Cannonball day four: Blanding, UT to Salida, CO

Day four ended up being a great day, despite the fact that it started out rather wearily and I suffered a few minor setbacks. I stayed up the previous night (not surprising to those of you who know me well), and thanks to the impeccable technical expertise of cell phone providers, Kieran and I woke up an hour earlier than we had intended. In hindsight, it would have been a much better idea to be well rested before crossing the continental divide. No, I didn't ride off a cliff or anything like that, although I did need to make a rest stop for about a half hour along the way, which turned out to be a really good idea.

The day started out with more spectacular scenery riding to the Colorado state line, soon after which the first glimpses of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains could be seen - it was quite an exciting sight! The roads were great and twisty and In good shape, with a number of fairly steep climbs and sweeping curves, meandering next to the rivers. However, my lack of sleep (and lack of a GPS) soon caught up to me, and I missed the turn onto highway 62, instead continuing northwest on highway 145, not realizing my error until it dead ended at highway 141, 35 miles later! Hot, tired and bewildered, I stopped to check the map and figured out that I had to ride all the way back to Placerville. As luck would have it Jim Tillman and the driver of the pickup he was riding in had made the same error, and I flagged them down on my way back and got them pointed in the right direction. I made it back to highway 62 and followed it to highway 550, finally making progress in theright direction. By the time I got to Montrose though, I was fading pretty bad and was in need of a restroom, so I made the dreaded decision to stop and actually take a break at a gas station. After cooling off for 1/2 hour, sitting down, having some peanuts and a soda, I felt much better and was ready to continue on my way.

This year's Cannonball follows Highway 50 most of the way, but we didn't actually ride on it until now. It was well worth the wait though, with plenty of treats in store for us. The first one was Blue Mesa Reservoir, which was incredibly beautiful, first riding along side it, then across the bridge over it. Afterwards, the road went up, and up, and up. Lots more curves and sweepers as it wound its way up to the top of the North American continent. The temperature dropped more and more the higher it got, getting rather frigid nearing Monarch pass. The views all around were breathtaking (as was the thin air was too!), and just as I crested the pass, a dark cloud greeted me with a couple sprinkles, thankfully nothing more. It was quit a feeling of relief to be over the big hump, as it were. The descent into Salida was all downhill, both literally and figuratively, and the town was a very welcome sight.

When I arrived at the hotel, my friend Amanda from Colorado Springs was already there, so after checking in and unloading my gear, we went out for a bite to eat and had a great time hanging out and catching up the rest of the evening. To top off the day, when we went on a beer run, I spotted a six pack I had never seen before, from the Ska Brewing Company in Durango, CO - True Blonde Ale, which prominently features a P-series scooter! :D