The new guy was going to spend a relaxing morning at the Orvis Hot Springs down the street while we got a head start on the mountain passes, and I was jealous. The Orvis Hot Springs have 110 degree hot pots outside, cedar lined private tubs inside, a small hotel, camping and a lot of good memories.
We stopped 15 miles away in Ouray for groceries and breakfast. Even in early July the town was only just beginning to wake up from its winter slumber. All of the breakfast spots and coffeeshops were still closed for another week waiting for the start of the tourist season. Grocery store coffee and breakfast muffins were the best that Ouray could do for us.
Onward up the S curve pavement rising in elevation on a stunning road with 1,000 foot drops into granite canyons and no safety railings, leaning into sweeping turns under avalanche tunnels, passing alpine meadow lakes sparkling in the glorious clear eyed sun. The high elevations of Colorado in summer are the most spectacular season in America.
We turned off at a mineral tinted creek and looked ahead to the gravel road winding up through the trees. This was it, the big mountain pass roads that we came to climb, and i was a little nervous.
I have ridden a lot in my years but i mostly used these XT’s on pavement to travel long distances. I’ve enjoyed short spurts on gravel but never really traveled more than a few dozen miles on these kinds of roads with these bikes.
As i stared at the track that disappeared around the first bend i had to slow my heart rate and focus my attention. The roads are passable by everything from KLR’s to BMW GS 1200’s so i just had to ride with confidence.
The first pass of four is Corkscrew Pass, probably the steepest of them all. Up we went into the aspen forests splashing through puddles and creek crossings having a wonderful time.
Up the switchbacks, over the loose rocks, bouncing off rock ledges, trying to keep the front tire on the ground. Stalling on the hill meant having to wind up the rpms and blast off because the bikes ran like shit above 10,000 feet coming off idle.
To the top we arrived above the tree line with a commanding view of the San Juan mountain range surrounded by snow tinged peaks on all sides, 13,000 feet above sea level.
We passed old mining equipment from Colorado’s gold rush days and bounced up and over rock piles, and scooted around jeeps and ATV’s that crawled along at a quarter of our speed.
Up and over Hurricane Pass, over neighboring California Pass, and over Cinnamon Pass balancing our way on two wheels and only one dropped bike.
We emerged from the passes into the realm of summer homes and shining blue lakes. Our destination was Lake City and we arrived around 3pm after about 6 hours of riding.
But our friend was not to be found. He ultimately wouldn’t show up for another 4 hours so we waited in style with a beer and lunch and rolled around in the grassy park in the middle of town.
I brought baseball mitts and my new friend and i tossed the ball back and forth for an hour and laid on our backs and watched the cottonwood trees dust the town with their namesake.
It was glorious. Not a better day could be had.
Our tardy friend finally arrived around 730 and we took off for a campsite along the lake as the sun was going down. Passing signs for other camping options caught our attention and andrew in front did a u turn.
I followed and started my u turn a little too fast and the combination of speed plus a back weighted bike locked the handlebars to the left causing the bike to slowly high side.
I stuck out my leg to stop the fall but it buckled under the weight of the bike and i felt my knee twist and depress as my foot hit the ground and the bike fell over.
Yeah i broke my knee right there.
My friends helped me lift the bike and i sat on the road contemplating life for a second. I knew the knee was fucked but i was also in a place where nothing could be done to help it. My health insurance is only good in the state of Utah and we were pretty far from there.
With the boys’ assistance i got back on the bike and threw my right leg over the tank and rode back into town on one peg to find a motel and figure out what the hell just happened.
The knee was swelling into a baseball and i knew i wasn’t going to be riding anywhere. One of the guys volunteered to ride down to my truck 5 hours away in the morning and bring it back for me to drive home.
For the next day and a half i laid in bed with ice and ibuprofen and watched my summer end. We all hoped it was a bad sprain but it felt awful and i needed western medicine to tell me what happened.
The next day i drove away to Utah and the boys continued on their trip for another 4 days. It took 11 very long hours to drive home and the next day x-rays and CT scans showed that yes indeed i had fractured my right tibia plateau.
So, i had surgery on Friday and I’ve been in bed ever since. Looking at a 3-4 month long recovery.
It was good while it lasted!
