The first night we decided to stay in a hotel room since we rolled into town a bit late after indulging in some tasty tacos & margs in Leadville on the way. The first day was actually filled with snacks along the way...anniversary cheese fries were first on the list. We hit up the Dairy Delite in Hot Sulfur just after our departure from G.L.
Yummy yet disgusting all at the same time.Copper had a food coma after the cheese fries...
The next day we just acted like tourists. As we left the hotel that morning we ran into a cyclist (Matt) on his 1800th mile of the Great Divide Trail. He started in Banff, Alberta, Canada and was heading down towards his family near Austin. He stopped to chat when he noticed our 2 bikes on the back of our truck. We talked about his trip and the benefits and downfalls of 29" wheels compared to 26. He noticed Tim and I were both on big wheels and stated that he wouldn't be doing the trip on anything but! He also explained that the ride was not too much singletrack like the description suggests and his fully suspended Ventana was a waste of weight. The final geeky point I have to touch on (and then I'll get on with it, I promise) is that he was pulling a B.O.B. trailer and lamented over the fact that he didn't have just panniers. Again, not a necessary accessory: panniers would have been sufficient and easier to get around with. He ran into 6 other folks from the UK (all on 26" wheels) on the GDT also and they were caravaning and camping it together. We ended up camping next to them that night. Good luck guys & have a blast!!
That day we spent some quality time at the local coffee shop and set up camp on their deck with the lappy and a latte. Now we know why our customers are always smiling!! The Salida Cafe, or Bongo Billy's, is right on the river and conveniently located next door to Absolute Bikes which gets our vote as the coolest bike shop in town (there are actually 3 shops in Salida!). We really did as little as possible that day; just read guest guides and planned the rest of our stay.
We found a place to camp near town and after having a tasty dinner at The Twisted Cork we hit the hay in preparation for the big ride the next day. This little mushroom lived on one side of our tent, and the GDT crew lived on the other!
We caught a shuttle up to the parking area at Monarch Pass and hit the trail! So, here's the onslaught of MCT pics. Enjoy! We only got lost 3 times. No big deal!!! We decided to just use the little shitty map that we tore out of the mountain biking guide we picked up the day before. Bad idea. Just a suggestion to future Monarch riders: buy the real map. It's worth every penney of that $11.99!
The trail is super cool because of its diversity and incredible views from every direction. There's scree fields, rocky sections, steep jeep roads, scary switchbacky descents, and nothing but fun. Fun that is, until you're kinda lost for the second time and you'r hungry and the clouds are starting to say "get a move on." Luckily at that point we ran into 2 guys on atv's and they pointed us down the Silver Creek section that was the best singletrack of the trail in my opinion.
Tim looking cute at the first "we're kinda lost" point
I just want you to all look closely at the new trend I'm setting: sleeveless jersey and armwarmers. I know, I know, you wish you would have thought of it first. I'm just so dang innovative! (or geeky, whatever you want to call it.)
http://www.singletracks.com/php/trail.php?id=929
This little link gives you some maps descriptions and more pictures.
We finished it in about 5 +/- hours and made it back just before the thunderstorm arrived!
We love Salida because everyone is on their bikes!
Us: after a little time at Amicas, a cool little pizzeria and brewery. Um, we like their IPA.
Sorry Echo, you don't pose well with hats on. Copper, sadly, does. I'll have to get some other sweet Echo dawg pictures up here!
All in all, awesome trip. So great that we extended it by a day. We got back late Friday. Sleep now, must stop typing...
1 comment:
yo, just curious what you were up to. were taking off to santa fe in a week. on the bike for a month. rad.
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