Tour Divide Update: Day 15
160km - Brush Mountain Lodge to Lynx Pass Campground
I was determined to keep the momentum going from the previous day, so on day 15 set my alarm early and was away from Brush Mountain Lodge, while everyone else in the bunkhouse was still sleeping.
As it turned out, my ambition was a little ahead of my body, and I discovered my legs were pretty empty from the previous couple of days.
The day began by continuing the climb up from Brush Mountain Lodge, on a new section of the route that changed this year. On paper it looks like an easier route albeit slightly longer, but while I have nothing to compare to as I haven’t ridden the route before, what I can say is it felt like nonstop hills over the course of the morning.
My progress was slow, and I kept looking over my shoulder, expecting to see people coming up to me and passing me.
Ironically enough, that morning was the last time I saw a southbound rider for the next three days.
My progress continued to be slow, even on downhill sections, and it wasn’t until around 3 PM that I rolled into my first town of the day, which was Steamboat Springs.
Funnily enough, there was a big gravel bike event happening in the area that day, and the urban portion of the route was lined with bike related stalls.
Unfortunately, as I was running way behind, I didn’t have time to really enjoy it all, but I did notice that I kept hearing calls of “hey, a TD rider!“ and expressions of excitement from passers by which was neat.
Despite being in a rush, I did need to stop at the bike stop there as I was worried that my bottom bracket was on the brink. Sure enough, the mechanics there quickly identified that that was an issue (it was apparently hard to turn it at all, and to my joy they were able to make room in the schedule to replace it on the spot.
With that fixed, I headed out of Steamboat Springs at around 3:30 PM, aiming to make it to Lynx Pass that night. I continued to be pretty low energy, but fortunately the riding became easier from there out, with rolling hills at the outset on paved road, turning into dirt road and a pleasant climb up to Lynx Pass to complete the day.
I pulled into the campsite at the peak of the pass at just after 8 PM, where I promptly struck up another conversation with some cyclists who were just out for the weekend, and fascinated by the ride. I would’ve loved to spend more time chatting with them, but I was exhausted, and so after exchanging some pleasantries, I got into my tent for some well-deserved sleep.
Total distance for the day: 160 km.