After a sleepless night due to fluctuating temperatures and plastic mattresses in the cabin, we awoke to a gourmet microwave breakfast. We had eggs, cheese, hot sauce and white bread. The eggs were cooked to a tender consistency by the microwave and the cheese was elegantly melted on top to produce the perfect breakfast sandwich before climbing Monarch Pass and descending to the Atlantic side of the continental divide.
With our tummies full, we began the 10 mile climb up the 3000' vertical gain up to just over 11,300'. It was a pretty slow grind, but the grade was consistent, and we made it up relatively quickly and snapped some pics.
The descent was quite a relief and we covered the next 50 miles to Cotapaxi in no time. We took a relatively quick break and pushed the next 30 miles to Canon City for lunch. Those 30 miles were not so easy and included a nice "surprise mountain" as well as more headwinds. In Canon City we discussed how great it was that we only had 45 miles to go before reaching Colorado Springs.
The next 25 miles were by far the worst of the day due to significantly more climbing than we anticipated. Apparently "flat" in Colorado doesn't mean the same thing as it does on the East coast. The hills ultimately relented and we cruised into Colorado Springs to meet up with my good friends the Pickards who made the trip from Denver to take us out to a much-needed dinner. It was great to catch up with them and we would like to thank them so much for a great evening after an incredibly tough day!
Holding it down,
Sean
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