Day4: Moderate.

Holy cow! Another near century day at 93 miles. This will actually be one of your easier 7,500 foot days because of the shear distances involved (read that as nothing too steep). Two big climbs out of Montrose (with a third short aggravating climb before the descent to the resv) account for most of the footage, but you then have fun with an additional 1500 foot climb over 60 miles with a few rollers thrown in too boot. You really won’t notice the climbing after you reach the reservoir or Gunnison, as it is gradual, but, rest assured, you are climbing.

The single most disturbing thing about the Cerro Summit climb is the wind. In the morning, it is quite common to have an incredible down slope headwind in your face as ...you try to leave town. The wind is insidious. Hope for calm. Regardless of the wind, once you reach the first summit, the wind will have eased and you’ll be descending down to Cimarron. You’ll soon be treated to another climb of roughly six miles, followed by a short descent and another short climb and then a long ride down to the water.

Once you’ve made it down to the water, you will ride minor rollers amongst the desert blooms and brush. It really is quite beautiful in here and reminds me more of the desert southwest than of Colorado. It’s likely to be hot and dry and more than once the thought of a quick dip in the lake crossed my mind.

On normal rides, this leg would end at Gunnison and we’d all be relaxing by noon with a beer in hand. However, there’s a short extension to this ride that will add a couple hours to your cycling day. Gunnison to Crested Butte is a nice ride up a gently sloping valley. You won’t run into any rollers to speak of until you approach Crested Butte. The valley, for the most part, is wide and the scenery is turning from desert to alpine. The elevation is rising and the air is getting thinner. Thankfully, the climbing grade is fairly minor (1% to 2%).

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some pics from last years ride i came across:









still looks like fun to me. later.