Well today was the last big mountain for a long time!!!! We left the hotel early again and headed for Monarch Pass and the end of our Rockie Mountain riding! Several of us left early again and then headed out for a 28 mile ride before the big climb.
It was a great morning with overcast skies and we did wear our jackets. The scenery along the way was absolutely spectacular. I am so glad that we are moving from west to east because the Rockies have a whole different type of beauty than the Sierras and the peaks in Utah. We started through a valley that was very lush and green and began to see some more signs of civilization.
We had our first rest stop at Monarch Valley Ranch attended with a lot of mosquitoes and very primitive restroom facilities – like
“ladies room on side of trailer”!!! Four miles up the road we stopped at a local store for the last signs of civilization before climbing the Pass.
We rode up Monarch Pass stopping every ½ to ¾ miles to stretch – my speed hovered around 4-5 mph and the climb was 9 miles long. The higher we went, the less oxygen to breathe and the warmer it got – also the fewer guard rails and steep drop offs. It was beautiful, but I had to always be looking uphill. About 3 miles from the top, I felt light headed and a little shaky and decided to get in the van to the top.
At the top is the Continental Divide –elevation 11, 312 feet – see picture. Lots of photos were being taken and congratulations were being offered to those who rode the whole way up. A visit to the gift shop left some of us poorer and others full of ice cream (me)!!
There is a ski gondola that you can take all the way to the top where the elevation is over 12,000 feet. Believe it or not, I chose to do the ride because it was an enclosed gondola – you could see for miles in every direction and the view was overwhelming!! There was an enclosed observatory on the top that had a line which is the actual “Continental Divide” (see picture). I had gone up with a wonderful man named Jim who encouraged me to go outside and we took pictures of each other with the snow covered peaks in the background. It was a very moving experience!!
Since I have not had luck doing the descents on these mountains, I enjoyed the scenery the whole way down in the van. When we arrived at the hotel, these little ladies had set up a lemonade stand and were a lot of fun to chat with!! Dinner tonight was at Pizza Hutt – still really love eating all of this food – tomorrow breakfast at a special pancake place – can’t wait!!!
We have a long day tomorrow of 94 miles and the option of doing an additional 16 miles to visit a huge suspension bridge – are you surprised that I opted out of that – the whole group chuckled and said they didn’t think this would be a wise thing for me to do.
It is amazing to realize that we have covered1348 miles on our bikes. After tomorrow’s 96 mile ride, we get another treat of a rest day in Pueblo and can sleep in the same bed for two nights before heading into Kansas. The staff periodically reminds us that this isn’t called the “Cross Country Easy”, but rather the Cross Country Challenge for a reason.
Our group of 12 cyclists who joined us in Salt Lake will be leaving on Saturday and two new riders will join us for the next leg. We also learned tonight that Jim will be leaving us Saturday due to a medical concern that he will have to go home and have repaired. Hopefully, he will join us again at a later stage – he has become a great friend and will be sorely missed. At that time the group of 21 will continue our trek the rest of the way across the country.
Here are several other rider’s blogs that you might like to check out;
www.chris-pedals-with-pete.blogspot.com
facebook – LukeManohan, Glendora, Ca.
edgoneplaid.livejournal.com
edgeoftheroad.com/ridings.php (Brian’s – search for ABB CCC)
www.bobhorn.blogspot.com
leigh’scrosscountryride.blogspot.com
Today’s hurrah goes out to my niece, Emily, who is celebrating her birthday today!!! Good luck in college, Em!!
Thank God for the safety, health, and energy!
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