Last day - and it's a big one! 107 miles and 6,700 feet of elevation gained. In the morning it started off as cold with mild winds. Bad sign! Later, by afternoon, it was HOT, and it was stinkin' windy.
Last camp tear-down in Creede!
We got rid of our stuff (in the UHauls) and went to breakfast ready to roll right afterward.
In front of the Community Center after breakfast...
Dave was ready to roll! We started riding about 7:15am.
There really were winds at 7:30am - they were small, but that was early for them. It was going to be a windy one.
We split up pretty quickly. Both of our bums were hurting by now and the best way to make that feel better was to be done. Plus, it was going to be a hot one so Dave took off to avoid as much of the heat as possible.
Nice scenery along the way. This is the Weminuche Wilderness in the background.
At the first aid station (mile 25) we learned of road construction ahead. They were chip sealing. The only thing worse than riding on a chip sealed road is riding on one that has JUST been chip sealed. It's like dragging a weight behind and getting more flats than usual.
For whatever reason (the guide maybe?) I didn't expect the first 25 to be a big deal. I was wrong! There were some monster steep grades heading up the pass before the 25 miles mark. It was tough!
When Dave arrived at the 25 mile mark, they were holding all the riders back and letting them go en masse. By the time I arrived, they just let us through.
This face says it all. Chip sealing blows!
Though the surface was nasty and it was hot hot hot, it was a nice view.
Success!
Between the 25 mile mark and this mark was the scene of much psychological devastation. You see, the guide said that the summit of Slumgullion was 8 miles past the aid station...meaning at mile marker 33. It was not. Rather, the top of Spring Creek Pass was a little past mile marker 33.
Slumgullion was at about mile 39. Having expectations on miles wrong is really tough!
The views continued being amazing.
Heading down Slumgullion was fun, but had big potholes. The road was in poor condition in many spots for sure. Best to take it pretty slow. When I got to the bottom, an ambulance was heading up. No doubt there were several wipe outs and trips to the hospital.
This photo shows Wetterhorn Peak on the left and Uncompagrhe Peak on the right. These are two well-known 14ers.
More views...
Between the top of Slumgullion Pass and Lake City Co is a gorgeous lake - Lake San Cristobal.
Heading into Lake City.
Here is a photo of the fish. We took a photo of this six years before when we stopped in Lake City during a self-supported bike tour.
Lake City was at about 52 miles...only 55 miles to go! Ugh! It was here the winds started their abuse.
Happily, there was an aid station at mile marker 75 to look forward too. It was here at the top of the Sapinero Mesa Road. This little "bump" as I had mistakenly referred to it earlier was brutal. It was HOT and it was steep. It was nice seeing the aid station there.
This aid station was not as crowded...but the sag wagons were over-flowing! People and bikes were even being carted out in the UHauls! I wonder what percentage of the tour-goers actually did this day? Not many it appeared.
According to the guide, another aid station was at the top of the next "bump." It was not! Gah!
This is a biker's favorite road sign!
Getting to the top of this "bump" was super hot and stupidly windy (heads and cross
winds). I zoomed (as fast as I can zoom) up and over the second bump and
raced down as fast as possible. It wasn't that fast though because the
cross winds were friggin' hurricane force.
Dave saw some poor guy splayed out on the side of the road on his back being tended to. Heart attack? Heat stroke? Both? Bad scene.
The aid station ended up being at the bottom of the second evil "bump". Neither of us stopped at it opting to just keep going. We had only ten miles to go.
Dave got through town and hit the finish line. See the poor sign folded over in the winds?
Dave got to the finish line and the car at about 3:30pm.
The shower truck and bags were waiting.
Don't trust the elevation on the monitor (it's off always), but the elevation gain for the day was just under 7k. Big, hot, long, fun, butt-killing day!
Our bags are in here somewhere!
Dave grabbed our bags, our BTC schwag, and hopped in the truck. Happily he didn't need the tractor to pull him out. He then went to the hotel! YES! A hotel! He reserved it knowing that the five hour drive home at the end of the day was a bad idea.
After getting settled in the hotel, he came out to wait for me in front of the hotel (Alpine Inn). He waited about 30 minutes and then I rolled in. I was worked when I arrived.
See the flames coming from my quads? And my left shoulder? And my rump? Where are the pain killers?
Yes, I was worked, but I was so psyched to have completed another BTC. It was not easy, but as this one guy's jersey stated: "Death Before Sag". I know the day will come that I will have to sag...I'm just glad it's not here yet!
Double Selfie at the completion point!
We met Parry and Bob back at the Twisted Fork in Gunnison. Great tour. Great new friends. Great food. We were all exhausted! Hopefully in the future you'll see a blog with the four of us together again!
Dave and I slept in a bit, enjoyed a leisurely meal then headed home. It was terrific getting home. The pain in my backside has already dissipated enough that I'm wondering what the route will be again next year. Hope Dave wants to do it with me again!
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