12mph: Fish Creek Reservoir, a local treat.

     On August 30th, 2014, I started up Spring Creek Trail on a ride before work. After the trail terminated at Dry Lake I had a bit of extra time so I kept going up on Buffalo Pass Road. I got just past the second gate area and ran out of time. Having to turn around to go to work on a near cloudless day was torture. I knew I had the next two days off and decided I needed to finish what I started, so, the next morning I strapped on the bike bags for the first time since Tour Divide and started up Buffalo Pass Road for a quick out-and-back over-nighter.
     I rode out of town after having coffee and gathering up supplies, across the flats of Strawberry Park and swung a right on Buffalo Pass Road. The road soon turned to dirt and I started to ascend, after making it through a few curves in the upwardly mobile road I saw a familiar vehicle parked on the side of the road, my good buddy Harry digging around in the back of his 4-wheel-drive van. Right then a 1954 Jeep pulled up, a couple more friends of mine, and then a motocross bike comes ripping up to us, yet another good friend. Everyone was headed up Buffalo Pass for an afternoon barbeque at Summit Lake. After some socializing on the side of the road and me fending off offers for a motorized ride to the top of the pass, the eclectic group of vehicles sprung into action and began screaming up Buffalo Pass Road looking like a bunch of odd super heroes with our unique powers to get to the top. I, on my touring bike, was not the favorite to get to the top first.
     After a few thousand feet of climbing I got to Summit Lake and joined the festivities, immediately greeted as I rolled in with an expected "what took you so long?" comment from the motorists. We all laughed and I parked my bike and grabbed a bratwurst that was offered to me. "This bratwurst was worth the climb!" I mumbled as I finished it. After some socializing we all wanted to kick back by the water and went down to the shore to relax and look out at Summit Lake, a beautiful spot.
     A couple hours later I saw the sun getting low enough that I needed to get moving to finish my ride and find some free camping for the night. I bid farewell to my friends and rolled off towards Fish Creek Reservoir, which I had a tip from local bike shop owner Chris Johns had some great riding near it and some great free camping. He couldn't have been more correct. I descended the road from Summit Lake to Fish Creek Reservoir, went past the National Forest campground and found a phenomenal spot to camp for free right at the foot of the reservoir. Kickass! I dropped camp and had some dinner, a couple of roast beef sandwiches I had gotten at Backcountry Deli in Steamboat before I left. Right about the time I was getting relaxed after dinner the sun started setting and I got to watch one heck of a show, colors changing by the moment as the sun dropped behind the reservoir.
     As I lay in my tent, the temperature rapidly dropping now that the sun was away I kept thinking about Tour Divide, how lucky I was to have had that experience, and how much I love this sport called bikepacking.
     I awoke the next morning, crawled out of my tent and looked over the reservoir, what a beautiful place. I proceeded to pack up my camp as lazily as a man can while being driven by mosquitos and got all my gear situated back on the bike without getting eaten alive. I wanted to go past a gate I had run into at the end of the road the night before and see if I could get out to the dam before returning to town.
     It wasn't long before I had achieved my goal and got to the dam and a beautiful view looking out over Steamboat Springs. What a great way to start my morning. I then back-tracked the route I had traveled the day before and made my way back down the pass to the coffee house I'm writing this blog entry from.
     The downhill on Buffalo Pass Road was fast and furious and I felt my touring bike flow kicking in, handling the heavy bike brings out a different style of riding for me, and makes dirt roads a joy to downhill, flowing through rocks, pot holes, and washboard relatively peacefully and quietly. I had the big grin going and could think of nothing but how lucky I am to be able to do this, literally right in my back yard for a quick overnight trip. I can't wait to get up Buffalo Pass again and start exploring the multitude of roads and trails up there. So remember all you Steamboaters, bikepacking paradise is right in your back yard, and you can ride to it from town.