Today I rode in honor of SGT Wayne Swier. Please take a moment to read and watch his story. Thank you SGT Swier for your service and sacrifice for our freedom. You are a hero! We appreciate you!
I had plans to make it all the way to Gunnison, CO via bike, 63 miles. No big deal… wrong! I am learning that Proverbs 16:9 is correct ALL the time! “The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” I don’t know why today didn’t go as planned, but I am just learning to let go of the plans and flow with the day.
After a Super 8 breakfast, I packed up extra hard boiled eggs and an apple in my bag and headed out. Montrose is a busy town so I took some side roads to get off of the main road. Went past a cute little western museum on my way out of town. When I got on Hwy 50 I began my climb up to Cerro Summit. There seemed to be a constant hum of traffic that wizzed past me keeping on edge the whole day with the constant road noise. The highway was littered with gravel on the shoulder, so I was more focused on the road ahead of my tire than the beautiful surroundings. The temperature went from pleasant, the mid 70’s, to a balmy sweaty hot, mid 90’s, rather quickly. My Garmin said it was 105° at one point in the day due to the heat radiating from the road. You could have fried an egg on the road it was so hot! The climbs to Cerro Summit sucked so bad. Did I mention I had strong headwinds for 19 miles riding up a mountain too? The climb started off very gradually, that I didn’t really notice I was climbing. The wind made me feel like I was just on a treadmill with a fan blowing hot air on me. It was slow going for almost eight miles. I felt bad for those poor trucks that had to stay behind me when there wasn’t a shoulder for me to ride. I had pulled over several times to allow them to pass which they appreciated with a kind honk. I went around a curve in the road where the grade changed to 6-8%. I still had six and a half miles to get to the top of the summit! I thought I was going to vomit. It took me two hours to get to the top, counting stops for water and a few breaks. I was ready to see Kelly, praying to see Kelly, to get me out of this hell that I was riding through. Funny thing is, she honked and waved at me on my ascent up Cerro and I’m yelling for her to pull over. She just kept going. Ha! The shoulder on the side of the road was wide enough in some places but then nothing but a rumble strip. It was stressing me out. I stopped at the top of the summit and celebrated with taking in the view for the first time. It was beautiful and I was actually proud of myself for making it the whole way up. Yesterday’s climb was so much easier. Today with the traffic, the road condition and with the heat I was just plain spent.
Near the top there was construction going on so it backed up the traffic a bit. This was a blessing for when I headed down the other side of Cerro Summit. I was able to zip my way down the mountain without fear of someone behind me. When I got to the bottom Kelly was waiting for me in one of those pull off areas. I was going to keep riding but she flagged me down to stop me. The one time I’m going fast and I have to stop… She said she had driven a few miles ahead to see how the road was and told me she wasn’t going to let me ride it on a bike. The canyon was very steep and there was no shoulder and there was a lot of traffic because of the construction I just passed and the construction further ahead. I quickly agreed to get in the car and get passed the narrow canyon and beginning again on the other side.
I was very thankful she had gone ahead and seen this dangerous spot. I know I could have done it on my bike and know that those traveling without a sag would have to do it on their own, but with all that has been going through my mind these last few weeks with Donita’s accident my nerves are extremely fragile right now. We found a nice pull off and I climbed back on Loco and headed to the Blue Mesa Reservoir. Wow!!! It is so beautiful here. This part of my ride I thoroughly enjoyed even with those headwinds.
I started noticing a funny sound my bike was making, so I pulled off and tried to find out the cause of it. Off to the right of where I was working on my bike there was the remains of some poor animal. Wonder how long it has been there. I couldn’t fix the noise and it had me somewhat nervous. I rode until I saw Kelly in a pull off place out sunning herself by the reservoir. We loaded the bike up and googled a bike repair place in Gunnison. We found a very unique bike shop that was also a coffee/cocktail bar too, Double Shot Cyclery. We arrived a little before closing. They were awfully busy and couldn’t get to me until late morning/early noon tomorrow. They said they have me out the door around 2 for sure. I asked them to fix my light and give her a tune up as well. So tomorrow I will have to start my day a lot later than I want to. This also changes where I start my day too since I will not have all the time in the world to work my way up Monarch Pass. Just happy Loco will get a tuneup and that they will make her silent again. Since we had some time on our hands we made reservations at Elevation Hotel and Spa in Crested Butte. (Mom and Dad, thank you for helping us out with this tonight! We love and miss you.) After checking in and getting cleaned up, we walked around the downtown area and found a great Asian Bistro to eat dinner at. I loved every bite of it! If you visit Crested Butte, go try out Ryce Asian Bistro. You won’t be disappointed. Thank you Anonymous donor for the money for the food tonight. We both appreciate your kindness and generosity.
Thanks for all who have supported us through your prayer, encouraging texts, and donations through this journey. We appreciate you so much! I especially want to mention Melissa Cooper. Your cards have been so helpful when I need them the most. I appreciate you. Thank you also to those who have supported HFOT. Your donations to them help our disabled vets like SGT Wayne Swier get a chance at reclaiming some of their personal freedoms in a new home. Many thanks!
UPDATE on DONITA: She is going home today!! I am so excited for her.Thank you all for your prayers. She still has a very long road to recovery so please keep them coming.
Night, Be Blessed
