We left Rawlins in a storm and we cycled against the wind through an open landscape. The bikes were heavy again, because we had to carry extra water for the evening and part of the next day again. A car stopped alongside and the driver asked if we needed any water. We didn’t say no of course. He told us he was on his way to refill the cooler a bit further up the road. He always filled it for cyclists and hikers. So we met another trail angel. A few miles later we found the cooler with cold water and sachets with powder for energydrinks. We also took some of those and they really came in handy later on.
The last part of that day we rode through aspen forest. It had been a whole long time since we last saw trees and forest and cycled through a forest. And those trees came in handy later. Because they provided shelter from the thunderstorm and rain. When it dried we continued and tried to find a camping spot. We managed to find a relatively dry spot in an open field.
The next day we passed a rental cabin where the hosts live next to in a mobile home. We filled our bottles with water there, so we had enough for another hot day. After a long descent on a paved road, we turned into a gravel road again to go to a ranch where we wanted to camp. The road was a constant low gradient uphill, but we reached the ranch early in the day. Because it was still so early, we decided to continue. We were lucky to be able to book the last spot on the campground in Steamboat Springs State Park. But that meant we had a tough afternoon ahead of us.
We left the ranch in the heat and the road was very hilly, we kept going up and down the same way. We knew that we had a long climb ahead of us, but we didn’t know when it would start. Because of the heat and the hills the sachets with energy drink were a real blessing. We cycled passed the enormous Three Forks Ranch, a luxury accommodation where often celebreties and other rich people spent some time to be completely away from their hectic lives for a while. And indeed there is nothing in that (beautiful) area, except the golf course and the other facilities and activities the ranch offers.
During the long and steep climb out of the valley, the sky around us turned darker and darker and we could hear the thunder in the distance. Fortunately the big (hail)storm went by us, so we stayed dry. In Columbine, which is nothing more than a very small convenient store and cabin rental, we reached the highest point. Then we only had a few miles downhill to go to get to Steamboat Lakes State Park and our nice spot on the campground.
When we were having breakfast the next morning, we saw many cyclists on gravel bikes pass on the road in the distance. There was a gravel event in Steamboat and many people participated. They had to go up where we cruised down, and we had many pass us on our way to Steamboat, also Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas who has gravel riding as a hobby. Many riders cheered us on, while it would be a lot more appropriate for us to cheer them on since they were going uphill. We were able to get a cabin at the campground in Steamboat, all other affordable accommodations were booked because of the gravel event, even the tentsites at the campground.
