"Man can climb to the highest summits; but he cannot dwell there long." George Bernard Shaw Montrose, Colorado to Durango, Colorado. 112 miles. 9200 feet climbing. This was possibly the most anticipated day of the tour. I may change my mind when day 15 arrives, but the route card for day 11 had us all looking forward to the day. Like yesterday, the ride would start off with a huge climb. The first 40 miles where relatively gentle. The scenery was fabulous; large ranches and homesteads, active agriculture, mountains approaching. Much greener and more prosperous than the countryside of the last week. Then into Ouray, a spectacular little town nestled in the mountains at the end of a gorge where it just opens up into a wider valley. It's obviously a tourist town, and warrants a dedicated visit sometime in the future. But unfortunately there's no time to stop now, other than for taking a few pictures. Then the real climb begins. Ouray is at 6500 feet, and we're headed to Red Mountain Pass at 11,118 feet, 13 miles up the road. It follows the gorge, very narrow at the bottom, with the narrow road ascending the steep mountainside at about 6 to 8% grade. Evergreens cling to the sides. The road also clings to the side, with no guardrail and an 80% dropoff. It makes some of the riders nervous. As before, our group of five find our own climbing pace and will recongregate at the top. About 3/4 of the way up the 4500 foot climb the gorge opens up to a high valley, filled with spruce and yellow aspen. The smell and colours are magical. The whole thing is ringed with rugged 14,000 foot peaks. Then we're at the top, where the lunch sag has been set up. While at 11,118 feet the air is thin, and some riders are breathing hard, the wind is negligible and the sun keeps it warm. Nice lunch, but the air is thin enough that we decide not to stay too long, and hammer the 10 mile descent to Silverton, in another pictuesque spruce and aspen valley. But the 2,000 feet we've descended has to be made up immediately by a 7 mile climb over the next pass to the south, Molas Pass at 10,910 feet. More of the same scenery and fabulous road. Then another 2000 foot descent and 3 mile climb back up over Coal Bank Pass. My knees and quads are starting to complain. Finally we reach the last sag at the top of the last pass. Then 30 miles, mostly descending, past Tamarron and Purgatory Ski Resort, down to Durango. Another unbelievable day. And while I've never had a rest day on either of the two PAC Tours I've done previously, tomorrow has only 55 miles (although 3600 feet) scheduled, and we're all looking forward to an easier day. Don Friedlander ------ To unsubscribe, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Club Office: [EMAIL PROTECTED], (613) 230-1064 Web/mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb Newsletter: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb/Newsletter ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aVxiDo.a2i8p1 Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
