Day 6: Montrose to Gunnison, Colorado 64 miles. 5050 feet of climb.

Two very serious climbs but some really tough descents due to very narrow and choppy roads.

Just for the record, our resident aerospace engineer on this tour checked out the official wind speed for yesterday.  That serious gust of wind that stopped us in our tracks (and knocked one rider off the road) was clocked in at 51 miles per hour.  That, we were told, was categorized as a "strong gale force wind."

Frontier museum a couple of miles from the start.  The origins of Starbucks?

Today, no such trouble.  Yes, we had two monster climbs, but very little wind until we arrived in Gunnison, where a storm swept through town for about half an hour (after we'd all gotten to our hotel) and stirred up a fuss.  Most of the riders agreed that yesterday's winds really sapped energy for today's ride.  Nearly everyone started out much slower than normal but, as the day progressed, regained or found new energy for the day's climbs.

Sheep grazing along the mountain pass up towards Cerro Summit.  About half a mile before this, I swore I heard the sound of hooves on the rocks, but when I was finally able to look up, the animal was no where to be seen.

The day started on the chilly side, around 40 degrees.  Every rider broke out a couple of extra layers of windbreakers or heavier jackets.  Many also donned leg or arm warmers.  We all shed them by the time we reached our sag stop around 11 a.m. when the temperatures reached 80 degrees.

On the way up to Cerro Summit, this was a great country store that makes fresh pies.  Those two mannequins fool everyone when they first drive up.  Great owners: great attitude and support for all bike riders up to the summit.

Mid-morning snack.  

The only sounds I heard on the way up to Cerro Summit, our first climb of the day (around 7900 feet), were those of animals and birds.  The road was so quiet early in the morning and the birdsong, the cows and sheep were the only sounds other than bike tires on the road.  No winds.  No cars.  Just so peaceful.

Cars backed up waiting to use the single lane over the top of Blue Mesa Summit.  We had to wait our turn as well.  While I was waiting, I turned around and shot the video below of the valley around us.

All along today's route which weaved along the Gunnison River, we passed cattle and horse ranches and a flock of sheep (and shepherd) along the edge of the mountains.  The only incidents that broke up an otherwise bucolic day in the mountains were the two cases of road construction, near the top of the Blue Mesa Summit (8600 feet) and again about five miles later at a smaller summit.  In both cases, the road was down to one lane and the construction crews were directing the flow of uphill and downhill traffic on an alternating basis.  Our ride crew had spoken with the highway department last night and negotiated our being able to become a part of those alternating patterns:  one uphill, one downhill, one set of riders.  Rinse, lather, repeat.  It made for a much longer day as the riders would have to wait upwards of twenty minutes at each of the two construction zones before being allowed to continue.

The descents through the canyons were breathtaking but a bit hairy given both the rough road conditions as well as the very narrow (if existing at all) shoulders.

One unhappy note.  One of our riders took a nasty spill on the short descent after our sag stop.  The roads there were quite choppy and she hit a nasty patch of potholes.  She's banged up but nothing broken, except her bike.  Basically, the front fork split in two during the crash.  Not sure if she'll take a couple of days to recover and get a new bike in Pueblo or merely call it a day.  As she's riding with her husband, we'll soon know more.

As with Delta and Montrose before it, Gunnison is a cute, little one main drag (state highway) town intersected by a main street with lots of funky shops and cafes.  Some very cool bike shops as well.

Tomorrow is the king of the mountains; the ride up and over Monarch Summit (11,312 feet).  And yes, I'll be taking the downhill run quite conservatively.