Montrose, CO

The 65 mile ride today ended in Montrose. The length of the rides for the next few days will be determined by the spacing of towns and major climbs. The idea is to get over the high points before the afternoon thundershowers build up as they do every day. The first 25 miles followed the Gunnison River and the Blue Mesa Reservoir in the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The fishing for trout is supposed to be very good. It was interesting to learn that they are doing everything possible to keep Zebra Mussels out of the lake. They have already been detected in other Colorado Lakes, near Pueblo, so they have hitch hiked all the way from the Great Lakes. The next 20 miles included two climbs that totaled about 1700 feet. Montrose is at a lower elevation of about 5700’ so a five mile climb yielded a 12 mile descent.

Since Bob was able to start riding shortly after 6:30 and the day was short, we were in Montrose by 12:30. That left the afternoon open to visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Black Canyon is a spectacular deep and narrow canyon cut by the Gunnison River. We enjoyed stopping at the Visitor Center and taking some short hikes along the rim, before light rain came in and interfered with picture taking. There has been a lot of rain this year so everything is green and the wild flowers are blooming.

PS Sally: I had a nice bike ride in and around Gunnison early this morning, especially around the Western campus. Also rode east for a bit with bikers who had been with the Colorado ride for several days, and then broke off to go east to Pueblo, via Monarch Pass. They were obviously supported, too. And yesterday on the top of Monarch Pass I chatted up 2 brothers, 20 somethings, and their Dad who were riding unsupported from CA to Yorktown, and then plan on a week on the beach in NC. It will be well deserved. One of these days I am going to write down everything Bob eats in one day, just so you can all see how many calories he is burning each day.