As we awoke in the Boys and Girls club of Craig, it was pretty chilly outside. Luckily it warmed up just in time for our departure and it turned out to be a gorgeous ride into Steamboat Springs. This was our first real taste of the beauty of Colorado mountains and rivers but we didn’t spend too long looking around since Christian McSweeney (CU Boulder) pulled our paceline at around a hot 22 mph for about 25 miles. After this ride, I get why people love this area.
After we arrived in Steamboat Springs, we had a deliciously nutritious lunch whipped up by Chef Troy Strickland. We then got to explore the town a bit. Some of us wandered into F.M. Light and Sons old western store (we had seen signs for about 200 miles before the town) and entertained ourselves by trying on hats and the such. Many people also went to Coldstone to grab a frozen treat.
Later that evening we walked over to the Horizons headquaters house where we had a great dinner of gourmet sandwiches and coleslaw. This was accompanied by some trivia and lots of laughs by the team and participants both. After the friendship visit, I was invited by one of the caretakers to walk around town with him, team member Ambrose Haas and two of the Horizons participants, Peter and Keith. We went and got some sodas at a place called RocketFizz and were all joking around about all the funny flavors like Nuclear Orange, Havana Banana, and Martian Poop. After that we walked around more and got to know and appreciate the Horizons organiztion a little better as well as getting to know Scott (the caretaker), Peter, and Keith. This has been one of my favorite stops of trip thus far becasue of the awesome people I got to meet as well as being able to connect with and hear the stories of the the people of the town.
Ben Walters
Purdue University
Cyclist