Sapinero, Co to Montrose, Co – 62 miles
Yesterday we were up by 730. I made some coffee and oatmeal. There weren’t many clouds in the sky and you could tell it was going to be a scorcher.
Charlie and I got on the road at about 9. Jeff pedaled out about a half hour before we did. We had two passes to climb today before we got to Montrose which was about 40 miles. The climbs were fairly long, but gradual.
At the top of the first pass Charlie busted his chain. I had a couple spare quick links, but we quickly found out that a 10 speed quick link won’t work on a 9 speed chain. He gave Caroline a call who had all his gear and she came back our way to the rescue. Since I couldn’t help any more, and I knew I had some extra miles to pedal with going up to Black Canyon NP, I went on while he waited for Caroline.
There was one more pass after the first one. The descents of both were fantastic. Sometimes I can’t help myself from letting out a big whoooohoooo as I fly down these huge hills with the epic scenery backdrop. It’s truly an incredible feeling.
After the second descent, about 7 miles outside of Montrose, was the turn off for Black Canyon of the Gunnison River National Park. I had no idea what I was in for. As soon as I turned on the road I could tell it was going to be a climb, so I found somewhere to ditch my bags since there was only one way into and out of the south rim.
Thank god I did too, because the climb was hellacious. Hot and steep. About 2/3 of the way up I ran out of water. I continued on, knowing that I could turn back at any moment if it got to be too much and coast all the way back to my bags where I had some water reserves. Finally, after a couple of hours I made it to the entrance of the park.
Once to the entrance it was only about a 1/2 mile to the Visitor’s Center. I filled water bottles, grabbed some shade, and ate some food while enjoying the views.
There was an astronomy festival going on which consisted of a few guys with telescopes set up outside of the visitor center. They had a filter that allowed them to be dialed in on the sun. Pretty cool. Apparently you can see Jupiter and Venus off to the West right now and Saturn to the East. I’ll have to look for them in the nights to come.
After I cooled off I rode a bit further into the park to another look out.
The canyon is incredible and its size can’t be captured in a photo. It’s incredibly steep and deep. You can just barely make out the roar of the stream running through it. I guess it took around two million years for the Gunnison River to carve out the steep gorge that exists now. I turned back and descended the giant hill I climbed on the way in, and what a great descent it was!
It was downhill all the way to Montrose, but with a significant headwind. The sun was still pretty hot and when I rolled into Montrose at around 5, I decide to grab some food at a Mexican joint and cool off.
Cathy from Pueblo had tried to set up some press opportunities while I was there and one of the outlets she contacted showed some interest, but was unavailable to meet me while I was in town. I took the down time to call Sara from Pulp Magazine. Hopefully the story gets published and the fundraising effort can get some exposure to a wider audience.
I got a text from Charlie while I was at the restaurant saying that they had made it to Ridgway and were camping at the state park there. It was only about 23 miles, but it was almost 8 by the time I left the restaurant and would be getting dark soon. I decided to try Warmshowers and the first person I called offered up a place for me to stay! Amanda and Tony lived a little outside of town, but have a house they rent in downtown Montrose. They gave the current renter a heads-up that I was on my way and gave me the address.
When I got there I was greeted by Ian and his son Malcolm. They were about to head downtown on their bikes to grab some ice cream. I dropped my bags off and rolled with them. After ice cream we went back to the house. I had the basement unit to myself. Grabbed a shower and fell right asleep.
Today I’m headed to Telluride. The Telluride Bluegrass festival starts today, so it should be packed. Hopefully traffic isn’t too bad and I can find some camping.
