We started off our day with a pancake breakfast provided by the Buena Vista Optimist Club, thanks to our hosts at the Congregational United Church. It was an all you should eat buffet downtown. They were amazing, and the sausage was good too. We also got to socialize with our fellow pancake eaters, and tell them about our journey. We then hit the road taking pictures of the mountains that surrounded us on all sides. It was a “shorter day” as in only 85 miles in the middle of two centuries. It was also the day where we crossed the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass. There was quite a bit of climbing to get to 11,312 ft, the highest point of our trip. At that elevation there is still snow that struggled to survive in the shade. Travis and I had to pull off the road for a quick snowball fight. We had our lunch stop at Summit Crest, over two miles above sea level. It was slightly chilly so we ate inside the snack shop/souvenir shop. Angela, the amazing van driver, got us all hot cocoa. The cashier was impressed by David Grant’s eating skills when he got a sandwich, a hot dog, hot cocoa and Mountain Dew and then returned for another hot dog, Mountain Dew and pretzel. Biking up hills will make you hungry. Sadly we had to go back out into the cold, and as we started the descent it started to rain. Most of our group got caught in it, and for many it ruined what should have been an amazing descent. At the bottom there was a quick stop/restaurant, where most of the group stopped to warm up. They let us use their dryer, and some members of the group found that plastic bags can be quite warming. When Ana went to turn into their parking lot her bike slid out from underneath her on the rain slick pavement. She was scraped up, but sustained no serious injuries. It was another example of why everyone should always wear a helmet. It stopped raining and the group continued on. The rest of the ride was all down hill. It was beautiful, and so much fun to barely have to peddle to go 24 mph. We spent the night at Gunnison High School. There we ate dinner that dinner crew got up at 5am that morning to prepare, had girl talk, and went to bed early in preparation for another century in the Rockies.


Suzanne and Travis