Wednesday June 19, Montrose, Colorado to Gunnison, Colorado
Distance:  63.8 miles
Total time:  6 hours 44 minutes
Riding time:  5 hours 31 minutes

Today was one of the most beautiful rides to date, and also one of the toughest.  It began right out of the hotel with a 13 mile climb, to Cerro Summit.

I was so gassed when I got to the top that I didn't feel like posing for pictures.  I just took a shot of the sign.

Jamie took this picture, while in full climb mode himself, of Michael and me working our way up the mountain.

But that was just the warmup.  Following that climb, there was a nice downhill, followed by the crux of the day:  A steep seven mile climb up to about 8,500 feet.  It was a very difficult climb, but the scenery was spectacular.  I was too tired to do much photography, but I did capture these shots.  As you can see, the weather was perfect, and the temperatures were cool.

You get just a hint of the steep grade from these pictures.

Mark and Zach were just leaving the summit when we got there.

But after the Hill of Unfairness came the Descent of Treacherous Peril.  It was a screaming downhill with no shoulder, so we were forced to share the road with trucks and cars, most of whom were not in a sharing mood.  I hit my highest speed yet attained on the trip - over 30 miles an hour - faster even than on the 17 mile descent from Donner Pass.  That may sound like a modest velocity to you seasoned bikers, but it scares the heck out of me.

But that wasn't the worst of it.  After the terrifying downhill was an unexpected, unfair, soulless and hope-shattering two mile steep climb that wasn't on the charts.  The injustice gnawed at us as the F-150s with the huge outrider mirrors sped by and blew us into the dirt and gravel.

Ah, but then.

After cresting this uncharted hill we turned and caught the Tailwind of Prodigiousness, which stayed with us almost all the way to Gunnison, 30 miles hence.  At one point I found myself going 23 miles an hour uphill with little effort.  This was grand cycling, the kind you see on outdoor magazine covers, happy cyclists cruising along with snow-capped mountains looming in the distance.  It was a blast.  And the scenery:

But it wasn't all babbling mountain brooks.  It was arid in places as well, as the name on the sign indicates.

Western place names are just better than eastern place names.  Yesterday we passed Rattlesnake Gulch and I'm still angry that I didn't stop to take a picture.

About 50 miles into the ride we spotted an RV park off to the side of the road.  Sure enough, the office had ice cream and cold drinks, so we stopped in.

Sometimes it's fun to look back and see how far you've come.  Other times it's daunting to consider how far the road seems to go ahead of you.

We were more tired than usual when we pulled into the hotel this afternoon.  We walked into the town of Gunnison and got a post-ride and pre-dinner snack - hummus, and smoked trout dip.  If you've never had smoked trout dip, you have that to look forward to.  Oh, we also had a beer or two.  Here's Jamie sipping his.

And here I am sipping mine, with Michael already under the influence....

Tomorrow is another climbing day, with a 10 mile climb up and over Monarch Pass, at 11,300 feet.  That should be the last of the long, steep climbs until Vermont.