Day 34: Ski Towns in the Summer (Hartsel to Silverthorne)

Total distance: 70 miles

We got going a little late after having breakfast at the gorgeous ranch in Hartsel. After rolling over 3 miles of dirt/gravel roads, we were back on the trail.

We battled headwinds for a bit, before stopping in Fairplay to buy groceries for the day. Then we made a stop in nearby Southpark to take a photo!

Clearly missing a biking buddy!

The climb up to Hoosier pass turned out to be pretty gradual. We traveled a good distance up without really noticing it! But a final four miles of steady uphill on the pass itself made us realize we were going up a mountain. Luckily none of us were struggling too much with the altitude and we made it up just fine.

This is what our bikes look like at over 11,000 feet of elevation

Highest point on the trail!

Classic cartwheel photo

We took a few moments at the top before we noticed dark clouds blowing in over the peak. We ended up racing a thunderstorm down the mountain. We were freezing during the descent but overheating by the time we got to Breckenridge!  Colorado weather has definitely been the most unpredictable of any state yet. You can't tell what's coming until its right over you. Its a little frightening.

Luckily, we beat the storm to the ski town of Breckenridge, which also happens to be a very busy place in the summer. We had lunch and then paid a visit to one of the many breweries in the area.

A toast to making it down the mountain!

View from the brewery

After stopping by the bike store for some work on Alix's gears, we wound our way over to Silverthorne on a lovely smooth bike path. Its pretty exciting not to be dodging cars occasionally, and we loved the many views of rivers and reservoirs. The path down the side of the Dillon dam was the steepest bike path we've seen! After a stop at a Walmart and a Pearl Izumi outlet, we headed to our host's home in Silverthorne. A huge thank you to our hosts (Sarah's past ski coach and his family) for letting us spend the night!

The bike path near Dillon. Every town should have one!