Today was very likely the climax of my few-year old bicycle career. The morning was very brisk but beautiful. The air felt like fall in Michigan. I have realized why I like Colorado so much. The air feels like Michigan, the temps feel similar, the trees look similar at times, but..... BUT... It's Michigan on steroids. Everything is bigger, sunnier, more rivers, snow-capped mountains everywhere. It's unreal. And we got to bike it all on a beautiful brisk fall day.
The morning was moreso a reflective time. We had a little over 30 miles from Gunnison to the base of Monarch pass. We knew that after we climbed Monarch pass it would be 25 easy coasting miles downhill into Salida. We stopped for lunch right before the Climb in a little trading post in Sargents. What a great stop. We met 3 other touring cyclists there! Timon and Elody were riding west and were riding a tandom. They were from Holland and France. Then Mathias (mid-20's) walked in the door, with a huge smile on his face, he began in British Columbia and hadn't seen another tourer for quite some time. He was from Ontario Canada. We had a great time of fellowship with him at the cafe.The thing was that he was actually travelling our way toward Monarch Pass. So we rode together. Our first fellow tourer for us to ride with!
I was excited to ride Monarch pass all day, all trip, all planning time for the trip. My excitement consisted of many reasons; my mom, when she was in her 20's, worked at the campground on the top of Monarch and blazed trails so I was excited to ride through her old stomping grounds, I was excited to climb a long consistent grade that was climbable, I was excited to reach our highest elevation of the entire trip (11,300), I was excited to experience the height of the Fall color season in Colorado, I was excited to climb on such a blissful sunny and cool day, and lastly I was excited to ride with our new friend. I had in my mind that Monarch was going to be the highlight of the bike trip, and it did not diessapoint. The climb was 7-8 miles long at a 6% grade. It was such a consistent climb, and not too steep, so I enjoyed every second of it. We made it to the top before we thought we would. We hung out up there for a bit and put on our winter clothes for the windy ride down.
Beginning the climb
Josh is having a great time!
Us and our new friend Mathias. What a fun guy!
Just some Monarch Pass beauty
Almost to the top!
The visitor center on top, and mountains in the distance.
The ride down was one to remember for the ages. It was significantly different than riding down Sonora pass. It was such a consistent downgrade and such a smooth road that we never had to use our brakes. What a glorious experience. For 10 miles it was a 6% grade down, and I averaged 39 mph. (Don't worry it wasn't dangerous, going slower would have been more dangerous because we wouldn't have been in the flow of traffic). The greatest part was looking up and seeing the fiery golden aspens poking out in the pine forests, and then also seeing the 45 mph speed limit sign and realizing that I was exceding the speed limit on my bicycle! haha. so amazing. Once we reached the bottom (not of the downhill but of the steep downhill) the three of us stopped and just couldn't stop smiling, laughing, and yelling, because of the sweet enjoyment we just had. The only problem with the descent was that I was going so fast that I did not take any pictures.
The rest of the way to Salida, about 15 more miles, it was a gentle coast between 20-30 mph. Salida opened its arms to us and we are now revelling in it.
We made contact with James, the youth pastor at Salida First Baptist, and found our host's home; Paul Janzen. Paul is an almost retired forestry fire man, aka a stud. He has so many fire stories that he has told us. He is an amazing Christian that is totally about whatever God may be calling him to do. We are yet again being blessed beyond belief in this beautiful town of Salida, which is known as "the heart of the Rockies."
More pictures to come....
Today James is going to take us around to explore the town I believe, and tonight we have a meeting with a bunch of the youth group just to have dinner and share some God experiences. I AM SO EXCITED to meet more of God's people!
God Bless,
Tailwinds,
Mark
(PS mom, the angel of shaveno was clearly visible and beautiful, I couldn't take a picture becuase it was dark, but I will get some today.)
Did you see where the campground was as you flew by?? I am glad you are spending a day in town :)
ReplyDeleteI did see a sign for the campground. But like you said I was flying by and very attentive to the road. I bet I missed some cool looks. Haha.
ReplyDeleteAnd actually we are staying two days in town now! Whoot! Fly fishing and mountain biking tomorrow. Unbelievable.
Wonderful!!!
DeleteI did see a sign for the campground. But like you said I was flying by and very attentive to the road. I bet I missed some cool looks. Haha.
ReplyDeleteAnd actually we are staying two days in town now! Whoot! Fly fishing and mountain biking tomorrow. Unbelievable.
Oh I love Salida, and miss it! (this is Lorrie)
ReplyDelete