Delta Dawn

Ride the Rockies, Day 6 – Montrose to Gunnison via Cerro Summit and Blue Mesa Summit

Back in 2003, Ride the Rockies traversed the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison for the first time. Now the tour has crossed that highway several times. That isn't today's Ride the Rockies route, but it was my route. I want to stay off the road where the cyclists will be, as much as I can, plus, I wanted a little trip down memory lane.

Some of my favorite memories from my first RtR are the messages "Agent Orange" would paint (in neon orange) onto the road to amuse weary cyclists. One such verse described a junkyard full of weathered vehicles as the place where SAG wagons go to retire. SAG wagons are the vehicles driven by volunteers to help cyclists along the route. SAG stands for Support And Gear.


In Delta, I discovered an open air sort of old vehicle museum, and I missed the sunrise, taking so many photos of the rusty old cars. Can you imagine any of these babies as SAG wagons in their heyday?!?










Then I passed a sign that pointed the way to "Gunnison Gorge." Sounded photogenic, so away I went. I never found the "Gorge" on that long, dirt road, but I saw a whole bunch of shy quail who wouldn't pose. The mourning doves were eager models, though...




I also found someone's idea of a remote picnic ground.


Outside of Crawford, I couldn't resist snapping a few reservoir photos.


My plan had been to drive to Delta for sunrise, then to Hotchkiss and Crawford, hitting the Blue Mesa ahead of the cyclists. I took too much time getting to the Blue Mesa, though, and couldn't watch any scenery while driving the length of the reservoir right alongside cyclists.

When I am The Lizard's private support vehicle during the Triple Bypass, most of my drive isn't quite as intimidating because much of the cycling route is bike path. No cars.

Driving alongside RtR riders is scary sometimes because the roads are so narrow. Some don't have much of a shoulder. I never want to do anything to endanger cyclists, so I don't have photos from any of the time I spent trying to drive carefully with the cyclists just a few feet from my car.

The north rim, however, had no cyclists and practically no other traffic. I had the canyon mostly to myself, and wildflowers were sensational. I couldn't stop taking pictures!










For the first time all week long, I was able to pull over safely and snap a couple of photos of My Lizard riding. Being able to snap this photo definitely is one of the highlights of my week!

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Black Canyon

Day 3
Hotchkiss to Gunnison
62 of 79 Miles
5,990-foot elevation gain
Song of the Day: Dreamweaver by Gary Wright
"Fly me away to the bright side of the moon; meet me on the other side"

I'm so trashed. But I did finish the climb.










Through the eyes of others:

One woman hitch-hiked to Grand Junction from Westcliffe. !!!

Beefman Bloggeth about Day 2 and Day 3

Peak Pedaler's Day 2 report

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Turn off the wind!

Day One
North Rim, Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Gunnison to Hotchkiss
71 miles
10 June 2012


Wind. Headwind. Story of the day.

About 20 miles into the ride, a rider ahead of me went down. I didn't see her go down, but a swarm of cyclists stopped to help her. Later in the day I heard she swung out unexpectedly, and a cyclist passing her side-swiped her. The Lizard thinks he saw the rider who hit her in the shower. The guy has huge road rash on his leg. But he's still riding! We don't know about the girl.

When the accident happened, a state patrol car was just about even with me. He made a U-turn right in front of me. Then a riding medic passed me on the right side, announcing he was a medic. The girl who went down literally had help in seconds. It's so good to know we are in good, capable hands.


I pedaled the North Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison during my first Ride the Rockies, but in the opposite direction. I didn't remember such big descents from that ride that were such big climbs on this ride, but the views more than made up for the hot, hard work.

It's fun to see so many people get excited about the views. I stopped at lots of pull-outs, mostly to stretch, but also to snap a few photos of cyclists snapping photos.


I have to budget my shots. I forgot to bring an extra memory card. I always forget something. This time, it was the memory card. I have 135 shots to last the whole week. Reminds me of the old days, when I was limited by the number of rolls of film I could carry without getting them too hot in a day of riding in the sun. An extra memory card would have been so much easier to carry than the six rolls of film, one per day of riding, I carried in 2003!

About 40 miles into today's ride, I found a $20 bill on the road. Is this my lucky day, or what?

I watched a swallowtail float from flower to flower at the last rest stop of the day, in Crawford, the one-time home of rocker Joe Cocker's Mad Dog Cafe. The butterfly flew away every time I tried to get a photo.


Wild, bright magenta sweet peas in full bloom line the roads leading into Hotchkiss. I didn't stop to take any photos. I'm hoping I can go back while the flowers are still blooming and I'm not trying to reach a specific destination before dark.

Halfway between Hotchkiss and Crawford, a guy (undoubtedly the property owner) was trying to rent tent spaces in what looked very much like rattlesnake country. He called the location CrawKiss.

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