John Aylward Photography

Today’s Highlights:
After eight days of riding from Salt Lake, we had our second rest day of the trip. Since June 2, we covered 1460 miles and climbed over 53,000 feet. I spent 100 hours on the saddle and pedaled 367,970 strokes. That number doesn’t really mean anything – just a little trivia. With two sections complete, we had our highest total elevation gain of the trip (almost 8,000 feet back on June 5), our highest summit (11.000 feet on June 20) and our second longest distance (118 miles on June 12). Looking forward, there are still challenges ahead of us, with some very long back-to-back rides.

My day in Pueblo was simple. I had to catch up on some work and mail, and I generally just took it easy. Some of the riders went to an antique car show in town.

Today’s Highlights:
We had a very enjoyable 94-mile ride today. It was mostly downhill, dropping from 7000 feet to 4800. It included some great scenery. And everyone seemed to agree that the best thing of all was a very helpful tailwind that we had been hoping for!

We started our morning at the Patio Pancake house for a very nice breakfast, and appreciated the change from the usual hotel continental choices. At 7:00, we were on our bikes for a very chilly start. Thankfully, the smoke that filled the air in Salida yesterday afternoon was gone and the sky was clear and blue. Some smoky haze veiled the mountains that were far in the distance. A few miles from town, we entered Bighorn Sheep Canyon, where the Arkansas River carves its way east toward the Mississippi. We followed the Arkansas almost all day, and were in the canyon for the first forty miles. The canyon ride was thoroughly enjoyable. First of all, it was downhill almost constantly. The canyon walls were impressive, and the river was soothing and sparkling in the morning sunlight.

At mile forty five, we had our only climb of the day, and it was only three miles long. It was getting very warm by then, and the temperature continued to climb from the 80’s to high 90’s. After the climb, we had an incredible descent. It was long and fast, and a pleasant surprise. Near the bottom, the town of Canon (Canyon) City came into view. We rode through the middle of it. It seemed like a very nice little western town. By now, we had dropped to about 5500 feet, and the landscape changed dramatically from the previous two days. We were back in an arid environment. Leaving Canon City, we had rolling hills, but this is where the tailwind really picked up. On gradual downhills, I could easily ride above 22 mph and sometime over 30 mph with little effort. Then rolling uphill, it was still easy to stay near 20 mph. The ninety four miles were going by quickly.

Near Penrose Colorado, the landscape was getting very stark. The land was practically barren. Not even sagebrush grows here! I saw a “scenic overlook” sign, and pulled in to take a look. There was really nothing to see except a barren plain and small distant mountains. They set the bar very low here. I guess it’s all relative. Anyway, I continued the great wind-assisted cycling into Pueblo, just enjoying the ride.

I finished today’s ride in only six hours (5 hours of pedaling time), with an 18.6 mph average, thanks to the favorable wind. My bike computer registered 111 degrees near the end. The air temp was probably in the high 90’s, but the heat from the road and traffic raises the temp around us. You can really feel it in our feet. I was very happy to end before it got even hotter.

Day 20

Statistics: Zoom and pan the map to explore the route.

Time: 6/21/2013, 6:07:5

Duration: 05:59:02

Ascent/Descent: 1923 ft 4149 ft

Distance: 93.79 M

Today’s Highlights:
We had a fabulous ride today, with great scenery, some very easy cruising, one very challenging climb to new heights, and ending with a great downhill.

Herb and Rick joined us today for the sixty-four mile ride on US 50 from Gunnison to Salida Colorado. It was an invigorating 39 degrees when we departed at 7:00 am, and the sky was clear and deep blue. We started with a 30-mile gradual climb, so after a couple miles of warm up, the cool temperature was ideal. We rode through a bucolic valley where the Tomichi Creek meanders. It stretched for thirty miles, all the way from Gunnison to Sargents, like a ribbon of heaven laid down on the valley floor. Large farms and ranches were spread out like patchwork one after another. Rolling hills and mountains created a magnificent backdrop. The ride was easy, peaceful, and immensely enjoyable.

We had a rest stop at mile thirty one. From there, we started the big climb of the day – a nine mile climb to the 11,000 foot summit of Monarch Pass. The road was a constant grade, since it is a state highway that trucks depend on. There were no flat or downhill breaks, just a steady seven percent. It took me about 1.5 hours. At some curves in the road, there were views far down into the valley. There was a dense forest of tall pines for the entire climb, and occasional aspen groves. The scent of pine filled the air. The mountain air was clear and crisp. Best of all, it was free, so I sucked it in like a glutton at an all-you-can-eat salad bar.

At the summit, we had our final rest stop for the day, and briefly celebrated with some photos at the landmark. Then we were rewarded with a big, long descent of similar grade, winding for about ten miles. Traffic was light, so it was fun to get some speed and just enjoy the ride. I only stopped a few times for photo ops. The next fifteen miles into Salida were also downhill, but not as steep or winding. It was a very easy finish.

I got to town around 1:00 and joined a few other riders at Subway. The weather was still nice, and in the eighties and clear. However, a couple hours later, the air filled with smoke and some ash from the fires to the east. We are hoping it clears tomorrow for our ride out.

Day 19

Statistics: Zoom and pan the map to explore the route.

Time: 6/20/2013, 5:49:5

Duration: 06:07:31

Ascent/Descent: 4180 ft 4787 ft

Distance: 64.33 M

Today’s Highlights:
Today we had some of the best scenery since leaving the Sierra Nevada Mountains two weeks ago. We are in the heart of the Rocky Mountains and it is just beautiful. The price of admission for today’s visual feast was high though. We started the morning with a stronger headwind than yesterday. I did not think that was possible. The first nine miles were flat or slight inclines, and I could only ride between six and eight mph. For the first time ever I used my granny gear on a flat road. Then we hit a four mile climb up to Cerro Summit, and I worked very hard to go 4 mph. It took one hour, fifty minutes to cover the first 13 miles. That was quite tiring and we still had fifty three more miles to go. Once at the summit, the day improved dramatically. The wind was very light and we even had a tailwind for the last thirty miles. Temperatures were comfortable throughout the day – a little cool at the start and a little hot at the finish, but nothing extreme.

Leaving Montrose at 7:00, there was a thick haze in the distance, presumably from the fires on the eastern side of the Rockies. We rode passed many farms and ranches, and it was nice to see the tall grass, aspen trees, and all the shades of green. Once over our first summit, layers of mountains and cliffs spread out before us. We had an enjoyable descend off Cerro and coasted into the little town of Cimarron. We followed the crystal clear Cimarron River for a while. Ranches were common in this area, although they are so large it could have been a mile or more between each house I saw.

We had our next big climb starting at mile twenty, and climbed for seven miles. I made better progress on this climb since there was no wind to contend with. Just before the summit, there was construction that we had to stop for. I had about a ten minute rest there. Just over the summit, our rest stop looked down into one of the most peaceful valleys I have seen. It had a small lake, a single ranch, and acres of lush pasture land. One of the workers there said he saw 300 head of elk down there when he arrived at 5:30 in the morning. Another great descent took us snaking through a canyon, and when we popped out the other side, it opened up into another large valley with more cliffs and mountains layered one after another. Aspen trees became more prevalent. A long stretch of gentle downhill then brought us to the Gunnison Lake, created by a dam on the Gunnison River. We followed the lake shore for nearly twenty miles, crossing over it at one point. The entire area was quite beautiful with its blue water, grassy and sandy shoreline, and colorful cliffs and mountains rising out of the lake.

After we passed the lake, the terrain continued to be relatively flat, and an easy ride. We passed more ranches and a resort or two. Then we had another nice treat, cycling through the Gunnison River Canyon. The road hugged the river and tall cliffs rose from each side. I found it very peaceful to ride through. I met up with Dave and Chris on this section and finally got some pictures of them riding.

Once out of the canyon, we entered more lush farmland. It was a pleasant easy cruise into Gunnison. The town looks very nice, with wide streets, and a real western feel.

Two ABB alumni met up with us today. Herb and Rick, who I rode with last year on the Ride-the-West tour, will be riding with us for a couple days, then going on the Tour of Colorado bike trip. It is great to see them again. Herb is 81 years old and is everyone’s bike hero. I hope I enjoy cycling as long as he has.

Day 18

Statistics: Zoom and pan the map to explore the route.

Time: 6/19/2013, 6:07:3

Duration: 06:58:49

Ascent/Descent: 5325 ft 3504 ft

Distance: 63.73 M