Astoria OR to Steamboat Springs CO

Astoria Oregon to Steamboat Springs Colorado
Click on Filter By Day Dropdown to See the Journal and Pics for Each Day

On June 1 I left Astoria, Oregon with a 27 day plan to ride the TransAmerica to Washington, DC. This would require hitting an average of 137 miles per day. For the first ten days, I was hitting my goals and feeling great. I was meeting the daily challenges head on, rising around 4:30-5 am, pedaling 12-15 hours to meet the mileage goals, rinse and repeat.

It was Day 8 in the Targhee National Forest that I decided to change my focus, slow it down, breathe easier and enjoy one of the most amazing riding I have done to date. The Pacific Northwest and the Northwest in general along the route had been spectacular. And riding off the beaten path was so rewarding. While maybe not as “fun” as my North Cape 4000 adventure discovering new country after country heading to the Artic, I was putting in the miles, meeting goals and doing some incredible riding. My training all winter was paying off, feeling strong and hitting goals.

By Day 9, something had clicked and I decided to look further into changing my route and work my way back to Steamboat via the GDMBR through Rawlins. My route I was on through the Grand Tetons, Moran Junction and Togwotee Pass, I was already on it. I could stay on the TransAm route to almost Riverton then head south to Rawlins. A big push but getting to Rawlins would setup me up for two days on the GDMBR to Steamboat. Awesome. I would have to decide the morning of Day 10 when I got to Lander.

I did change course to ride to Steamboat. A total ride of 1430 miles, climbing 64,954 feet with almost 1400 miles in the first 11 days and then Day 12 riding the last 45 miles into Steamboat. What a ride. It was another bike packing trip of a lifetime.