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I enjoyed coffee and a sandwich for breakfast today. Kirsten even made me a sandwich for the road. I was very happy to have it when I stopped for a break at the top of today’s long climb. From there, it was mostly downhill to Steamboat Springs.

On the way down, I stopped at the Clark Store for some ice cream and coffee. From there, it was a scary 15 miles into town. The road was winding and busy, usually with no shoulder. I think I spent about 70% of the time looking backward via my mirror. When I arrived in town and hopped off the uni, my hands were shaking after 2 hours of trying to be ‘super aware.’

Once in town, I found myself at the bike shop, then walked down the main street to find dinner. As I waited for a pizza, I called John and left a message to say that I’d made it into town and would try to find his place after dinner. I finished eating, got caught in a downpour, then headed to John’s place. I found it, but no one answered the door, and I didn’t feel comfortable pitching my tent with neighbors peeking through the curtains (not really) at the weirdo on a wheel in the cul-de-sac. I returned to the bike path that winds through town and continued riding it while looking for inconspicuous places to camp. I also stopped at hotels to check for vacancies, but every place was booked. I found a spot between the bike path, river, and railroad tracks that I thought might work, but by this point, it was getting pretty dark, and it was hard to tell if I was really out of sight. It was also in wet, tall grass, and pointy things were sticking out of the ground. I decided to try calling a few more places and eventually found the Bunkhouse Lodge with one room still available. I headed that way, but for the life of me, I could not find the place, even with my GPS navigation. I called back to discover that they had changed their name, and I’d been riding back and forth through their parking lot. I’m feeling very comfortable under the cover of a roof tonight.