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JUNE 23 A HARD DAY AT THE OFFICEMotel flat---not the best way to start a day. A "motel flat" occurs when a slow leak in your tire results in a flat tire by morning. With today being one of the 3 longest climb days of our trip, I was anxious to get going early. At least to breakfast. We were told about the strong headwinds that occur each morning in this area and to therefore eat early and depart about 8:00am. We all descended on Jo-Jo's Country Diner and ate big breakfasts with the truck drivers. They talk to us...and are amazed that we BIKE this route from Montrose to Gunnison and through the Monarch Pass. The route today "featured" long (7+ mile) climbs into those promised headwinds all morning. Total elevation gain today was 4,790 ft; not as tough as the Donner Pass/Truckee day, but close.It was a lot of slow hard work! You only feel good when you look back and see what you have accomplished.
We stopped for chocolate bars in a small store in Cimarron (population 5). At the higher elevations the landscape was lush and green. Beautiful "Colorado Goldenrod" wildflowers bordered the highway. We saw large ranches with herds of beef cattle grazing....and always the mountains.
Again we experienced highway construction on route 50. This time for a section of about 2-3 miles where the traffic moved only in one lane alternating direction. The DOT told us they would not allow bikes on a one-way highway freshly tarred and stoned. We would have to be transported the 2-3 miles in their trucks, 5 or 6 at a time. WHAT! BUT WE ARE BIKING EFI (every fantastic inch) CROSS COUNTRY---WE CANT' RIDE. Ride we did, but at the end of the day, Mason, John (ME) and I biked 3 miles downtown to a bike shop "to make up the mileage". We are on track. We stopped for lunch at the Gunnison Lake Resort. Sounds fancy. It's an RV resort----not a Ritz Carlton. We had microwave chimichungas and chocolate milk and got back on the highway. The ride into Gunnison ran side-by-side with the Blue Mesa Reservoir for 20 miles. A long narrow lake which provides irrigation water for Arizona. Just outside of town we passed through the Gunnison River Canyon with high rock cliffs on either side.A great finish to the day.
Gunnison, a real western town of 5000, has celebrated "Cattlemen's Days" for the past 100 years and is now home to Western State College. The Gunnison airport receives skiers headed for Crested Butte, about 35 miles from town. Today was Joyce's 50th birthday. At Mario's (lasagne) restaurant tonight her husband, Dennis, had arranged for a cake. The whole restaurant joined us in singing Happy Birthday! She said her greatest present today was being told that as a cyclist "she was one of the boys". Fred (MI) received the award tonight for his quote when asked what he was going to do everyday after he leaves the tour in Pueblo, CO. He said "I am going to read Bill's website every morning, relax, and watch the soaps". Right on! - Bill
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