Day 17 It didn't get as cold as the guy at the store said it would. I know I never got that cold in the night, even when I had to crawl out after midnight for a bathroom break. Today I slept in till 6:30am.
After some Cup O Noodles, coffee and cocoa mix and a Powerbar Triple Threat for breakfast I packed up camp and headed to the pay phone to let Celeste know I was starting my ride. John was still asleep in his tent so I didn't get to wish him well on his ride to Flagstaff, AZ.
The first 200 yards in the sun let me know I needed to stop and shed a layer of clothing. The first 30 minutes was unusually hot for 7:45am. It was also a nice ride before going up the Blue Mesa Summit. This Summit seemed more difficult than Cerro though both are suppose to be four miles.
Blue, as the guy at the store called it, took me an hour to get up it. I wrote to a friend before this post and told them that as I was grinding it out I began to think about "The Passion of the Christ". That put everything into perspective for me so I just kept pedaling. When I got to the top I was elated. I pulled over and removed my totally soaked headband and took a big drink of my energy drink. Now it was time to go down.
You can imagine how surprised I was to go down for awhile and then be thrown right into another climb. It wasn't Blue Mesa by any stretch of the imagination but it was quite steep and unexpected. In all I climbed for over an hour and a half. Once I got to the top of the second climb there was a good downgrade and tailwind all the way into Gunnison, CO. One cool sight on my way into Gunnison was two westbound bikers pulling Bob Trailers.
When I arrived in Gunnison I was at 47 miles and it was lunch time. Some locals pointed me to a Deli that was located two doors down from a local coffee shop. Before going into the Deli I sat on a bench out front and rested. I was tired! I also wanted to take a moment to update Celeste.
Before I could Dave aka Casual came by for a talk. He was riding one mountain bike and pulling another with his free hand. Dave was totally stoked about my ride and my Bob Trailer and so much more. Dave has a Bob that he uses off road. He liked my newer version. I told him where I was going and why I was doing it and he thought that was pretty rad. We chatted a bit more then he headed off.
I updated Celeste then got a sandwich at the Deli. I came back outside to eat because I felt hot sitting inside the Deli. I finished half the sandwich and put the other half in my saddle bag. I went into the coffee shop for an ice brewed coffee and to do some e-mailing. After finishing up I needed to run over to Safeway to pick up dinner and breakfast supplies. After doing so I started to pedal toward Sargents.
I noticed the wind had changed directions and that there were back clouds in front of me. I saw a motorcyclist at a gas station so I stopped and asked him if he was heading toward Sargents and if he knew what the weather would be. He said for sure a storm is moving in. I called Celeste and she checked the computer and it showed rain & snow tonight in Sargents. I decided that camping in the rain & snow all night before climbing Monarch Pass would not be ideal. Celeste found me a reasonable place to stay in Gunnison so here I am.
The forecast for tonight and the next few days is iffy. There is a chance there will be snow flurries on Monarch Pass tomorrow but it seems to be the best opportunity to get over it before a heavier snow begins to fall. That looks to be the case for Friday.
The plan is to head to Sargents early. Temperatures early tomorrow morning are suppose to feel like they are in the 20's but it is to warm up as the day goes on.
Thanks for all your encouraging notes, calls and prayers. As you can tell, they are needed!
Blessings,
bob g
STATS - Mileage Today 47, Pace 11, Riding Time 4:20
Total GTD cumulative miles: 1,033
After some Cup O Noodles, coffee and cocoa mix and a Powerbar Triple Threat for breakfast I packed up camp and headed to the pay phone to let Celeste know I was starting my ride. John was still asleep in his tent so I didn't get to wish him well on his ride to Flagstaff, AZ.
The first 200 yards in the sun let me know I needed to stop and shed a layer of clothing. The first 30 minutes was unusually hot for 7:45am. It was also a nice ride before going up the Blue Mesa Summit. This Summit seemed more difficult than Cerro though both are suppose to be four miles.
Blue, as the guy at the store called it, took me an hour to get up it. I wrote to a friend before this post and told them that as I was grinding it out I began to think about "The Passion of the Christ". That put everything into perspective for me so I just kept pedaling. When I got to the top I was elated. I pulled over and removed my totally soaked headband and took a big drink of my energy drink. Now it was time to go down.
You can imagine how surprised I was to go down for awhile and then be thrown right into another climb. It wasn't Blue Mesa by any stretch of the imagination but it was quite steep and unexpected. In all I climbed for over an hour and a half. Once I got to the top of the second climb there was a good downgrade and tailwind all the way into Gunnison, CO. One cool sight on my way into Gunnison was two westbound bikers pulling Bob Trailers.
When I arrived in Gunnison I was at 47 miles and it was lunch time. Some locals pointed me to a Deli that was located two doors down from a local coffee shop. Before going into the Deli I sat on a bench out front and rested. I was tired! I also wanted to take a moment to update Celeste.
Before I could Dave aka Casual came by for a talk. He was riding one mountain bike and pulling another with his free hand. Dave was totally stoked about my ride and my Bob Trailer and so much more. Dave has a Bob that he uses off road. He liked my newer version. I told him where I was going and why I was doing it and he thought that was pretty rad. We chatted a bit more then he headed off.
I updated Celeste then got a sandwich at the Deli. I came back outside to eat because I felt hot sitting inside the Deli. I finished half the sandwich and put the other half in my saddle bag. I went into the coffee shop for an ice brewed coffee and to do some e-mailing. After finishing up I needed to run over to Safeway to pick up dinner and breakfast supplies. After doing so I started to pedal toward Sargents.
I noticed the wind had changed directions and that there were back clouds in front of me. I saw a motorcyclist at a gas station so I stopped and asked him if he was heading toward Sargents and if he knew what the weather would be. He said for sure a storm is moving in. I called Celeste and she checked the computer and it showed rain & snow tonight in Sargents. I decided that camping in the rain & snow all night before climbing Monarch Pass would not be ideal. Celeste found me a reasonable place to stay in Gunnison so here I am.
The forecast for tonight and the next few days is iffy. There is a chance there will be snow flurries on Monarch Pass tomorrow but it seems to be the best opportunity to get over it before a heavier snow begins to fall. That looks to be the case for Friday.
The plan is to head to Sargents early. Temperatures early tomorrow morning are suppose to feel like they are in the 20's but it is to warm up as the day goes on.
Thanks for all your encouraging notes, calls and prayers. As you can tell, they are needed!
Blessings,
bob g
STATS - Mileage Today 47, Pace 11, Riding Time 4:20
Total GTD cumulative miles: 1,033
Photo's 2 & 3 at the top are borrowed...
