Day 17: Hartsel

With the dawn I was sitting on the bike pedalling toward Ute Pass, the only obstacle between Kremmling and Silverthorne. Similar to Lynx Pass the first miles were fairly flat with just some smaller climbs. I made a good pace. After I passed by Williams Fork Reservoir my mind cinema turned on again. I got the notion since Rawlins the race was not a race anymore, but became rather something like a pilgrim trip. Everyday the same doubts, the thoughts about pulling the plug and getting more and more fed up with all these climbs and dealing with done legs. Though, with the Mexican border a small light at the end of the tunnel was in sight. 95% of the whole race I was riding alone. If I met other riders, most of them were riding together in groups always with the same people. Did I get something wrong? I thought it is a solo race!

Being alone over days pushing, but riding in groups mitigate those negative thought. I finally aligned my expectations before the race with the experiences of the last 17 days and ask myself what I’ve learned up to now. Getting out of the daily rat race is simply just a lie. Yes, you get out of your daily rat race but entering into another. A little bit more simple, but it’s still a rat race, often more stressful like the daily business at home. What I’ve learned? Keeping the focus to the more important things in life! Very simple, like the race slogan eat – sleep - ride.

If I clarified it to myself I was suddenly able to climb and was more than ever focused to the Mexican border. Did I have a mental block?

The gravel road turned into a paved one and I climbed up to Ute Pass. The paved downhill was great. After the first twists and turns I saw this stunning panorama. A huge mountain chain with some snow spots came more and more in sight. I stopped a few times to take some pictures. This was one of the reasons and these were the moments why I did this damn race!

Today it was Sunday and a lot of road cyclist came across me. But I was on a downhill and they were on the uphill.

Highway 9 toward Silverthorne was crowded with all kind of vessels. Even riding on the shoulder was no fun. But soon I hit a bike path more or less paralleling the road. Today was my wife’s birthday and I had to make a telephone call. But how I experienced the last days – with thanks to at&t, service even in bigger towns shouldn’t be taken for granted. I stopped for a Coke and a small snack at 7 eleven. I took a seat at the shoreline of the blue river and set up my call. I got service!

Compared with Steamboat and the other towns that should follow today, Silverthorne was not very attractive. A city for commerce crowded with countless outlet stores. After I climbed the steep bike path up to the Dillon Reservoir another really nice bike path was leading along the shoreline over Frisco to Breckenridge. A lot of traffic on the path forced me to keep my eyes open. With Breckenridge I reached one of those nice looking ski towns on the route. It was a shame rushing over the Main Street without spending some notice to the really nice looking buildings. I stopped at Starbucks for a Frappuccino Vanilla Bean and a cookie. :-)

If I had to quit the race, then I would do it here in this town. But unfortunately, I had to go on and this was really a hard nut.

Boreas Pass with its famous Gold Dust Trail was the next obstacle on my way to Hartsel. It was the second highest Pass on route and I didn’t know what I had to expect.

I did a complete resupply at the gas station at the start of the climb.

With the distances from one Mountain Pass to another and the location of the resupply towns it was obviously I was now caught in a wrong rhythm. Tomorrow I would get to Salida at noon and tackling Marshal Pass in the afternoon. The same today, Boreas Pass at the time of the daily afternoon thunderstorms. Not really clever!

As I stepped out of the gas station the streets were already wet and the sky toward the pass black. The rain started while I was climbing the paved section of the mountain pass. There were still some weekend houses at the side of the road where I took cover. While I was standing my eyes shut down and I had to take care not falling into sleep. A few times I was just about to tip over. Waiting that the rain will pass away was not a good idea. It cost too much time. I slipped into my rain gear, rode a few minutes and the rain passed away. As the road turned to gravel I got out of my rain gear again. An information panel explained that in the last century a rail road was running over Boreas Pass. Brilliant! What I knew so far from rail roads that were running over mountain passes was that the uphill gradient was less than 4%! A pass like this in our Alps would be a lucky hit. And indeed, I didn’t need my smallest chain ring at all. That was my easiest and fastest 2000 feet climb that I ever did in my life. What I didn’t know at this point, Marshal Pass was a former rail road pass too.

After I took the mandatory photos at the top I was searching for the hidden turn to the Gold Dust Trail. This route option was mandatory for the race since a few years. With the GPS it was easy to find the entry and even with a full loaded bike and a little bit wet this trail was a special fund in the every day life of the Tour Divide. The Americans have a very special feeling how to shape a trail. Getting off the Bike was not scheduled. The lower section reminded me to the Kessel-Run-Trail in Fruita where I spent some days with a friend three years ago. Riding until getting dizzy was the slogan.

At the uphill to Boreas Pass a new face passed me by. It was a guy with a singlespeed bike. At the downhill I caught him up again. He stopped in Como at the restaurant, but I went by toward Hartsel.

The landscape in the meantime changed again. Hilly grassland like I’ve seen it a few times before on the route. I saw the deep tire tracks on the road. Obviously some riders got familiar with the mud in the last few hours. Thomas told me a few days later that he was hitting hard by rain and mud at this section. Most of the way to Hartsel was a smooth downhill. Despite of that I got to the small town without any motel in the dusk. It was 8:30 pm as I stepped into the one and only restaurant. The kitchen was open until 9:00 pm. I was a lucky guy! On my question for having a camp in town the guy at the bar sent me behind the church where some other riders camped at one of the last days before. I ordered my dinner and as long as there was some light left I was searching for a possibility to camp behind the church just a stone throw away from the restaurant. What I found was really amazing. I was standing in front of the little kid’s playhouse where Mary Matcalf Collier slept in the movie Ride the Divide. The house had no door but was spotless clean. I put my bike into (this was not so easy at all) and set up my sleeping gear. What a nice fund! I stepped back to the restaurant and my dinner was ready. My friend with the singlespeed bike was also sitting in the restaurant. After some breweries I moved for a few hours of sleep in my own house! It was raining! I was really happy that I had not to build up my tent in the rain! 

Gold Dust Trail

Gold Dust Trail