June 12, 2010
Day 45: Ridgway to Montrose
It rained for about 45 minutes starting at 5 AM. Large drops, with a bit of hail. But the overcast skies kept the temperature from getting very cold overnight. Early in the morning I took some pictures of the soaking pools.
I soaked in the hot water for a long time, hoping the sky would clear. But the temperature dropped steadily and it looked like it could rain any minute. I got on the road at 10:45. Today's ride is short and downstream.
On the road there was a small hill to get around the reservoir at Ridgway State Park. But it was mostly gentle downhill following the Uncomphagre river downstream to Montrose with a bit of headwind. The scenery isn't especially spectacular, so this is a good day to have bad weather.
Shortly after the state park it started to rain. The rain got heavier and salt started oozing out of cracks in the road (haven't seen that since I lived in Chicago). US 550 has a lot of traffic and sometimes has no shoulder. Passing trucks kicked up huge clouds of muddy spray. I was bundled up, but was still cold.
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7 months ago
On the edge of Montrose I stopped to warm up and eat lunch at a Mexican cafe. Then I continued through town and got a room at the Econolodge on the far east side of town ($63 with a hot breakfast). Unfortunately, the services are all on the opposite side of town. So I backtracked later in the afternoon to find a grocery store and ATM. I also looked around downtown quite a bit in between showers. Montrose (population 15,479, elevation 5806 ft.) is the biggest town I've seen since Cedar City, weeks ago. Montrose isn't exactly thriving but it seems to be doing okay. It's not much of a tourist town despite a national park 20 miles away.
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I could have gone farther today but the weather wasn't cooperative. And the next logical stop would be at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park which would require another 2000 feet of climbing. The temperature was 50F for most of the day. It didn't rain constantly but there were hours of rain showers.
Distance: 46 mi. (74 km)
Climbing: 642 ft. (195 m)
Average Speed: 12.8 mph (20.5 km/h)
Maximum Speed: 24 mph (38 km/h)
Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 2,081 miles (3,349 km)
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