Diary

Mileage: 118 miles

Elevation Change:  7884 feet

Weather: cloudy and cool (downright COLD at altitude

Morale:  sky high

Incidents:  A member of our group got hit by a car right in front of the hotel this morning.

Daily Summary:

The elevation profile above tells the story today—the longest continuous climb in Colorado, topping out at 10,839 feet.  We rode through the very beautiful Mesa County, Colorado today, and then up and over the Grand Mesa.  We should have known something was up when the first two SAG stops were only ten miles apart—they are usually almost 30.  The ten miles was up, up and more up, and the SAG stop was still nowhere near the top.  It was a very tough climb, but absolutely beautiful.  We felt like we were on top of the world.  The descent was fun, fast, and cold.  Although there were thunderstorms everywhere on the horizon around us, we stayed dry all day.  Tomorrow we get to climb even higher!

 

We had a special treat for dinner.  Louis Evans, one of our friends and fellow cyclists from our cross country trip two years ago, drove into town to deliver us delicious cookies and take us out to a fabulous     dinner.  Quite a treat for us!  Thank you, Louis!

 

Below you can see some of the great scenery that we cycled through today.  Then, the pain is written all over Lil’s face as she labors towards the summit.  But she is all smiles once she gets there!  Finally, the view from the top.