RTR Day 2 –Hotchkiss CO to Gunnison CO, 81.3 miles

I left around 7:30 am after cooking up some pancakes at the tent. I thought it was a good idea, but we had a half gallon of milk to finish so I probably drank too much of it. Out on the road I realized why I don’t drink a lot of milk since it is an inflammatory and would not do wonders for my knee. Here is a recent article on anti-inflammatory diets: http://www.velonews.com/article/92129/sports-nutritionist-monique-ryan-takes-a-look-at

There was a very long line for the luggage trucks this morning, I put my bag on the middle truck and guessed it would take about 5 hours to get me to Gunnison in 80 miles. While there weren’t any passes ahead, it was just mostly uphill.
The weather for the past two day’s riding has been perfect, chilly in the morning with mid 70s during the day. Put a cherry on top to make it a sun-day…
7:30 I assume is considered late in the RTR world, there were more warring cycling factions on the hillsides and it seemed the prior day’s battles had blasted more injuries through the ranks. The SAG wagons were full of bikes. For those who survived, there were spectacular views of Black Canyon and the river responsible for its creation below us. There were times I would ride in the middle of the road to ease my fear of going airborne. The mind plays funny tricks, I imagined myself getting launched on the descents when the front tire blew out. Rather fatalistic for such a beautiful day.
The day was much easier for me, I talked to some other folks and they claimed today was harder. I expect the elevation profile didn’t do all the climbing we did any justice.
I arrived in Gunnison just short of 12:30 as expected. I had a little help on the pulls with Mike, a gentleman aspiring to complete the Kentucky Iron Man in August. He also wants to qualify for Kona. He was modest and pulled his share of the load, people I like. Meanwhile behind us we had a wheelsucker for about 25 miles. I call them ghosts, they don’t talk during the ride but they make just enough noise to let you know they’re there, and never pull up front. To be fair, he did come by later at the campsite to chat about the various rides in the Colorado area.
So, 12:30 in Gunnison, and no luggage truck. It broke down on the road and wouldn’t arrive until 2:30. For folks unfamiliar with large supported tours like RTR, the positives of getting into town early are the lack of lines to the things you need, like a shower, clean toilets, food, etc. Without a bag, there would be no shower, which was the other dream I had along the way besides falling off the side of the mountain. Speaking of falling off mountains, I met someone later who had flipped over a guardrail along the way but fortunately there wasn’t a lot of open space between the rail and consequential ground.
Just as predicted, the bags arrived at 2:30 and I was peached. When the rest of the party arrived we bee-lined to the local brewery and had great hospitality. Sticking to my diet guns, I had a salad. It was paltry so I gave in a little to some of Jennifer’s nachos.
Uneventful night – I was to awake early and head to Salida to secure a very good camping spot in the courtyard of the school, a building with many shades. I woke at 1am to discover my travel pillow sprung a leak so my head was flat on the floor. 1am was a little early to head to Salida though…