Colorado Cruiser: Utah National Parks Ride

It's the last day of our ride already. I have had so much fun riding with Kyle and Tanner.

Tanner rode home yesterday. He got up at 4:00am Utah time and was in Flagstaff by 9:00am AZ time. I texted him that we were in Colorado and it was cooler than Utah. He texted back that he was in AZ and it was hotter than Utah.

We took our time getting up this morning because all we have planned is to ride home. We counted up the chargers, cameras, dirty clothes, computers, radios, bag, ice chest, and everything else that we carry along with us. We ate some breakfast at the hotel, then got some hotel ice to fill the ice chest. Finally we got one of the roll around baggage carriers so we didn't have to carry everything down ourselves.

We loaded the bikes and double checked the ice chest. Then we did a radio check and headed out for the last time (this trip). It was after 9:00 already. The air was still cool and comfortable but I could tell it would be another warm day in Montrose. They have rerouted highway 50 since the last time I was here. Rather than going right down main street they have routed the highway 1/4 mile west down a new road. But I think the reroute has really hurt the retail business. There used to be lots of restaurants and businesses on main street, but most have closed now.

We rode down main street anyway just to look. We rode East on 50. About 25 miles East we started to climb up towards Blue Mesa. The temperatures cooled quickly and trees became more plentiful. By the time we were up on the mesa it was almost cold.

The ride to Gunnison was much more fun than I remembered. Lots of twists and fairly high up so the temp stayed cool the whole way. We stayed strictly to the speed limit and saw 3 different cars pulled over getting tickets.

In Gunnison we did a gas and go. We were rerouted in town because a parade was in progress. We watched a bit of it while we waited to get back on the highway. They had the standard small town sort of things. Big red tractors with flags all over, cotton wagons with a band, etc. The coolest was an old world war II jeep with some sort of custom frame with chairs welded to it. There were about 15 men sitting all over the the thing playing music. It was very cool looking.

We got stuck in the middle of an RV convoy as we left Gunnison. There were 3 in front of us and 1 behind us. They were all trucks pulling large goose neck travel trailers. For such large vehicles they were really moving fast. We finally pulled over and let the last one pass. Within minutes they were way past us. I can't imagine how much gas they were burning at 75 miles an hour.

From Gunnison you have to cross the mountains to get to Colorado Springs, and the best route is still highway 50 over Monarch Pass. We reached the bottom of the pass and started climbing. Gunnison is 7,700 foot high and Monarch is 11,300. A climb of nearly 4,000 foot. We say 3 vehicles pulled to the side overheating. People just get impatient and try to rush over the pass. We weren't in a hurry so just rode steadily up to the top.

We stopped for pictures and to drink something. We also went into the gift shop and bought some fudge. It was delicious. We relaxed for a bit then continued on.

I had no desire to ride the river canyons between Salida and Canon City, nor to experience the heat in Canon City so we turned North on 285 towards Buena Vista. The clouds gathered and sprinkled on us a bit. We turned West on onto 24 and followed that all they way to Colorado Springs. The temps stayed cool the whole way there with the occasional sprinkle.

Just after we entered Colorado Springs we stopped at Rudy's BBQ. I had called Nannette and she met us there. It was great to see my wife again and a nice way to end the ride.

Climbing another canyon on Blue Mesa