I woke feeling fresh. I had set the alarm for 5:30. I climb out of bed and dress for the day, the same clothes as yesterday and yesterday’s yesterday clothes. I’m feeling good with high hopes. The Warmshowers I set up for last night will host me tonight. I have a forty-seven-mile day to Salida. The ride there will be fairly easy, no passes today.
I un-climb the stairs to the first floor and walk to the kitchen where Daniel is cooking breakfast: a sausage and egg burrito with orange juice and coffee.
My panniers and gear were brought down before following the aroma of cooking food. I load my bike and say goodbye with many thank yous. This family are not Warmshowers hosts and yesterday they had never heard of the cycle touring organization. And yet, they are very warm and welcoming hosts.
I pedal way, wishing I had more time to visit and get to know them. I wind out on the gravel road that will bring me back to my route.
It sure is beautiful here. I’m in a valley with soaring mountains on both sides.
I turn on the side road Co. Road 1A. This seven-mile road is on a plateau and the last two miles are steep with sharp curves. My brakes are all that is keeping my speed below 50 mph. I end at the junction of Rt 50 in Cotopaxi that will take me to Salida.
If I stay with my hosts in Salida, I will be one day behind schedule to meet Nancy at Elk Creek Campground ten miles past Gunnison, seventy-four miles away. Monarch Pass is ten miles beyond Salida. It is steep and long, making a difficult ride to Elk Creek.
I weigh my options: either a long, difficult day tomorrow or have Nancy pick me up as she is coming up from behind on this road. I stop a few miles short of Salida for a snack and water. Within a minute, I see her approach. She stops, we load the bike and gear into the camper. I call and cancel my Warmshowers.
Monarch Pass is as difficult a climb as I’ve been told, and the long, steep curves with barely any shoulder on the edge that drops far below would not have been fun on a loaded bike. Way too much traffic, mostly RVs and trucks.
Here we are at Elk Creek. One more day here before heading to Moab, Utah.
