We used our pump for the first time this morning as there was no tap to fill up our water bottles. It was easy to use and the water tasted really good. The climb up the rest of the Cottonwood Pass was hard work. The road was very steep in places as it twisted and turned it’s way up. We had to stop several times for a rest to catch our breath and rest our legs. It was definitely taking us less time to recover than it was at the start of our trip. Back then we would stop for 10 minutes at a time and now we only needed a few minutes to feel ready to go again. It’s agony though when you start peddaling again! Your calf and thigh muscles burn for at least 30 seconds and my knees were really painful, rather than just a bit sore. As we wound up the final road we could see the top and all the cars parked to admire the view. We felt a little sad that this was our final big pass and that we were nearing the end of our journey. There was a time early on in the trip when we never thought we’d make it this far.

The view from the top was fantastic and we felt a real sense of achievement as this was the highest we had and would be on the trip. Lots of people who had driven to the top in their cars spoke to us with a mixture of disbelief and admiration that we had cycled up here with fully loaded bikes. When we thought about it it did seem like a massive feat that we had made it, but we had!

The route down the otherside was on a hard packed dirt road, with amazing views down into the valley and over the huge Taylor Reservoir. At first the dirt road was fun, but after a while my hands started to hurt from all the vibrations and the potholes caused the snap decks on the extra cycle to pop off on separate occasions! It was also threatening rain and this road would not be fun if it was wet. Thankfully the rain held off and we made it to the bottom in one piece and found the lovely Nugget Cafe to stop to refuel. This area was awesome, the views of the lake were amazing and there were families on quad bikes, loaded with cool boxes and picnics all over the place. We realised that there were proper quad bike trails all around the area – how fun! Why don’t we have places like this in the UK? Maybe there are and I’ve never seen them.

The ride to Gunnison was mostly downhill and we made good progress despite the on and off rain showers. We passed through lovely little clusters of houses before reaching the main road between Gunnison and Crested Bute, the latter being one of the best ski resorts in the world renowned for it’s steep terrain. We wouldn’t be visiting it on this trip though as we were heading for a motel in Gunnison for a break for Ryan’s birthday. On reaching Gunnison we checked into the Quality Inn, a bit pricier than our usual stops but it was a special occasion and Ryan’s sister Toni and her husband Richard were treating us both for our birthdays. Woo hoo! We had two huge beds, microwave, cable TV and unlimited coffee, as well a pool and hot buffet breakfast. What more could you want?

Total climb:

3028 feet

Passes climbed:

Cottonwood Pass – 12,126 feet

Summed up:

What a great detour, thanks for the tip Gary

Our free camping spot - no rain this morning

A peaceful moment beside the river next to our camping spot

Warning sign for the Cottonwood Pass!

Ryan making good progress up the pass through the trees

Nearly there Carly

We made it to the top!

The top of Cottonwood Pass

The road we had just ridden up to the top of Cottonwood Pass

Heading down the dirt road on the other side

A well deserved slice of pecan pie

Total Distance:

57.799 mi

Total Time Cycling:

6h 57m 24s