Day 18 – Montrose, CO to Gunnison, CO via US-50, 18 Jun 2014

Map and Pics:  Click Here for Map and Pics.

Miles 1226 to 1292, 66 miles, 5050 feet of climb, max speed: 42 mph, avg speed 12 mph

US 50 coming off of Blue Mesa Summit

I remarked to Al today that National Geographic could fill a book with all the beauty we saw today, and he replied that they already had. Over half the day was outside of cell phone coverage so my pictures were not transmitting. No wonder – two major summits (Cerro 8005 ft and Blue Mesa 9,228 ft) were climbed today. US50 is well maintained, to include significant road construction. One stretch of road construction was controlled by flagmen and it took us almost 15 minutes to clear the lane for traffic to go the other way. The road off each summit required braking, a lot of braking, and the second proved quite difficult, especially in the narrow canyon section.

The Pie Lady of Cimarron River

Again, the highlights of the day involved meeting people. We were told about the pie lady of Cimarron River. She ran a country store that specialized in pie. Al treated six of us riders to pecan pie a la mode today. What a wonderful stop. The second person we met was a neurologist turned naturalist. He gave up his research position at a hospital/university in Boston, and since Jan 1 has been photographing as many different bird species he could find in the United States. He has ridden over 7,000 miles and cataloged 451 different birds. He travels to where the birds are, will be, and hope to be. The guy was ‘self-contained’ which means he carries everything he needs on his bike for one year of travel. He seemed a bit incredible, whereas the pie lady was as ‘back-home happy’ as a person could be. And the pie lady had pie and ice cream.

A bike accident really put the damper on spirits today. One of the ladies found a rut on the way down Blue Mesa Summit, went over the handlebars (which were broke off at impact) and ended up taken by ambulance to the hospital here in Gunnison. She suffered injuries to the face which unfortunately by nature bleed a lot. We will get a further report from Eddie, our priest, tonight about any broken bones and a possible concussion. Eddie is with her at the hospital along with her husband. First responders and medical personnel were awesome.

Bottom Line: Everyday seems to get more beautiful. Prayers go out to our fallen rider.