Day 19 - Gunnison to Monarch/Salida

The day for crossing the continental divide! Another climb today to the top of Monarch Pass and the highest elevation we will reach on this tour. They assured us that although it sounded daunting, today's climb would be easier than some we'd already handled. Somewhat reassuring. :) Plus of course the promise of the amazing downhill! Because of Ride the Rockies - another bike tour much bigger than ours - we were unable to get lodging in Salida so we stayed further up the mountain at the Monarch Mountain Lodge not far from the ski area. So once we reached the top of the pass, we only had 5 miles of downhill to get to our motel. Although we did have 9 miles of steady climbing it would still be a pretty short riding day for us.

We left the motel to find very little wind - hurray!! The first 30 miles were relatively flat and made for a pleasant morning ride. Fiona picked up a head cold and wasn't feeling the greatest. I easily outpaced her on the uphills and that was a sure indication that she wasn't in top form. It just gave me more time for taking photos :) 

Somewhere out there is Monarch Pass

Sometimes you wonder why they even bother with a sign. Snow capped moutains getting closer!

Just another beautiful day for a bike ride!

We had a sag stop at Tomichi Trading Post and then commenced the climg. This shot was taken about halfway to the top. I wanted to stop more frequently for photos but also wanted to get the climb over with. Competing desires. I eventually decided my legs and lungs could use a quick break and I think it did me good.

Onward and upward! No van rides for this girl! I eventually took off my glasses because there wasn't enough breeze and I wasn't moving fast enough to create any and the sweat just built up and poured in my eyes. Ouch! Worked hard through this stretch!

And I eventually ended up here! Food, drink, and a short downhill to the motel!

Post-climb snacking

Crossing "hot dog" off the to-do list

It was a lovely view! They were repaving the road and were only letting through one lane of traffic at a time. This meant for us a freshly paved downhill stretch with a lane all to ourselves and no traffic! Woohoo! Nice finish to the riding for the day. :) The lodging was a little rundown but nice enough. Seems like maybe they'd started renovations but hadn't really committed to them. The wifi wasn't great and worked  best in the lobby but even there I couldn't get anything to upload. It was a little frustrating but also meant I spent more time off electronics so not all bad. It was a beautiful place to be!