Day 2: Hotchkiss, CO - Curecanti Rec Area, CO

Another solid night of sleep.  Only woke once around 3am d/t full bladder.  Of course the stars were amazing.  No light pollution.  The constellation Scorpious stood out like a sore thumb.  Twisting and turning across the southern horizon as if having places to be....

...as i packed up my gear and ate a big bowl of oatmeal I decided to take rt 92East.  according to my map this would take me in a more direct direction towards town of Gunnison.  Also, according to map it seemed to make the terrain flat-like with twists and turns following the river.  Following adjacent to Black Canyon of the Gunnison Nt'l Park.  It didn't register once that if i were to be following the black canyon then i'd need to be climbing up towards the rising sun...

...already the sun was heating this desert-like area.  the smell of sage brush, already strong and pungent.  i thought about oregon.  this place, to me, could easily pass for a town out in eastern oregon.  sage brush and all.  little league team and all....off i pedaled.  my legs in shock and not wanting to move, muchless pull the weight of a b.o.b. trailer and gear.  i left hotchkiss in my rearview mirror as the road took a sharp turn to the left, and up.   it was only 0730 and my thermometer was already reading 73 degrees.  yikes!  glad i was heading back towards the mountains where things should be cooler (i'd find out the following day just how 'cool' being close the mountains could be...).  

...in short, 85% of the day was spent pedaling uphill. no rest for the already weary.  i was hoping this road would be flat, rolling at most.  there were a few dips in the road that let me cruise for a minute at most, but then up, up and away the road would spin.  damn my map and my map interpretation skills.  by midday was i not only tired of climbing up 5-8% grade roads i was tired of the motorcycles that kept blasting by in opposite direction.  it holds true anywhere i bike.  motorcycles feel threatened by someone on a bicycle.  so, they floor it and act like they beat me to the bunch.  too self centered to realize they have a motor attached to their "bike" whereas the only motor i have is a four chambered devise in my chest working overtime with each pedal stroke....anyways, the sun tossed rays of heat in my direction the higher and higher i climbed.  i took refuge beneath a guardrail for lunch.  it provided the only shade, and even that was close to nil.  my arms and legs were burnt despite using nearly an entire tube of sunscreen throughout past two days.....could time move any slower?  could i pedal any slower?

yes.  

with each sweeping turn in the road there would, without fail, be a steep climb.  once at the top there would be another sweeping turn that would (re-read above sentence 100 times and you'll get the point.....).   so much for a relaxing day of cycling the foothills of the rockies.  foolish me. 

i reached a picnic area called 'hermits rest' and figured that i would...rest.  of course, every plan i had for the day would be foiled in some manner.  right as i leaned against the railing to gaze down upon the magnificent canyon below a bolt of lighting shot out of a quickly approaching black cloud and seemed to fizzle and fade into just as fast as it appeared.  ok...back on the bike...off i went after a 30 second break....climbing up, up, up and finally, down, down , down.  the storm clouds were filling the gaps of blue sky with black.  i'd glance up the steep canyon walls on my left and see them watching my every move.  i pedaled faster and hoped for hope's sake that it would all be down hill from here on....it was.

with the storm the temperature dropped....straight down.  i was not struggling to put on mittens, long sleeve jacket, and tights.  a head wind started up....i was almost at the junction with rt. 50, which was my goal for the day....

...after rolling into a marina and getting useful information from park ranger i headed down the road 10 more miles and would camp at elk creek campground (about 15 miles west of gunnison).  i pitched tent with a panoramic view of blue mesa reservoir.....rain storms came and went throughout the night, giving way, eventually, to a cloudless night with stars shining brighter than the night prior.  the smell of sage brush, right after a rainfall.....priceless...