Today we rode from Brush Mountain Lodge, Colorado, US to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, US. Sunny / overcast weather. Road conditions included mainly gravel roads, and jeep tracks. Highlights of the day include Brush Mountain Lodge.

Riding statistics: on Thursday, August 25, 2022, day 25 on the route, it took 06:46h (05:11h moving time), between 09:39 and 16:25, to cover 79 km (49 miles), including 1004 m (3294 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 15 km/h (9 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 51 km/h (32 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 24 °C (75 °F) with a minimum of 17 °C (63 °F) and a maximum of 33 °C (91 °F).

Totals: So far, it took 7 days, 10 hours, 9 minutes, and 56 seconds of cycling time to cover 2630 km (1634 miles), including 30053 m (98604 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 15.0 km/h (9.3 mph).

It is common in the Brush Mountain Lodge to have breakfast together. Yesterday evening Kristen asked everyone for a suitable time, and breakfast was set for 8:30am. Coffee ready for the ones we want it from 8am. I slept great and had a good night of sleep. I got out of my tent around 07:30am so that I had plenty of time to fresh up, and get the bike packed. That way we could leave immediately after breakfast. Kirsten was again great. She made breakfast for all us. A plate with a few burgers, an egg, and four pancakes. It was quite the breakfast and we enjoyed it thoroughly. After saying our goodbyes, we left, almost together with all the others. Later that day we heard that the three Brits (dad + twins) did not leave and decided to stay one more day (again).

Brush Mountain Lodge was located on the uphill of a long climb which we started yesterday. First thing today is finishing that climb. This also took us out of that large valley we have been in since yesterday afternoon. The scenery was stunning, and the road continued to go uphill & downhill all the time. About 10km (6 miles) later, the main climb of today started. The climb had a length of about 6km (3.5 miles) and had an elevation gain of about 450m (1476ft). That is very doable, however the condition of the road made it very hard. There were sections which we had to hike-a-bike. Sometimes step-by-step climbing, pushing, and dragging the bike. Nevertheless, it was an adventure. Once we arrived at the top we had hoped for a great downhill. Unfortunately, the road condition was still that difficult that we had to be very careful. You really had to choose your lines on the road, between the rocks, to make sure it went as smoothly as possible. Our bikes and gear got really shaken up today. It was a long downhill, which was tiring for the legs. The (distant) views were again incredible.

At a certain moment we turned back on a paved road and not much later we were in Clark. Nothing more than an intersection with a general store. Enough to have a break with some snacks, ice creams, and cold drinks. When leaving the porch of the general store after our break, we met Tiago again. He had been enjoying a break as well. From Clark we had to follow the paved road for about 30km (18.5 miles) to get to Steamboat Springs. Fortunately, there was not much traffic, and the road had a pretty wide shoulder for us to ride on. Tiago went of because he had an appointment with a bike shop to replace his tires.

In Steamboat Springs we went to the KOA campground and requested a hiker/biker campsite. Fortunately, there were still available. We quickly setup our tents and called our preferred bike shop (Orange Peel Bicycle Services) to see if they had time available tomorrow for checking our bikes. If so, we would already bring them today so they could start working on them in the morning. The informed us to come over and see what can be done.

At 5pm we were at the Orange Peel bike shop, and they started helping us immediately. My bike did not need much, even the chain was still OK. I only needed my shifting to be finetuned again. The cable had stretched a bit. No big deal, but this is easier done in a bike shop than in a campground. Five minutes my bike was ready. Anna’s bike was another story. To use the mechanics words ‘it opened a can of worms’. A new chain was not sufficient, they recommended to replace the whole drivetrain (chain, cassette, and chainring). Besides that, she also required two new tires (the main reason for going there). Anna wanted to buy the mechanics some beers, but they took us into a back room with a fridge, and it was stocked with cans of beer. We had great fun with them. Thanks to these guys we did not need to spent a whole day in Steamboat Springs.

When finished we asked them their advice for some food, and they recommended us the ‘Backdoor Grill’ restaurant. It was only a few minutes by bike. When we rode back to the KOA, it was already getting dark. We took showers, did laundry, and went to bed.

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