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What we thought would be a fairly easy day turned out to be a little more challenging than we expected. It reminded me of what another experienced tourer had said to us in Utah, “easy days are rare, enjoy them when they happen”.

The ride out of Montrose was a fight. We faced a moderate climb, but on this morning we were also met with very strong head winds, probably in the 15-20 mph range. It took a lot out of us to make that 15 mile (2000 ft El.) climb.

Not long after we finished the climb we stopped for lunch at the Pleasant Valley Camp Grounds and Cabins. They had your usual combo general store / cafe. Many of the small outposts we stop at are very hunter centric. This cafe was no exception. What was an exception were the life sized western mannequins seated beside us.

After lunch we started our second climb with a rain storm close on our heels. We managed to make it up to the second pass keeping just out of reach of the rain. Of course we had a couple dips and climbs before we could start our final descent into Gunnison. Total mileage 66.