’t very eventful. I’ve since learned that there is in fact a small outfitter store just before the railroad tracks, but during the race I had no idea. I just stopped at the campground by the boat launch to grab something to eat and take off some layers.
The climb out of Radium starts unpaved, but then turns into a pretty nice paved climb. It is still steep, but it is quite a contrast to the previous climb. It does eventually turn back into gravel, but the pavement is a nice change on this stretch.
I had through about heading into Kremmling for breakfast, or maybe lunch depending on when I made it to the highway, and was kind of looking forward to it. I wasn’t too low on food, and water wasn’t scarce in this section, but I think I wanted the morale boost of getting a hot meal. I had stopped for a snack and checked the Trackleader’s map, which is almost always a mistake in a race, to find that at some point it looked like David, Steve, and Tim had passed me. Also Jackson wasn’t that far ahead of me. At that point I knew I had to keep moving and couldn’t detour the few miles off route.
I kept pushing, stopping briefly to filter some water. The heat was starting to get to me, and at this point keeping awake was starting to be a problem. There’s a point where exhaustion catches up with me, and even if I’m riding a bike I can start to drift off. Sleep and heat were starting to really get to me in the afternoon as I headed toward the two big climbs of the day. There were two passes in between me and town food and possibly a warm place to sleep. We were heading into a stretch of resort towns, where there wasn’t much in the way of camping, but a lot in amenities. There is even a Target right on the route.
I kept pushing and to my surprise I caught up with Jackson. We rode at the same pace for the first pass, and most of the second. He climbed a bit faster and descended much faster than I was willing to go on this paved descent. I was still holding back with the memory of my crash descending Mt Hamilton that previous winter still fresh in my mind.
A handful of bike trail and pavement miles later I stopped at Target to get some supplies which are hard to get at gas stations. Though I realized while I was there, large stores are time sucks. There is so much area to cover just to get a few things, plus the quantity of stuff there is overwhelming. Small convenience stores and gas stations are probably better for quick resupplies. Less choice means faster decisions for an already fuzzy and slow functioning exhausted brain.
I spent too much time resupplying and trying to decide my next move and ended up missing out on a bed at the hostel in Breckenridge. It was a dumb and costly mistake. I had incorrectly thought there would be plenty of space, who goes to a ski town in the off season. I was obviously wrong in that though. I got hit with a strong headwind and rain, on what was suppose to be an easy short trail ride between Silverthorne and Breckenridge, and tired and upset I ended up booking a room at a resort. A pretty steep price to pay, but it ended up being one of the nicest places I’ve stayed while traveling. It was worth the price in the end and gave me the opportunity to clean up, redress my leg, and try and get some good sleep. I grabbed a pizza from a nearby restaurant that was still open, and ate half that night. The other half will make a great breakfast for tomorrow.
