Salida - time to tone down this blog a little

How do you tone down a blog with a wit to rival that of The Simpsons? With statistics, facts and figures, that's how. I have been keeping records to rival that of Wisden's and I have decided now is the right time to publicise some of this information. So here goes:

By the miles:

Canada: 243 miles in 5 riding days, averaging 49 miles per riding day.
Montana (plus part day in Idaho): 808 miles in 13 riding days, averaging 58 miles.
Wyoming: 544 miles in 9 riding days, averaging 68 miles.
Colorado (to Salida): 255 miles in 4 riding days, averaging 63 miles.

Total riding miles to date: 1850 miles, which is close to double the point to point distance from Banff to Salida, CO which is 989 miles.

Shortest riding day: 11.8 miles (day 1)
Longest riding day: 88 miles (day 20: Lima, Montana to Mack's Inn, Idaho)

(To date five rest days)


By the elevations:

Canada: Average daily cumulative ascent of 2168 ft
Montana: Average 3625 ft
Wyoming: Average 3393 ft
Colorado: Average 4140 ft

Smallest climbing day: 1200ft (day 1)
Biggest climbing day: 6040 ft (day 33, Radium to Silverthorne, CO).

Total ascent: 105000 ft.
That is (from sea level): 3.6 Mt Everest's, 11.4 Mt Ruapehu's, or 80.3 Te Mata Peak's.

Lowest Elevation: 2582 ft (Eureka, Montana - a few miles inside the US border)
Loftiest Elevation: 11482 ft (Boreas Pass, near Breckinridge, CO).


Mechanical incidents:

Flat tyres:
1) A few miles before Lincoln, MT (Trystan).
2: A few miles short of Como, CO (Bougie - 30 miles into his GDR)
3: The exact same spot - Simon.

Chains:
Near new chains to start the trip.
News chains for all bikes at Butte MT (600 mile mark)
New chains (except for Simon, super chain cleaner he is) at Steamboat Springs CO (1500 mile mark)

Broken stuff:
1. Stripped pedal thread of crank (Simon)
2. Snapped rear rack (Grant)

Bent stuff:
1. Chain (Ben)
2. Rear derailler hangers (The bro's, multiple times!).
3. Bob trailer dropout (The bro's)


Others (the softer stuff):

Bagged Fourteeners: None

Spills: 1. Trystan loosing it on a highway/ gravel road intersection

Food:
Biggest breakfast: Colter Bay Village Buffet
Best trail lunch: Pita bread/ Nutella/ Cream Cheese piled as thick as you please
Biggest pasta dinner: 1400 grams (between four)

Worst bug: Those big black flies - maybe the horse fly? These things will hunt you down from a mile away just to draw your blood. A close second: the mosquito. Should be first due to sheer prevailance.

Other bugs:
Colds: Simon then Trystan.
24 hr stomach virus: Ben, Trystan, Grant (one day later), Ryan (two days after that)

Best riding day: Pinedale to near South Pass City (a misnomer). Seventy-eight miles on a day which began at midday - a good tailwind (opposite to the prevailing) and riding atop the Continental divide on a good dirt road for most of the day with views to both sides made for a totally unexpected hum-dinger.

Worst riding day: Riding from A&M Reservoir to Rawlins. Leaving the oasis in the desert, we were met with endless flat, sparse countryside on a flat, straight road running as far as the eye could see for much of the day - with a headwind to boot - and with the reward being a night in Rawlins!

Best Town: Steamboat Springs CO: We had a rest day here and could have taken two. This is a resort town but its cowboy underbelly keeps things nicely in check. Hitting the local brew pub two nights in a row for happy hour helped too.

Worst Town: I think you already know...