August 10, Saturday

It was again not as cold as I thought is would be this morning.  The sheep dogs were barking up a storm last night, leading Roger and John to believe there were other dogs or coyotes nearby.  The shepherds seem to have 2 types of dogs;  the big white ones seem to mingle and protect and the black and brown ones seem to herd.

Our first task was to tackle the watershed divide, which the route directions indicate a 1.5 mile pusher.  It didn't turn out to be so severe, consisting of a series of very steep pushers connected either by moderate to flat rocky sections.  This was followed by 6 or so miles of steep stoney road on which it was not possible to go over 8MPH.  More dirt on a better road followed and we met a young boy, maybe 10, and his mother mountain biking up our downhill.  He asked questions about the GDMBR and how our maps and theirs were the same/different.

The route popped out onto pavement and we stopped at Clark Store.  10,000 tourists and locals seem to have had the same idea. The store had ice cream and prepared sandwiches and was a popular stop for the many road cyclists.

The end of the day consisted of mostly rolling downhill into Steamboat Springs was quick and enjoyable.  When we stopped at a bike shop, I asked if they knew anyone who would let Jamie and me camp on their lawn (Roger and John had decided to take a hotel) and they hooked us up with Marc and Gretchen, who proceeded to walk through the door. Roger and John changed their minds and camped out there as well.  Jamie and I went for ice cream before pitching our tents on their lawn and we bumped into Susan.  We haven't seen her and Kevin since Pinedale and I thought that was a permanent goodbye, so it was an unexpected pleasure.  She had a broken fork and a badly out of true wheel and she comically illustrated what it was like to ride a bike in that condition.  Wish I had taken a video. 

Jamie, Roger, John and I reconvened at Marc and Bridget's house, where they offered us beer and we got to play with their sweet Australian shepherd, Emmie.  Marc and Bridget have been working on building and maintaining many of the Steamboat Springs Emerald mountain biking trails and in the winter they teach skiing.  We tried to entice them out to the brewery for dinner, our treat, but they stood firm and declined.  We had arranged to meet Susan and Kevin there and so we ended our evening.

Stats:

start odometer 1860

end 1899

total 39

max 36.8

avg 11.8

time 3:04