Day 43 - Montrose, CO

The road took me along the shore of Blue Mesa Reservoir (largest body of water in Colorado) which was created by damming up Gunnison River. Picture No 3 gives only a vague hint, but further down the river forms Black Canyon, a widely unknown but spectacular canyon which makes up the Black-Canyon-Of-The-Gunnison National Park since it has been upgraded from a National Monument in 1999. A brochure I found compared the canyon to the Great Canyon and Yosemite Valley, both of which I've visited. Black Canyon stands out by being extremely narrow, have a look: http://www.nps.gov/blca/photosmultimedia/upload/blca_innercanyon01a.jpg

I didn't visit it though. Wasn't an easy decision but it would have taken two extra days that I rather spend in Utah (Bryce Canyon NP, Natural Bridges).

Highway 50 left the Gunnison River valley, climbing up to Cerro Summit (2440m, with a false summit in between) then down to the next valley and city of Montrose(1770m), where I spent the night at the KOA (Kampgrounds of America, a long-established north american campground chain, just look for the yellow sign. A bit pricey but all KOAs meet the same standard, so you know what you get).

Again the climb didn't pay out. The headwinds were incredible. The first miles of the downhill were steep enough to advise trucks using lower gears, but I had to get my head flat on the handlebar to maintain a reasonable speed. When it flattened out to a more gradual downhill I had to pedal the remaining miles to Montrose. Without the wind it would have been a close to steady 15 miles rolling... 

I don't know what kind of curse that is. Whatever valley I ride, whether up or down, whether its overall orientation is north-south or east-west - I get headwinds! Considerably affects my daily milage, if it continues like that I have to cancel my reservation for the hostel in San Francisco.

Anyways. The day perfectly demonstrated the power of nature. Rugged cliffs, narrow valleys, smoothly formed hills... It's amazing how fast my surroundings change, from the summit of an exposed climb to a narrow valley (pics 4+5) it's often less than a minute. 

"To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted." Bill Bryson

BTW: first flat today, after well over 3500km. Of course at the rear wheel.