We set alarms for o' dark hundred... today promised nearly 6000 feet of climbing on dirt over 45 miles to get to the promise land of farm-to-table food stuffs. Challenge accepted. And we crushed it. I had braced myself for a sufferfest and while it was hard, it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. The climb was well graded in a pleasant forest which gave way to the showstopper of Hells Backbone Bridge.
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| Pictures never do it justice. |
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| And the golden explosion was more golden than golden. |
We left with full bellies, slightly buzzed, and happy for short 2 mile spin downhill to get to dispersed camping on the Burr Trail.
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| Pondering the two wines we chose. |
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| Braised beef. |
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| We made it to the legal dispersed camping area! There are moments in bike touring that are perfect. Those in the know, know. Take a long, hard, beautiful biking day... and then add just enough booze to get fuzzy, and then add the best of humans and good food, and then more bikes. And then add the perfect dispersed campsite. And that's where we found ourselves as we decided to cowboy camp off the Burr Trail, with just enough light to scramble up to a view of the most amazing sunset.
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| Cowboy camping cuz it was so dang warm. |
Sounds like you perhaps took Hells Backbone Road? Highway 12, while paved, is really astounding. I've ridden it twice and it is a breathtaking experience. Highly recommended. I would like to ride Hells Backbone someday though.
ReplyDeleteYep, we took the Hells Backbone Road... we had heard Highway 12 was amazing! Our original plan was to ride it, but then we just can't resist dirt roads... it'll give us an excuse to come back!
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