Day17, Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Grand Junction, CO to Montrose, CO
(2,530 feet of climbing) 72.4 miles, 12.7 mph, 5hr 39min 31sec
Up at 5:30, 6:15 load luggage, 6:30 continental breakfast at hotel: French toast, scrambled eggs, juice and coffee, 7:00 on the road.
Weather forecast continues to be for sunny skies, 10-20 mph winds from the south and temperature in high 90's.
We are all wearing our ABB cycling shirts today, tomorrow and Thursday. We will be joining about 2,500 cyclists tomorrow that are doing the "Ride The Rockies". They are a very large group and we all will be climbing Monarch Pass (11,312 feet elevation) on Thursday. We will wear our shirts so our support staff will be able to tell who we are in case we need something. Thursday just so happens to be my 63rd birthday. I met their organization team at dinner tonight and they told me that they expect to have a band at the top. Maybe a group of several hundred will sing happy birthday to me! I'm planning to take some ice cream and cake (in a cooler in our support van). I also have a banner. I hope I can pull it off. This could be a lot of fun!
Our ride began today with a peaceful and scenic 6 mile ride on the Colorado River Trail. The ride ended with a 55 mile ride on RT 50 against a headwind. Several of us stopped for lunch at a Subway in the town of Delta and we are staying at a Days Inn in Montrose.
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