Mustangs and Rodeos: four days in Steamboat Springs

Steamboat Springs was the first good-sized town we came to in Colorado, and we warmed to it right away. It's main attraction is skiing. In fact, I read that they call it Ski Town USA because it has sent more athletes to the Winter Olympics than any other ski town in the nation. It also has miles and miles of hiking and mountain biking trails too, a lovely paved path along its Yampa river, and lots of great boutiques, galleries and restaurants.
The town is surrounded by ranch land, so there are plenty of cowboys around. So it makes sense that they hold a Pro Rodeo here every weekend in summer. We happened on the Rodeo grounds accidentally while out for an evening bike ride, and the aroma of BBQ ribs and the live country music lured us in to join the family fun for a couple of hours of good entertainment.


The bull riding and saddle bronc riding were the most exciting. As I watched these hardened, wirey cowboys get thrown around and bucked off and sometimes stomped on, I couldn't help comparing them with wimpy professional soccer players who writhe around on the ground in mock agony when they get tripped. At the rodeo, when a guy gets hurt, there's no referee stopping the play, no stretcher  being rushed onto the field, and no special treatment on the sidelines.
I watched in horror as one cowboy's hand was still attached to the rope around the bull's back after the bull threw him off. As he was being dragged along, the bull trampled his legs until one of the assistants on horseback (sorry I don't know their proper title) got him detangled and he slid to the ground.
By now the bull was being well distracted by the clowns whose job it is to keep the riders safe, but it was clear this young cowboy was not able to stand up. Eventually after pointing to his legs, two other cowboys came to his aid. With an arm around each man's shoulder, he was able to get himself off the field without the use of his legs. Now in any other sport we'd surely see a couple of physios run onto the field, a golf cart to carry him off or at least a stretcher. Not in Rodeo. These guys are tough.

A couple of the bulls awaiting their performance

Another event took place in Steamboat the weekend we were there - a Mustang Festival. The four-wheeled kind. A section of the main street was blocked off and lined on both sides with Mustangs of all colours and eras. Every one had its hood propped open to show off its gleaming insides, and a sign describing it's pedigree. A market of local crafts and food vendors was set up next to the cars, and there was pleasant live music.
Personally I've never been hugely attached or overly attentive to any vehicle I've owned, and I can't remember the last time I polished one! But I know that for some folks cars are their passion and hobby. So I watched with interest (well, maybe more like amusement) as the owners sat next to their cars, eager to answer any queries from other like-minded admirers, and beside them a big stack of neatly folded polishing cloths and various polishes. They love their cars.

Cold,wet and muddy after
 a great ride in Steamboat

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Big Plans Ahead! Another European Bike Tour

Image
 The count-down is on for our next cycle tour! On Sat Aug 24th (that is tomorrow!) we leave for yet another cycle tour in Europe. This one will see us flying to Frankfurt and riding from there south towards the Alps via Bavaria, a little part of the west of Austria (Tyrol) and on into Italy, eventually ending up in Venice. Lots of similarities to our last tour two years ago, but quite a different route. We have set aside six weeks for this journey. The main goal of this tour is to cycle a route called the Via Claudia Augusta . This route starts in Donauworth, Germany (located on the River Danube) and ends either in Venice or at the Po River south of Verona (depending which fork of the road you take). The attraction here is that it follows an old Roman road that once connected the northern part of the Empire via the River Danube, with the Adriatic Sea via the River Po or the Venetian lagoon. So there's lots of history attached to it, and it takes you through a lot of beautiful scene...
Read more

We reached the Danube!

Image
  Yesterday's ride on the last day of August will be memorable because of the village we reached halfway through the day, called Harburg. Here an impressive castle sits atop the hill, this one dating from the 11-12 th century, and said to be one of Germany's oldest castle fortifications. Hamburg and its hilltop castle We didn't climb up to the castle (these hilltop establishments are oft best viewed from afar in our opinion, especially when you're on a heavily loaded bike). Instead we stumbled on a delightful little café on the old stone bridge over the slow-moving Wornitz River where we had coffee and the most delicious pieces of homemade cake. We had quite the chat with the owners who seemed quite surprised to have Canadians on bikes in their place. Our large pieces of apple cake and plum cake Chilling in the heat of the day   Anyway the eating was followed by a good hour just relaxing in the shade under the trees along the river, resting up before hitting the ...
Read more

Complications at Reschen Pass: Italy here we come!

Image
 Monday morning Sep 9th Pfunds, at the foot of Reschen Pass, the route to Italy Before leaving home, I had read about a road closure here at Pfunds that would affect the main road, causing the diversion for traffic to use the minor road up the pass that is the official Via Claudia route for bikes. So it sounded like our bike route would not be affected, although it might have a lot of traffic. However, at breakfast this morning we learned that it's actually the cycling road that is completely closed for the building of a rockfall shed, effective Sep 1st. There is apparently an alternative signed diversion for bikes that follows a really rough gravel path. Not the best for heavily loaded bikes, although we did it over Fern Pass in good weather. Fortunately, there is a Via Claudia bike shuttle service, and we've just secured ourselves 3 spots at 12.00. This will save us a ton of hard, unpleasant riding in damp weather up the pass, and get us to the town of Nauders, several km bel...
Read more