Watch fOr Mountain Lions

Day 40. 60.3 miles and 6,019 feet of elevation gain! We left around 8 am after saying goodbye to Ed and Donna who were great hosts. we enjoyed our day off in their home and use the hose to clean our bikes in the backyard with the chickens. Goodbye Ollie. You are a great dog! Started on the bike path out of Steamboat Springs. It meandered along the Yampa river. Fairly quickly the houses were further apart and we were in Ranch country again. Horses and cows, fences and fields, pick up trucks and magpies. We passed a pretty lake and continued on the flats for a few miles. We then climbed up to the Stage Coach Reservoir and crossed the dam. There was a large sign just before the dam that warned of a mountain lion in the area. The lake had a low water level as it was generating electricity and it’s been dry out here. We skirted the reservoir and started to climb eventually reaching Lynx Pass, over 9,000 feet. After you go up, you get to come down. We passed an historic building from a stage coach stop and then we had to take our shed off to ford a small, cold river. Then we climbed again and rode along the “eyebrow” - as we called it, a fairly level section at the top of a ridge, with a few ups/downs as it followed the contours of the mountain. Tara’s brakes are flat again and we don’t know if there is an adjustment….and we started the down, supposedly one of the best downhill sections on the entire great divide trail. It was awesome, even with soft brakes. We dropped down 2500 feet to the Colorado River in the “town” of Radium. There is no town, just a boat launch for those rafting on the Colorado river. And a small campground with pit toilets. We arrived before six pm and filter drinking water out of the Colorado river for dinner and tea. Set up our tent and had dinner and by the time we were cleaned up and ready for bed it was past the Marsha rule time of 8 pm. The weather was spectacular today - frost this morning but soon in the 60’s or close to 70 with blue sky and sunshine. Because we rode 20 miles beyond our planned mileage, we mapped out a new plan for the next few days to connect and ride with Maggie, stay with Hollyanna in Breckenridge, and meet up with Larry and Mimi for three nights. We will ride 40+ each day for 4 days and take Friday off in Salida.