Day 18 What a day! The 33 mile ride from Gunnison to Sargents had everything. RAIN, SLEET, SNOW, a bit of sunshine, no room in the Inn at Parlin and a flat front tire just outside of Sargents (PTL \o/, I was in the little bit of sunshine when I had to fix the flat).
When I got to the one store in Sargents I needed something hot to eat and some warmer socks for my frozen feet. I had two pepperoni hot pockets and I bought a really cool pair of socks.
As I was eating the snow began to fall again. The lady at the store looked up the mountain and said it looked as though the storm was moving past Monarch Pass. I asked her if she thought I had a good shot of making it over the Pass. She said it looked good. If not, I could return because they had a cabin available.
I started the climb and it was grueling like many of the other climbs. The main difference between this climb and the others was the off and on sleet and snow. The climb to the Continental Divide at 11,312 feet above sea level took just under three hours. I was so glad to see a store/gift shop/cafe at the top.
After taking some pictures I went inside for a warm bowl of chili and something to drink. I met Chris and Pat from IL. They were excited about my trip and wanted to pray for me daily so I gave them a card.
With the weather getting worse and the forecast for more snow I was happy to find out there was a Lodge five miles down that was running an off season special. I started the ride down and it was cold! Then the sleet started back up and it was hard to look up. The grade of the descent was 6-8 percent so I had to keep my hands on the brakes to keep my speed at 25 mph. Finally, a sign for the Lodge! I checked in, got moved in and got a really warm shower.
Tomorrow I am going to try to make it to Pueblo, CO. I will need your prayers, it's over 100 miles to Pueblo.
God bless!
bob g
STATS - Mileage Today 49, Pace 8, Riding Time 6:04
Total GTD cumulative miles: 1,082
