Day 3 starts off heading southwest. Garmin proclaims there are 10 climbs on this day. The cue sheet calls out East Rabbit Mountain (9451 feet), West Rabbit Mountain (9584 feet), Gore Pass (9524 feet), and finally Willow Creek Pass (9659 feet). Lots of big climbs ahead for this day and words from Jeff saying that the descent into Steamboat Springs would be fantastic. He also called out the descent from Gore Pass as a gem. But, as you will read, the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.
For breakfast, I ate pastry and some oatmeal that was available. Both were delicious. My roommate Chris rolled out with a fast group. As we got ready to leave, Charlie Martin asked if I had a CR2032 battery for his rear shifter. I said I didn't, but maybe to check with Russ. Jeff and I rolled out together and we eventually were caught by Ken Moss and Matt Kreger who were also riding together.
We rolled along amiably chatting about different things. There was a cross head wind as well as a head wind to deal with. We had a few minor climbs. As we got close to Rabbit Ears, a rider rolled towards us (not part of the brevet) warning us about rain. As we got to the base of the climb, Ken said he would see us up the road and took off. I stopped for a moment to eat a small bag of trail mix. I had found that this was becoming my go-to food for powering up the legs on this brevet. Matt was waiting for me, but I told him to go. Again, I climbed well. I caught and passed Matt and then caught and passed Luis. I passed another rider who I don't remember and reached the first summit. There was no sign, but I did take a photo. I also took a photo at the western summit of Rabbit Ears.
Now that I was at the top of Rabbit Ears, I started the descent into Steamboat Springs. The start of the descent was fine. However, trouble loomed ahead. At some near the top of the pass, we reached a spot where riders were waiting for a pilot car to take them along the area under construction. The bad news was the descent was being paved with chip seal and there was gravel everywhere! We descended very carefully to avoid any issues with gravel. At the bottom of the climb at the store, Jeff joked that our friend Amy Russell would have freaked out with all the construction and gravel. At the store, there was a F'Real machine. I took off most of my layers and I happened to notice a CR2032 battery on the railing in front of the store. I figured Charlie Martin had been here and found his battery. Later on he told me he had lost track of that battery when he replaced it.
The next stretch was north and for the next 20 miles we found we had a tail wind to push us along. Kirsten Walker caught us and rode with us for awhile. The climbing out of Steamboat was easy and things went well until we got about 10 miles from Yampa. The wind shifted and the clouds started to gather. I opted to skip an early store stop along the route and continue on to Yampa so I could refuel closer to the Gore Pass climb. This turned out to be a hard stretch for me. I held Jeff's wheel and limped into Yampa for food and drink. The sign outside the store proclaimed Hunt Bros pizza, but the woman inside said she would not make pizza because it was too hot to make pizza. We ate Fritos and queso instead.
Kirsten had stopped at the earlier store and she pushed ahead to try and get ahead of the impending rain. Jeff and I waited a bit for the rain to slacken and then headed out. As we got closer to the base of Gore, the rain picked up. We started the climb and I just decided to push ahead and I left the group behind. The rain continued to come down and I got colder and colder as I got higher and higher. Gore Pass is split into 3 different pieces and it's the 3rd climb that takes you to the actual summit. It is the steepest of the 3 parts and I was glad to stay warm, but was thinking hard about DNF as I inched my way up to the top of the pass. When I reached the summit, Kirsten was there with the van. Roger Peskett was already in the van getting warm. I climbed into the passenger seat. Kirsten fetched my dry wool base layer from my handlebar bag. I took off my jacket and vest and pulled on the base layer. Kirsten cleaned my glasses and wrung out my gloves. More riders arrived and got into to the back of the van. Kirsten pulled out all the gear to make room for riders to seek warmth. At the point the van was full and the rain stopped, I got out, got back on my bike and did the long, shivering descent down Gore Pass. I pedaled and braked at the same time so I could control my speed and avoid shivering and making the bike unstable.
At the bottom the climb, you turn on to a section of US-40 that is awful. There is no shoulder and lots of fast moving traffic. I kept rolling up and down hills and finally reached Kremmling. In the store, I found my roommate Chris and Kirsten both sitting and saying they were DNFing. Kirsten was struggling with asthma issues. I gave her my inhaler to see if it would help, but she said that above 8000, she just suffers and the inhaler was not helping. Chris said his legs were dead. I tried to get him to roll with me and Jeff and told him he could go slow, but he said he was done. At the store, I went ahead and ordered a veggie pizza with banana peppers in preparation for Jeff's arrival. I drank hot coffee and warmed up inside the store. Jeff arrived and we ate hot, fresh pizza. In the store, I also bought a souvenir shirt to act as one more base layer.
Jeff and I left the store and rolled down US-40. The road improved and as we got near Hot Sulphur Springs, the canyon view was beautiful.
We rolled along and eventually reached the CHC Aid Station which was at the base of Willow Creek Pass. We drank Coke and were offered many different things to eat. I used the bathroom and then we rolled out. Jeff and I agreed that we would roll out at 6am the next morning. He didn't want me to wait for him at the top of the pass.
Willow Creek is split into 2 different parts with the actual summit further along. I got up the first climb and then rolled along for about 10 miles alone. I then reached the 2nd climb and I passed by3 riders including Andrew and Luis as I got up to the summit. I then put on as much warm clothing as I could and my Cygo-lamp and started the descent. There was about 5 miles of sharp descent and I tucked in and made the best of even though there was a lot of gadunk, gadunk. When I reached the bottom, the sign announced there was still 28 miles to Walden. Most of this road was downhill too. I put the bike into a big gear and rolled along at 16-18. As I got about 8 miles from Walden, I caught up to a large group of SIR riders that included John Nguyen, Andy, Sarah, and a few other riders. My hands were frozen and it helped to have someone to talk to combat the pain of the final miles of gadunk, gadunk, gadunk, gadunk. Andy asked if we could file a class action lawsuit against CDOT for back injury. As we reached Walden, we heard thunder and saw lightning. I was so relieved to get in. Karen was there to greet us and tell us dinner would be ready in a few minutes. I went into the room and showered and cleaned up. The rain started so I dashed across to the common area where hot hamburgers were waiting along with fixings and salad. Not that we were done, but reaching the end of Day 3 was a big relief. The awful feeling of Gore Pass and the long cold stretch into Walden from Willow Creek were done. I climbed into bed and set the alarm for 5:00 AM.
All photos for Day 3 are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xkLzSA3EougjmuYN6
Full Garmin data can be found here: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/7129583003