2012-08-07 Tuesday
CRMBT ride day 3: Gunnison to Montrose  
 
67.56 miles / 15.60 avg speed / 2,937 ft of climbing
 
This day's ride was indeed easier. We retrace the final 13 miles of yesterdays end, enjoying the 400 ft drop. Then we ride along the Blue Mesa Reservoir, which looked to be about 50 ft low, due to years of drought in Colorado. This goes on for another 13, largely flat miles but still including some easy rollers in that stretch.  
 
We are at 6900 ft elevation when we begin the climb to Sapinero Summit. We climb about 900 ft in 7 miles, take a short descent, and then complete the climb to the summit, in 4 more miles.  
 
This is very uncomfortable climbing, not due to gradient, but due to traffic. The road narrows, the shoulder disappears, and the highway (US 50) is a major east/west thoroughfare. Semi trucks, motor homes and 5th wheels make riding this road hell on wheels and at times terrifying as vehicles would pass, swerve over too soon, and squeeze riders right off the road. I notice many riders stop as long slugs of traffic squeeze by. I too stop at one point, only to be passed within inches by a 5th wheel pulling back to the right too soon. Mark S probably did it right - he took the lane and didn't let anyone pass unless they could see to pass completely over in the oncoming lane.
 
I slow again at the summit to let another string of cars pass and then let it roll. Unfortunately, while no one came down behind me, the cars in front of me were traveling at 40 to 45 mph. It wasn't long before I was right behind them, so I have to brake frequently to keep a healthy space between me and them and that holds my speed to under 50 mph. That was a very nice 10 mile descent, but it is followed by another climb to Cerro Summit at mile 51, after a 600 ft ascent. I arrive there first (as James attended to Kim's mechanical) There is a construction stop in progress at the summit so waited for James and Kim to arrive  before starting down does not take patience.  
 
There is a headwind in this next bit of descending and the highest speed I see is about 39 mph. this is a 13 mile descent with about a 1900 ft drop.  
 
I have two problems on the descent. First, I am stung by a bee just below my left eye, when I was about half way down the hill. It hurts like hell and is throbbing! At first I think a rock has hit me, thrown up by a passing car. But as I reach up, I realize there is still a furry something attached. I pull it away and screeched to a halt. I have had allergic reaction to bee stings and take no chances; I stop and swallow a Benadryl. Then I sit and wait for the other two to reach my location.
 
The other thing I hate about the lower part of this descent is the rumble strip. The shoulder is dark chipseal and it is very difficult to see where the rumble strip is. It would change course at times and hitting it feels like sticking a finger into a light socket - very jolting! I am so glad when we reach town. We accompany Kim to the high school and then head for the hotel, which is less than a mile farther along.  
 
This is one of the two afternoons on the tour it doesn't rain. No surprise, actually, as Montrose' annual precipitation of under 10 inches per year makes it arid enough to be considered desert. This gave us time to walk and explore town and find the brew pub. We visit the railway station and watch a locomotive do its thing with freight on a siding, talk to the curator of the museum through the adjacent chain link fence, and walk across town to the brew pub. The beer is great (especially in this parching heat), as the temperature outside is over 100° but the menu doesn't make it worthy of a return visit for dinner. Instead, we later walk across the street from the motel, to a Mexican restaurant. It is very good! Then we return to the room but Olympic watching was not an option. This is the second place on the tour without Olympic coverage - darn!  
 
BTW, I had only minimal swelling from the bee sting, and it was gone by the next day - Benadryl saved the day, once again!
 
Garmin elevation range: 5230 to 8079 including the usual Garmin elevation error (highest summit Sapinero summit approximately 8700); start elevation in Gunnison was 7683 and end elevation in Montrose was 5811.
 
2012-08-08 Wednesday
CRMBT ride day 4: Montrose to Telluride  
 
66.32 miles / 12.70 avg speed / 4,939 ft of climbing  
 
This is largely going to be an uphill day. Yes, there is a nice descent after Dallas Divide, but it is miles of uphill to get there. The first 26 miles is for James and I, largely reliving the day on Pac Tour Ridge of the Rockies trip when we rode from Montrose to Durango. That day it was headwind, just as this day is. We spotted the bike path we had to take from the reservoir (on the Pac Tour ride), about 20 miles south of Montrose, to the highway intersection we stop at, this trip, for refreshments. It is an easy gradient, but the headwind is bothersome.  
 
The easy gradient continues on to about mile 31.6 when the road gets serious about taking us upward. In about 5½ miles we climb 1500 ft, taking us to the top of Dallas Divide. This is our high point for the day. In the next 13 miles we descend about 1600 ft, to our turn off for Telluride, but as the descent is fairly gradual, my max speed in this section is only 38 mph. There is some major work going on at the turn for Telluride (blasting) but we are lucky to arrive just as a slug of about 20 riders who had waited a long time to turn, were given the go ahead. James and I take off along with the group. But we let them go as we set a more noodling pace to finish off the last 16 miles.  
 
The scenery going up is fantastic and the gradient iss gentle, often only 2 to 3%. But I know there is a steep section coming. I just don't know exactly when. It comes at mile 59.5 and is seriously steep. Furthermore, there is no shoulder, there is a guardrail, and the road is narrow, so I am wedged in, so to speak. Traffic is heavy, coming in long and varied waves, as vehicles were released beyond the blasting point. This section of road climbs 700 ft in 2½ miles. The main problem with the steepness is that I am tired (for some odd reason), need to be in a relatively low gear, and the traffic is freaking me out. Result: I am squirrelly! The close quarters riding does not help the situation. So, I stop each time a new wave of traffic blows by - it is the safest thing to do under the circumstances. Finally, I reach the summit of that section, and from there it is largely a flat ride into Telluride. But, we are required to take the bike path in, and that path is miserable. About every 25 ft we hit a wide freeze/thaw crack which jolts me to the core; meanwhile the road appears to be smooth as glass. Nonetheless, I stay on the path for 3 miles, until I reach the high school. Then I jump onto the road and spend a good while looking for the hotel we were to be in - the Ice House Hotel. It is a very nice place, but what a pain it was to find it. In any case, once settled in, we shower, change, and start exploring the town.  
 
Eventually we make our way to the brew pub, which is nearly across the street from the hotel. We go there for lunch and later for dinner as there is nowhere else in town with the variety of home brew choices and good eats. Our day off the bike was here, meaning our next day was another day of exploration. The next morning we head out to get our laundry done, walk a shaded dirt trail along the stream, back to our hotel, and then take the free gondola to the mountain top, and then the Mountain Village. It was raining in Telluride when we got on the gondola, but not at the mountain station. We have lunch while up there and do a bit of exploring, as well as some shopping at the market. There is a fabulous view of Telluride, far below, as we descend from the mountain top the 3 miles back down to Telluride. There is also a good view of fresh white stuff on the mountain ridge across from us. It is probably hail as there was a good round of lightning earlier. Unfortunately, it is raining by this time, on our Gondola descent, so no photos.  
 
Back in Telluride, we check out some bike shops before heading over to the brew pub for dinner. I know some people rode on their day off, but as far as I'm concerned, when deposited in a nice place like Telluride, it's much more enjoyable to explore and enjoy the locale. The locale, by the way, is in a U-shaped valley, surrounded by towering mountains in all directions but one, There is no lingering snow, unfortunately, on the peaks, but this place must be incredibly beautiful when there is!
 
Garmin elevation range: 5776 to 8889 (highest summit Dallas Divide officially 8970); start elevation in Montrose was 5811 and end elevation in Telluride was 8750.
 
2012-08-10 Friday  
CRMBT ride day 5: Telluride to Mancos  
 
90.11 miles / 16.40 avg speed /  3,600 ft of climbing  
 
After a fun-filled 2 days in Telluride, it is time to go. This is a day for major concern on my part. We have a short, 3-mile ride out of town, on flat to down hill roads. Then the climb up Lizard Head Pass starts with a bang. My concern was lack of a warm up before starting a major climb. The concern was well founded as I have trouble climbing, even in Texas, before I'm warmed up.  
 
It was 45° that morning so not only would my lungs be cold, so would my legs. We start out, James and I, taking the road (not that disaster they call a bike path) get to the turn for the pass, take a short downhill, and BAM an abrupt and steep (10%) start to the climb. I feel like I've hit a wall. My breathing goes sky high and is completely out of control. I stop. There is loads of traffic on this road and no shoulder. I stop so quickly I forget to put it in the right gear for starting again. I get off and finally I get it into a higher gear and start out. I manage to go about 100 yards before I have to stop again - same problem. I start again, get another 100 yards, and I'm done again. Some older cyclist comes by, asks if I'm OK, I give him the short story, and he says there should be a sag coming along soon. I say that's great (but thinking “like hell I'm going to take a sag!”). I stop 9 times, each time after the 3rd stop I stretch the distance traveled. Finally after covering about 1½ miles this way, I am finally able to be on my way, breathing controlled, and all systems go.  
 
James and I had reviewed the profile of the climb the previous night. I knew that the first climb was steep, but then there's a false summit and a descent, and a new stretch of climbing, but not as steep as the first stretch. That was mostly true.  
 
As I near the false summit I see something moving, out of the corner of my eye. I look left and there is a Marmot, lazily climbing over the rocks, the other side of the road. I thought about reaching for the camera, but I didn't want to put my foot down even one more time.  
 
Finally I reach the first descent, about 10 miles in, and it is fast, but dang, we were dropping too far! I don't like having to give up hard earned climbing! In reality it is only about a 300 ft vertical descent, but it seems much longer. Anyway, we had about 5 miles to the top. It starts off fairly easy, then we gain a stretch at about 8%, then it eases off, again. Finally at the top (10222 ft Lizard Head Pass), there is a support stop where I remove my leg and arm warmers and take some photos and eat some fruit. (I am no longer wearing the coolers as the sunscreen I'm using is awesome - not a hint of sunburn.) Then it's off to the races!  
 
Well, not quite. The descent starts so gradually that we have to pedal to keep it going over 20 mph. After about 1½ miles, though, the bottom drops out and the Bacchetta rockets down so fast, I nearly have whiplash (not really). But my top speed of 56.8 mph is my second highest of the trip, so regardless, it was fast, but too short. We had 50 miles of descent ahead of us. Most of it was the "pedaling type" of descent. We drop all the way to Delores where we have our last support stop of the day. Delores is about 3400 ft lower than the Lizard head summit and it was very hot there. James was waiting at the 39 mile support station, half way between the summit and Delores. We rode together to Delores, crossed the bridge over the Delores River, and climbed a steep hill on the opposite bank. That was not the end of the climbing (I had forgotten to memorize the profile of the last 20 miles). It is rollers, then, but more climbing than descending. Finally, as we approach Mancos, we get a nice down-hill. It was near 100° and I was ready for the end to come.  
 
But, not so fast! We turn the corner onto CO 160, toward Cortez, and see construction and a flagman up ahead. My attention is riveted on this. I don't even realize it, when we sail right past our motel. (James was no help; he wasn't paying attention either.) We get down to the stop, wait a long time and while waiting, we ask the flag person where Spruce Street is (that's our turn). She says we go down the hill, up and around the next hill, and it's on the other side. Finally, we get the go ahead. We ride down the hill, up and around the next hill and reach the other end of the traffic stop where traffic is waiting. I'm asking myself, where's the rest of the town? We were surrounded by desert! James catches up and he has concluded the same. We turn around, wait a long time for the flag man on this end, and finally we start out. From this end, we see the entrance to business loop 160 and we take the exit. Finally, we see Spruce St and we turn left. The road promptly turns to dirt. We proceed, anyway and it turns back to tarmac after a couple blocks. Up ahead, there is a fence separating the main CO160 highway from our road, which curves right. Hope is short-lived, however, as a barricade across the road signals a dead-end. Dang. Well, all is not lost. We turn back to the curve and I notice the motel we want is directly across the highway from us. I tell James we should just climb over the fence - and we do. We walk the bikes across the highway and we are done!  
 
The good news: our 83 mile day has turned into a 90 mile day. This is good because now I can submit this day's result to the UMCA Century Challenge, which I participate in, as they accept 90 miles as a century! Truthfully, I was already thinking about doing extra miles. I just wasn't planning on doing them accidentally!
 
Garmin elevation range was 6294 to 9738 - (the min and max are off today as on every other day because the Garmin is increasingly less accurate at elevation.) Our beginning elevation in Telluride was 8750 and our ending elevation in Mancos was 7000.