Turning the Rockies into a pile of rubble

Hey everyone, I'm going to keep this pretty short so I can go crash in a little bit. On the 4th of July we started in Dolores and biked up over Lizard Head Pass (10,222 feet) before descending into Telluride. Since our next day was supposed to be very long we decided to push out an extra 13 miles, all down hill, to Placerville. We then got in the cat and headed back up to Telluride for celebrations.

We met up with Brian Werner, a Couch Surfer, who graciously allowed us to stay with him. We spent all afternoon by the poolside with Brian's friends just hanging out and enjoying ourselves. The fireworks were very cool, or so I'm told. I fell asleep before the show started because I was really tired and we had a long day the next day.

In the morning we drove back to where we had stopped and got back on the bikes. The route started with a 12 mile uphill then fell 38 miles into Montrose, CO. We had a long lunch, got some supplies from Sports Authority, and got back on the road. We had two more peaks into Sapinero, but decided to push another 26 (flat) miles to Gunnison. We stayed at a campground just north of there and took our rest day the following day.

We woke up in the morning and went white water rafting with the Scenic River Tours. It was a lot of fun and at the suggestion of our guide we spent the rest of the day at a town called Crested Butte. There, we found a little coffee/book shop and spent the afternoon sitting outside, reading, and taking in the fresh mountain air. It was all very refreshing.

Today we had a 33 mile ride to Sargents, CO which is at the base of Monarch Pass. 10 miles of uphill later we were atop the Continental Divide, 11,312 feet above sea level. It is the highest point of our trip and provided a great view. The 23 miles down into Salida were the easiest of the trip... way too easy. We are about to push out another 13 miles to a campground in Howard, CO. It will make tomorrow a lot easier and there is a nice cold river to swim in! Gotta go, so see you later!

Dave and me at 11,312 feet. As always, trying to represent Stanford Crew.

Answer to the last trivia question: Partners in Health. 10 points to Christie Lehren who has grabbed a commanding control of the leader board!

Today's Trivia Question: What is the significance of the Continental Divide?