Up we go again!
Today marked another high point…literally!
The climb, starting immediately in Salida today would take us to the top of Marshall Pass, another high altitude pass we would encounter on the Tour Divide.
As a result of the drenching we took at the end our our ride yesterday, and despite desperate attempts to dry our shoes and clothes with a motel hair dryer, we would start the day with wet shoes on our feet, and wet clothes stuffed deep in our packs!
However, before we could begin our day of riding, there were a lot of administrative things to get done today.
As we checked out of our motel, we made a list of the things we needed to do today. 1) Get a good breakfast as Marshall Pass would require significant energy to climb, 2) Repair Ray’s once again torn frame pack (Gorilla Tape and Glue) , 3) Try to find a carraige bolt to fix Shane’s saddle, 3) Go to a bike shop to get new chains and if needed brake pads. The morning would not be quick and, as a result, the mileage not long for the day.
It’s one of the decisions that has to be made on the TD. Do we take chances (of many types), or play it safe. Today we decided to play it safe, though it would cost us miles that we needed to get in.
In a few minutes after leaving the motel we mad our way to a local cafe and had a nice, and large, sit down breakfast. It was unusual to take our time eating in the morning, and it felt strange and unearned.
After breakfast and a quick ride, we pulled into an Ace Hardware to get our repair items. Unfortunately the carriage bolt was a waste of good money (19 cents!!) as it was just bit too big. Anyway, I had been missing one of the bolts that held my saddle skin to the frame for about 700 miles, maybe it’ll last to Mexico! We were able to get the tape and glue Ray and I needed and we were soon on our way to a bike shop.
The shop was incredibly well stocked, unlike many of the small stores we had stopped in along the way. Seeing us walk in , the first question they asked was whether we were Tour Divide racers (loosely we were..). Once we said yes, our needs went straight to the front of the queue! Rays bike was first, needing a new chain and brake pads. Mine came next and a chain was quickly replaced. Now Ray and I were each carrying a new chain we had from the start at the border, but when you get service lie we got, the proper thing to do is buy from the shop. So, our new chains remained in our packs and the shop got a sale as well. We threw the mechanic a couple fo 10’s as a tip, which he quickly threw in their “Beer” tip jar, and out the door we went. The entire shop visit lasted less than 20 minutes! We spent a few more minutes outside the shop fixing Rays pack and using some Gorilla tape to keep my rear seat pack from riding up the post. During that time we had multiple conversations with folks that were coming and going, and the morning crept on.
One more, longer than expected, stop at a grocery store to buy snacks (beef sticks, Ramen, sandy bars, etc) and we were finally on our way out of Salida.
As we rolled the 5 or so miles out of Salida to the start up the climb that would lead us to Marshall Pass Road, we had the chance to look due West at the already building and incredibly threatening clouds. Remember what I said about clouds building before 1000AM in Colorado and NM??!!
The climb up US Highway 285 was smooth and fast as Ray and I once again self paced up the climb. After a couple of miles, here they came! Raindrops…again. I pulled over to put on my rain gear and in less than a minute, Ray rolled up and did the same.
The rain was light, and on-and-off. That resulted in us zipping up, unzipping, zipping up, unzipping, etc. (better than taking rain gear on and off repeatedly). After about another couple of miles we took a right onto the dirt that was Marshall Pass Road. Our nice clean bikes were once again covered in mud, albeit a light cover this time. We rode a steady pace for a few miles, and soon the clouds had parted enough that the sun was steaming us inside our rain gear. We stopped again to take it off.
Getting back on the road, the miles were smooth and relatively easy as we climbed the lower parts of the ascent to the pass. We stopped for a light snack after about 10 miles, estimating that we had about another 15 miles to the summit.
Continuing up the climb, we figured that the entire would take us on the order of 4-5 hours. Now, riding 25 miles in 4-5 hours might seem like a very pedestrian pace, but when you’re riding a 55-60 pound bike, and that 25 miles includes over 4000’ of climbing, and you’re 21 days and about 1500 miles into a race, that 5-6mph is just about all you can average!
As we went up the climb, again riding at our own paces and regrouping every 45-60 minutes, you have a lot of time to think. One thinks about everything imaginable. One of the reasons to think about many things is that you DON’T WANT TO THINK about the hours of climbing you have ahead of you! As cyclists who regularly ride at 18-20 mile an hour, it takes a lot of practice to wrap your minds around averaging 4 miles an hour, and for long stretches riding at 2-3 mph. It wears on your mind, how slow your are actually moving. You just have to ignore it and keep moving forward.
Moving forward all the time became a mantra for Ray and I. Whether riding quickly, slowly, or pushing or bikes, we just wanted to keep moving forward. So we did. We moved forward (although slowly!!) up Marshall Pass, until we were stopped, by critters!
As we were climbing on a particularly long and straight stretch of road, a large herd (group?) of Bighorn Sheep appeared in the road. There were about 20 of them, including a bunch of ewes and kids. They were all over the road and digging at something in the ground. We watched them, unwilling to move, and us unwilling to try to make them (we were enjoying watching the kids and also needed a break). They took turns digging in the road and head-butting each other out of the way to do so. It was comical to watch and a nice diversion from the climb. After about 5 minutes they decided they had dug enough and wandered off, one-by-one into the surrounding aspen. As we rode by the hole they had dug, we noticed nothing that would indicate why that particular area was different that the other thousands of miles of road they could dig in. Who knows?
Once again on the road, we climbed, and climbed, and climbed, until finally the temperatures started to drop as we saw more snow on the ridge lines above us. It’s strange to see snow when we had ridden on and off for several weeks in temperatures over 100 degrees. Altitude is a wonderful thing!
Finally, after several hours, we summited. As we rolled over the top of the pass, we stopped to take pictures to document our ride, and enjoy snacks (and the ever called for nature break. Hey! We drink a LOT of water on these rides so stops like this occur a ton! See what you’re learning about bikepacking by reading this blog! ;))
We soon started down the back side of the pass. The long and fast descent was one of the most enjoyable on the trip!
We knew this would be a short day, given that we hadn’t left Salida until very late in the morning, and so we decided that stopping in the VERY small town of Sargents, CO might be a good choice.
As we rolled into Sargents, really nothing more than a stop on the highway versus a town, we were surprised to see an RV park complete with cabins, a convenience store, and a restaurant. Being 4th of July weekend, we figured the cabins were full, but we incredibly surprised to find that there was one cabin left!
We checked in (really just saying, we’ll take it and them handing us keys), went to our cabin, changed, took showers at the RV communal showers, and started a load of laundry we had stored wet in our bags. After that it was time to go the restaurant to eat and drink an adult beverage.
The restaurant was packed with travelers and guests staying at the RV park. Most of the RVers had huge rigs, and almost every one of them had a UTV as well. It was a busy place with UTVs coming and going. The RV park was packed.
After dinner we retrieved our now dry laundry, talked about our plan for tomorrow, and went back to our small cabin to turn in for the night. W have another big day of climbing ahead of us tomorrow, as we head toward Del Norte Colorado and the climbs in between, Cochetopa Pass and Carnero Pass, each over 10,000’ high.
We’re South bound and down!
Shane and Ray
