Day 18, 65 miles, Gunnison, CO- Brutal butt, another unique day.

No, I didn’t misplace the comma, my butt has been brutally abused. It made me understand “the Princess and the Pea” on a deep existential level. Was my butt going to terminate my traverse of the Rockies? Undaunted, I decided to swap saddles and put on my comfy seat. It screams “old man” but given the choice of looking silly (I was the butt of many jokes) or sagging over the Rockies, I went for the comfy seat. More problems, my “multi-tool” ( a cycling essential that has a bunch of hex wrenches, screw-drives, and a chain link breaker) broke! There were pieces all over the floor. Fortunately I found the piece I needed and got the new saddle on the seat. Then it was hills. Hills with headwinds. In the first thirty miles, we climbed from 5,700 feet to 8,700 feet to summit at Cerro Peak. The climb was very draining, not what I needed first thing in the morning. But then things got better, a lot better. The scenery was again, incredible. The Gunnison River roared by next to the road. I don’t know the categories of white water rafting, but this was all white. I wouldn’t want to go tubing in it. There was snow by the side of the road and a vista that extended into the horizon. It was really fun to infiltrate “Ride the Rockies,” which is Colorado’s version of RAGBRAI (yea, didn’t that help? Typical professor ploy, explain one thing by reference to a second thing that the person doesn't know). There were 2,500 other riders and an excellent rider to toilet ratio. I took advantage of one of their rest stops and bought a nice braut and diet pepsi (see picture). I mentioned before that riders talk to each other, especially on hills. There were very impressed that while they were riding the Rockies, we were riding the whole country. Oh, yes, the second 30 miles were almost all down hill. That was nice.

Once I checked into the hotel, I rode off to check out town and see if I could find a WalMart. Now I admit that at home, I avoid WalMart like the plague, but on the road, there’s no better place to find everything you need. I bought more sunscreen, a Colorado souvenir, a Starbucks Capaccicino, and compressed gas cartridges for inflating flats. Here’s the cost saving secret; at bike shops, the cartridges cost $2 each. However, they’re the same cartridges that are used in paintball guns. You can get 15 of them for $9 at WalMart! Then I came back to the hotel, washed me, washed my shorts, and watched two episodes of Star Trek with Gerald.

Statistics for the day: 65 miles with 3,900 feet of total climb. My average speed was 11.2 mph, and our elevation is now 7,712 feet.