Day 14

Gunnison KOA was a really good camp site, all mod cons and even a lounge area where we watched two James Bond movies, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Very relaxing. But Day 14 was looming!

We could sense it, this was the day that we would ride over the last of the Rockies. We were not sure just what that would be like. We knew that this was going to be a long ride, and one where we used the leap frog relay, which was working for us, and making us time.
Up and at it by 7.30am., out on the road. We were still at altitude and you still had to take deep breathes every now and then. Through the Gunnison valley which had great farms and pastures with lots of cattle in them, but still surrounded by the awesome Rockies. The going was good, pretty flat, early morning not too hot so good biking, until the Monarch Pass! You know when a sign says 7 miles to the summit that this is going to be a tough climb!!!! Raymond and Andriy were the riders, and as we traveled up to a mile before the summit we all felt very concerned and sorry for the both of them. We were above the snow line again with snow still on the mountains, and it was chilly. We met two riders who were cycling to a wedding in Wyoming! Then they were going on to Maine, and we thought that we had a long way to go. The wait was long, and the second rider, BP, took off before Raymond and Andriy arrived. The mile climb was tough but nothing like that which R and A were going through. The summit – 11312 feet above sea level! The top of Monarch Pass. Now the downhill, and boy what a downhill this was 10 miles of no pedaling, just awesome. In fact I reached the 10 miles before the van caught up with me, so on I went. At 12 miles I stopped and the van caught up to me with Raymond and Andriy exhausted in the back. They had made it up most of the way, but finally had to get off and push the bikes. The van, in fact, went back for them and got them on board.

We were now on flatter terrain and another turn and a farm with the sign “Home of Hi-Altitude Cattle”, not sure what this meant – would the cattle be fitter that low-altitude cattle, would they out run them? Or would they taste better? We’ll never find out I guess.
We were now traveling along the Arkansas River valley, with steep cliff sides and gorges. The river was fast with lots of rapids, which made for great White Water Rafting, and sure enough we saw our first rafts. Angel was distraught as he wanted to get onto the river, not to raft but to kayak! Sorry Angel no can do! There were lots of rafts on the river and it was fun to watch as they navigated the rapids and rocks.

Throughout this time we were getting reports, from Tim and Esteban, about how the Urban Individual Championships were progressing at Williams College. Esteban had bet the CitySquash kids that if we won all the divisions he would cut all his hair off – Go CitySquash! Not to be, CitySquash won 6 of the 8 titles and had finalists in the other two. Not a bad week-ends haul though.

The Arkansas River Valley was a tricky ride as the bike lane was not very wide and there seemed to be lots of vehicles on the road, especially huge trucks. So we had to take it easy, and be aware of the traffic, but this was a beautiful valley with some gorgeous cliffs and overhangs. Finally out onto the desert plains of Colorado. We had “done” the Rockies, but I have to say that the scenery now was basically desert, relatively flat with lots of brushwood. It’s amazing just how fast the terrain can change. Looking back you could see the Rockies and although we were glad to be over them, I’m sure that we will miss the beauty and grandeur of them.
The modern world – texting, what a marvel, and what would we do without it? A text from the Garr family saying that they would host a meal in Denver for us, and that they had found a restaurant and we were booked in for 7pm Monday. Fantastic, and what a surprise. Good food and not camp cooking! Not that Andriy’s cooking is bad it’s just that this will make a wonderful change. Monday is a rest day and we had planned on visiting Denver. It’s only a 2 hour drive away from our KOA camp site.

OK Andriy’s Mac and cheese!!

Rest day tomorrow – YES.

BP