Eyes too big for our ability - Day 35: Estes Park to Cold Springs Campground (57 miles)

Steve had planned a 77 mile day for us today but had not really taken into account the altitude and the severity of Colorado's mountain roads. Hence, this is the third time we did not make it to our planned destination for the day.

Early AM pack at Bradshaw's Cottage

Our cosy riverside cottage in Estes Park

Compared to the Transamerica Trail maps, the elevation profiles on the Great Parks South maps are deceptive. We are discovering that every little bump on these Great Parks maps are something to be concerned about.

Riding out of Estes Park

Our legs fatigued from yesterday's big effort of getting up Trail Ridge Road, we had our slowest day on the bike yet, with an average of 8.9 mph. What looked like short, gentle climbs on the map turned out to be steep, leg burning climbs with more uphill than downhill. The Colorado roads are really starting to test us.

However, as I've said before, with effort comes reward. Our first steep climb of the day out of Estes Park on Highway 7 was absolutely stunning. Colourful rocky mountain peaks surrounded us, looking back over the town into the green valley. It was pretty awesome cycling through the rock cuttings in the mountainside.

Looking back over Estes Park

Mary's Lake on Hwy 7

Cycling through the mountainside

Rock cuttings on Hwy 7

Then we took on the Peak to Peak Highway cycling through the Indian Peaks Wilderness of which I took a photo of the peaks 2 days ago over Lake Granby. We were just going to snack on bars for lunch so we wouldn't waste time stopping, but when we realised how much these roads were taking out of us we decided to pull up at the very quaint Mill Site Inn just near the town of Ward and the highest point on the Peak to Peak Hwy at 11,713 feet. The Inn advertised the "best pizza in the Rockies" and that "it's all downhill from here". They were wrong on both counts!

Indian Peaks Wilderness

Longs Peak

Feeling a little tired!

We only got another 12 miles down the road before we decided to make another stop at the very alternate, hippy town of Nederland. I would have liked to have spent more time here. Steve was feeling tired and sleepy from our big lunch (or maybe as a result of the altitude) so a couple of espressos were ordered to get us through the rest of the day.

Katherine checking we're going to make it

We'd also organised to meet our friend, Katherine, who's living in Denver. Just out of Nederland she appeared in her car to say hi and make sure we made it to our revised destination for the evening - Cold Springs Campground.

Having an escort with a car is great. Katherine drove us into Black Hawk 5 miles down the road for dinner, but we discovered that Black Hawk is a historic gold mining town gone totally wrong. Black Hawk which extends also another 2 miles up the road to Central City has turned into the Las Vegas of Denver, with tacky casinos and slot machines galore. It also has Amerisphere, the tallest building between here and Salt Lake City. Not really our type of scene!

Yesterday's climb up Trail Ridge Road

Today's attempt to get to Idaho Springs-FAIL!

CRANKING ODYSSEY STATS

Total Odyssey miles: 2,014 (we surpassed another milestone!)

Overall Fastest Speed: Steve (46 miles per hour) Mandy (36.3 miles per hour)

Bludge Days: 2

Bonks: nil

Dog chases: 3

Dummy Spits: Steve (3 - Day 10 because it rained; Day 16 - because the rocks in the river were slippery; Day 29 because it takes me so long to get ready in the morning)

Mandy (2.5 - 0.5 Day 14 those freakin' wreckless Idaho drivers!; Day 26 because my bike computer had a meltdown; Day 28 because Steve wouldn't help hold my bike up in the wind after watching it nearly fall over 3 times whilst I tried to put my clothes away in the panniers because it looked like rain ahead)

Flats: Katie (4)

Wrong turns: 6

Beer of the day: Dostal Alley Shaft House Stout

Lesson of the day: approx 60 miles should be our daily limit in Colorado

No. of days with no shower: 13

No. of days in a hotel: 9

Starting weight: Steve (90kg) Mandy (51.5kg)

Day 30 Rawlins weigh in: Steve (183 pds / 83kg). Mandy (110 pds / 50kg)

 

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Another day, another summit, another border crossing - Day 17: Powell to Missoula (61 miles)

This morning was the first morning we felt the cold as we rolled out before the sun rose above the treetops to warm up the day. 4 miles down the road from our campground, we stopped at the Lochsa Lodge for a quick coffee and breakfast. The Lodge had a restaurant and convenience store and was the only service in Powell. We also picked up a book to read about some dory adventurers on the rivers we had been cycling by - more weight to carry!

Lolo Pass

Lolo Pass ended up being a pretty cruisy climb. The steeper stuff went for about 5-6 miles and again the view was impressive looking out over the mountains and tall trees. One thing I didn't like was that I could hear the loose rocks sliding off the escarpment onto the side of the road as I climbed.

On this climb, Steve amused himself by making up Indian names for the three of us. Katie is "Smells Like Nature". I am "Never Ending Hunger", and Steve is "Makes Wind" - although there is a bit of contention over Steve's name as it could, theoretically, apply to all three of us!

Another summit selfie

Another border crossing

The descent off Lolo Pass was heaps of fun until my map case with our map blew off my bike. Steve had forgotten to secure it to its carabiner at the top of the Pass. Luckily he was coming down behind me and managed to pick it up on his way down.

Lolo Pass also marks the border into Montana. We are now in bear and moose territory. This part of the state is characterised by beautiful sub-alpine forest - tall, thick, dark green pine trees and spruce trees. Further down the canyon we noticed that the forest fires has also recently passed through this area, trees blackened and lifeless on both sides of the road.

Descending off Lolo Pass

Riding past Lolo Hot Springs

Destruction from the fires

Unfortunately, Montana drivers aren't much better then Idaho drivers. Although the road is smoother, it is still really narrow with not much of a shoulder.

Beers up at Lolo Peak Brew Pub

Finally we got to Lolo where Steve had promised us we could have lunch. The plan was to eat at Lolo Peak Brew Pub, but when we arrived we found it was a brand new pub and the kitchen wasn't open yet. So we had to fuel up on 3 pints of beer, and snack on nuts and caramel popcorn.

A little bit tipsy, hot and de-hydrated, we took on the 10 mile ride to Missoula along the busy Hwy 12 leading into town. The cars were buzzing by fast, but at least there was a wide shoulder.

In Missoula we headed straight to the Adventure Cycling Association headquarters, to sign in, grab an ice-cream and have our photo taken for their pin board of all the cyclists passing through this season. We really wanted to do the bike weigh in to see what our true weight really is, but it was close to closing time by the time we got there, so we'll see if we can stop by on our way out of town.

Missoula is the end of the road for Katie, so we will be having a full rest day here to get ourselves organised, re-stock and re-assess our gear again. Yeay, we get to stay in a hotel for 2 nights!

Missoula has a tonne of micro-breweries. We hit Tamarack for dinner to try a few brews and chow down on a gigantic buffalo burger and chocolate pizza cookie for dessert.

CRANKING ODYSSEY STATS

Total Odyssey miles: 1,004 (we made our first milestone)

Overall Fastest Speed: Steve (39.9 miles per hour) Mandy (35.3 miles per hour)

Bonks: nil

Dog chases: 3

Dummy Spits: Steve (2 - Day 10 because it rained; Day 16 - because the rocks in the river were slippery)

Mandy (0.5 - Day 14 those freakin' wreckless Idaho drivers!)

Flats: Katie (4)

Wrong turns: 6

Beer of the day: Tamarack Rye Sally Rye

Lesson of the day: a rest day is needed not just to rest your weary legs, but really to give your sore butt a break!

No. of our luxury items that Katie has used: 5 (duct tape + rope + pliers + a confused cup/bowl + can opener)

No. of days with no shower: 7

Starting weight: Steve (90kg) Mandy (51.5kg)

 

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The prep is done, now for the waiting ....

This is my first blog ever, so all / any readers out there - go easy on me!

A Cranking Odyssey could be described as a cry for help as we navigate our way through a mid-life crisis, but in reality, it is just an excuse to escape the monotony of day-to-day work life for 2 months, be outdoors in the fresh air almost 24 / 7, spend some (hopefully) quality time with the other half, use our legs to transport us around America under our own steam and continue to test our theory that the world looks better on two wheels.

Steve and I have kitted ourselves out with Novara Safari touring bikes from REI complete with Ortlieb Classic waterproof rear back panniers (keen to see how they hold up in our first rain shower) and Sea to Summit dry bags for the top of our rear racks. 

Packed gear weight is approx 16-18 kg per person.

The plan is to follow the Transamerica Trail starting from Astoria on the Oregon Coast as far as Fairplay in Colorado, with the option to make our route more challenging by climbing the mountain passes of the Rocky Mountain National Parks on the Great Parks South route to Poncha Springs, then follow the Western Express across to Cedar City in Utah - a total of approx. 2,800 miles.

What are these routes you ask? 

Well, the Adventure Cycling Association has mapped out a complete network of bicycle routes throughout America, making the planning for a testing endeavour such as this sooo much easier. We'll be travelling old school, relying solely on their hard copy maps (with the occasional sly glance at our Iphones when needed).

Our friend, Katie, is accompanying us from the start of the trip until the end of August. I'm not quite sure if she realises just exactly what she has gotten herself into, agreeing to embark on this journey with a couple of bickering, married Aussies; but she'll find out soon enough, I'm sure!

If all goes to plan, we'll start our ride on 3 August 2014, so check back closer to this date for more updates. 

My mission for this adventure, should I choose to accept it, is to try my best to keep this blog up-to-date whilst on the road. No promises!

Testing out the load around the country roads of Double Lake / Coldspring, TX.

The touring bikes handle pretty nice and as stable as can be with the extra weight.