Day 18 -- Montrose, CO to Gunnison, CO

Miles: 65.40
Total Miles: 1296.84
Time: 5:05
Average Speed: 12.8 mph
Max Speed: 37.6 mph
Flats Today: 0
Total Flats: 5
Elevation Gain: 4922 ft
Weather: Strong head winds and cold early, slight tail winds and 90 degrees later

Today we woke up at 5:00, when to breakfast at 5:45, and loaded at 6:30. It was very cold when we started out, and it was extremely windy. Of course the wind was a head wind, so we were going slow. For the first 9 miles it was relatively flat, but we were going about 8 mph. It was a tough 8 mph at that. Then, at mile 9, we started climbing. The worst part about the climb is that the wind didn't stop. At one point on the hill, we were pushing as hard as we could and we were only going 5 mph. It was funny listening to our riding buddy Fran, he was cussing the wind out. We felt it was time to trash talk the wind... bad idea because the wind is tougher than us. That was the longest 4 mile climb I've ever done. It took us 45 minutes to go 4 miles. No more trash talking for Wade and I. We actually got to the point where we thought we could just get off of our bikes and walk because we probably would've gone faster. It was the most relieving feeling to see the summit sign off to the side of the road. We took a picture, then we got our reward... we went down hill for about 4 miles. It was freezing, but I'll take cold over pain any day. Wade on the other hand was laughing the whole way up the hill and complaining the whole way down. When we got to the bottom of the hill, there was a beautiful stream running between the mountains. We took a picture, then we realized that we were down in a valley and the only way out was up. So, we looked at our cue sheet, and the next cue was "Climb for 7 miles." We rested for awhile, then we embarked on our climb.

At first it was just a steady incline, then with about 5 miles left in the climb, it got steep. We had it in our lowest gear, and we were pushing hard. Just when I would start to get confident about making it, the wind would shove me down. The head wind wasn't as bad as the first climb, but the hill was tougher. We eventually made it up the hill to the summit, and waiting for us there was the first sag stop. It was definitely a needed stop, and it was loaded with fruit again. It had plums, apples, bananas, and oranges. We ate a bunch, then we headed downhill.

This wasn't as long as the last descent, but it was beautiful. We curved around rock ledges, followed a stream, and finally saw some snow capped mountains in the distance. We took a bunch of pictures on the way down that hill. Just when we were getting used to the downhill, we had another uphill to conquer. This one wasn't very long, and the wind wasn't bad, so we got up it fairly easy. When we came down after that climb, it was the beginning of the endless beauty. When we got about a mile down the hill, we saw Gunnison Lake. It was surrounded by mountains, and it was a very blue color. We took a ton of pictures, and like everything else, it got better the further we went. We rode along the lake for about 5 miles before we came upon a picnic area with a great view. We stopped for about 15 minutes and soaked up the great view. Almost immediately after we got going, Fran got a flat, so we helped him change it. Wade got to build up his biceps again. At one point I said, "Wow, look at those biceps bulge." He immediately had to stop pumping and look at his biceps. I laughed at him... what a teenage boy. Anyway, we got going again and we followed the lake for about 15 miles. Every mile was pure beauty.

After we got past the Gunnison Lake, we were riding next to Gunnison River. We had a bit of a tail wind the rest of the way into Gunnison. We didn't stop at the hotel immediately, but instead we went out to eat at a sandwich shop with Fran... He loves sandwiches. It turned out to be a great lunch, then we went on to what we wanted to do... Ice cream!!! We look for an ice cream shop in every town and surprisingly we haven't found too many. We ate our ice cream, went to a grocery and checked to see if they had ripe cherries (they didn't), then went to our hotel. Right next to our hotel was a statue of a ram, so we took a picture next to that. Wade had some free time so he climbed the mountain and placed a big W on the side of it. If he had more time he would of done the a-d-e also but ran out of time, it was a lot of work. We took a picture of just the W anyways. Tomorrow is a big day, we cross Monarch Pass at elevation of over 11,000 feet which is the continental divide. One last thing, when we start out tomorrow it will be in the 30's. That is cold!!! I hope it doesn't snow.