Saturday July 8, 2006 51 miles - Total so far: 1,504 miles

After packing up in a steady rain and donning all my rain gear I headed towards Gunnison but had only cycled a few miles when I had my first flat tire...in awful conditions...rain, cold, and mud...ugh! Another cyclist, Lonnie, offered to help, but I declined knowing it was just gonna be a long delay getting all my stuff unloaded in order to get to the (rear) tire. Lonnie was on a 5-day circuit through this area of colorado (see his posting on our forum).

After a stop in Gunnison for hot coffee the rain cleared and I headed for Sargents, where I wanted to spend the night and get an early (fresh legs) start on climbing to Monarch Pass. Before I reached Sargents, tho, thundershowers moved in again. In Sargents I decided to rent a cabin to dry out. As I was unpacking my gear a couple of mud-covered cyclists showed up. Bill and Bob were cycling 1,000 miles of the "Great Divide Trail"...a mountain bike dirt road trail that intersects with my route in Sargents. I invited them to share the cabin with me and they treated me to a great dinner. We enjoyed chatting that evening and had a good (dry) sleep.