Steamboat Springs. (Google)
The drive from Indian Crossing (near Dutch John, Utah) into Colorado was pretty uneventful. Coming to a place like Steamboat Springs we are always a bit concerned about possible traffic issues and the challenges of parking. Ski towns tend to be pretty busy even during the off season. We were happy to discover that In Steamboat, traffic wasn’t horrible and parking, even with the trailer, was doable.
Orange Peel Bike Shop in Steamboat Springs, CO.
Our very first shot at finding a parking spot couldn't have worked out nicer, right in front of the Orange Peel Bicycle Shop. With truck and trailer safely parked, I headed in to the shop to inquire about our options regarding the somewhat defunct bike rack. The staff was very helpful, offering to look at our crippled rack to see if anything could be salvaged. His response when he saw it? “Wow, dude, that really sucks!” Our options? Well, we could wait over a week for parts which in the long run would cost about a third of the cost of a new rack. And even if we repaired the old rack, there were no guarantees the other stabilization arm wouldn’t fail sometime in the near future. So, it looked like we would have to order a new rack, one that was a bit more robust and naturally, not in stock. As I left the store to inform Yvette of our solution, the same guy that was helping me came running out after me to proclaiming they had found the rack we ordered, already in stock, tucked away in one of there back storage rooms. Score one for the home team!
New bike rack. Heavier duty for those not-so-nice roads. Maybe we should start a pool as to how long this one will last?
They told us we could come back the next day (they wanted to assemble it ((for warranty issues))) and pick it up so we paid for the rack and left to search for a campsite for the night.
Great Pizza. Yes, we like it spicy!
Sometimes it takes some poppers, pizza and a good belt to set your gyros straight.
Well, searching for a campsite didn’t go very well. Not a lot of options to boon-dock in the area other than the community park, which isn’t our bag. Many of forest roads were still closed in the area due to snow or just being too wet. Sometime during our search, we received a call from the bike shop that our rack was ready ahead of schedule and we could come back and pick it up, so we did. We were not having much luck searching for a campsite anyway so picking up the rack and having dinner in town sounded like a good short term solution.
Time to get back on the road and look for a site for the night. (Good luck with that...)
We picked up the bike rack and got a brief overview of the care and feeding of it. It was a bit beefier than our old rack, about 10-15lbs beefier. Lets hope it holds up this time.
We had a great meal at the Otto Pint Brewery (click link for menu) in downtown Steamboat Springs. Though perhaps a bit pricey, it was worth every penny. One of the best pizzas we’ve had on the road thus far and it was nice to relax and enjoy the moment. And my sour ale was sublime! But when dinner was done, and the rack was on, where will we stay for the night? We hoped that a state park just outside of town would at least be a hassle-free solution to a good nights sleep. Stay tuned to see how that went. Hint...John's the one that almost needed bail money this time.