Previous : Day 12 – Ladder Ranch to Steamboat Springs (72 miles)
So this is it, going solo! First task was to take all my worldly possessions and somehow get it all on the bike. Aside from an old pair of trainers and bag (they went in the dumpster). I was carrying too much and I had some extra gear I planned to send home as soon as I found a post office. It was Sunday, so no chance of getting rid of it today.
By the time I sorted the bike and said my goodbyes it was around 1100hrs. Before I could start the ride to Radium I needed to source food for the day, night and breakfast. Radium basically does not exist, it’s one house and a basic campsite on the river.
On my way into Steamboat I passed a small Mexican restaurant. Given the number of people outside I deduced it must be good. Glad I stopped as I had the best breskfast burrito ever!
I also cycled around the large supermarkets in an attempt to locate an international sim card, but eventually gave up.
It was 1pm when I set off. The first part of the ride was paved and easy going, but as always that changed and I ended up with a 4 mile climb and around 4500ft of climbing.
Pics of the ride below.
There was one minor annoyance during today’s ride. I had to cycle through a creek, but it was deeper than I thought. End result was that I stopped in the middle and ended up with 2 very wet feet.
It was getting dark as I reached Radium campsite. So I quickly pitched the tent, had a wet wipe shower (these campsites only have pit toilets) and then set about filtering water from the river. The Sawyer filter is great, but slow to filter.
Dinner was a freeze dried meal purchased from a camping shop in steamboat. I was apprehensive, but after nearly 5 hours riding it tasted damn good.
An American couple asked me over to their campfire for a beer. I always enjoy chatting to fellow travellers. They were local and were rafting down the river for a few days.
Turned in at 2130hrs, but was rudely awoken by the Union Pacific railroad engines 5 times through the night. These trains are so massive the whole ground seemed to shake when they went past hauling there huge number of freight carriages.
Exploits of one man and his bike travelling adventures 