Boulder to Kendall Valley Lodge
Strava: 74.3 km, 448m, 3:32, 133 shifts, 42 kph max
Despite being kicked out of the tent cabin he occupied last night by a late arriving bike racer, Andrew said he slept really well on our porch, the cabin being too small for four. He now has one Bed Upgrade Credit.
Today’s stage was an unusual one I guess. We had no stress or doubt or issues at all today. Packing up at 6 was so routine, and we started the ride in great weather, cool and nearly windless, at 7.
We rode back through Boulder (population is 115, so not much more than the Boulder Store we went to yesterday). Then on to Pinedale, the big city (population 2005). It was a very gentle climb, we rode together and suddenly we were there.
First we had to have coffee, chocolate for me. We had seen a few Tour Divide racers and more were in town. After a relaxed time we moved to a café for breakfast. That was really nice too, I think Andrew was getting a suspicious feeling that something was up.
Wytze volunteered to do the food shopping while the rest of us went to the outdoor sports shop. We bought a new filter core for our water filter and more stove gas. We met Wytze at the bike shop where Andrew was hoping for a new saddle. But it was recently shut down so no such luck.
A couple of blocks down we found the park, with Pine Creek, a beautiful, clear, fast moving river going through it. We sat on the shore, shoes off, and ate cherries and banana bread. Breakfast supplement. I went wading. Daniel had a nap and Andrew was getting really suspicious now. This was so abnormal. Just relaxing for no reason! A woman came over to remind us to stop at the Visitor Center for free stuff for bikers. Pinedale for the win!
Finally we woke Daniel up and took off. Out of town the route takes a little gravel detour but then gets back on a smooth, lightly travelled paved road. We took it 40 km to the end of our current GPS track. I had split the original seven Great Divide tracks from Adventure Cycling into 20 smaller ones that fit on our bike computers. They are about 200-300 km each. We finished #11 and started #12. We chatted with another NOBO cyclist and waved to quite a few SOBO racers.
Then we saw a place called ‘The Place’, so we had to stop. It was closed, only open a few days of the week but had a nice porch so we had snacks there. We noticed their sign to bikers and wondered how they could’ve had so many bad experiences as to necessitate that sign. I took a photo and was tempted to have Andrew and his AI go to town but we decided it was best untouched. We laughed ourselves silly pretending to throw turd bags around. I nearly died for the hundredth time.
The last 10 km from The Place was uneventful, up the beautiful valley. Just as the pavement ended we turned off on a dirt road to the Kendall Valley Lodge. We checked in and were given two large rooms, very luxurious. The whole setting is gorgeous and we sort of couldn’t believe our luck. On top of that, their biker discount is substantial, making the cost per person under $50. The normal showers and laundry were done, and it wasn’t even 3 pm!
It might’ve been an easy day today, but we did hit the milestone of 2500 km ridden. Around 5 pm we drifted to the bar for some beers. We ended up staying for over three hours, first just beers and nuts, then for an amazing big dinner. We were the only customers and we had a fantastic time talking to our young bartender, also named Andrew. One of the owners was interested in our story and sign photo of ‘The Place’. She confirmed the owner there is an “asshole”.
When we finally got around to dinner it was salads and prime rib, filet mignon, bison, salmon, amazing meals. There was a bottle of California red wine, various desserts, a round of Jagermeister, and some other crazy drinks like Screwball Whiskey (peanut butter flavored) and Dr. McGillicuddy’s Mentholmint. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves capping off a really memorable day on tour. I love this so much!
Also of note today, Victor Bosoni completed the 2026 Tour Divide race by riding from Banff to Antelope Wells in 11 days, 8 hours and 45 minutes! He beat the previous record by a day and a half and I can’t even fathom how in the hell he did it. That’s one for the ages.
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