Naturita, CO to Moab, CO

On Tuesday we were excited to finally ride to Moab where we would have a build day and our second day off. It was another beautiful ride and we knew we had about 1500 feet to descend in total but the ride ended up being much hillier and harder than we expected. 

During the ride. 

Kissed Colorado goodbye. 

Posing as arches for Utah. 

Cool car at a tourist stop called Hole in the Rock. 

When we got to the host my riding group was tired but I convinced them to go on a short hike with me. It was well worth it and the surrounding canyon was beautiful. 

Bike ride to the trail. 

During the hike. 

Moab is located in a canyon and the town is very touristy. Some of the shops were really nice and there were also a lot of Mexican restaurants as well as Native American things. 

Montrose, CO to Naturita, CO

On Monday we started off with a pretty flat ride but had a large climb around mile 20. It took a while to get to the top but most of the ride after that was mostly downhill and very scenic. Unfortunately it was raining for most of the pretty parts so I couldn't get many pictures. 

My friend Sarah and I rode together and during the downhill it was raining and we got a distracted and ended up passing lunch. We stopped at one point to eat quickly but we ended up being the first to the host. When we got there we were meant to stay at an elementary school but it was empty. We went around town for a bit and were texted by some group members that the school had flooded te day before and that we were meant to go about 4 miles north to Nykra to stay at the high school. We then biked over and as soon as we arrived a huge thunderstorm rolled through. 

Rolling into Naturita. 

Thunderstorm. 

Both towns that we were in were very small and seemed very underprivileged. According to the town facts in the morning the population of Naturita is only about 300 and 10 people have bachelors degrees. It was a very strange and desolate town but interesting to pass through. 

Montrose, CO build day

Our build day in Montrose on Sunday was very successful. The habitat for humanity group was very well organized and knew exactly what they wanted us to do. There were 2 houses we worked on. First we fixed the nails in the walls to make sure they were all in tact and holding the wood properly. Then on the outside we nailed blue board around the whole house and wrapped it with a plastic material. The job took all day but we finished both houses. 

We didn't do much after the build site. A few girls cut their hair to donate to locks of love. We also had a family meeting. This week my highs were every ride day because the scenery has been amazing. My low was realizing that the Rockies were behind us. Lastly I gave kudos to the bike and build alumni that we stayed with in Breckenridge because he really helped us out with dinner and giving us a place to stay. 

Gunnison, CO to Montrose, CO

On Saturday we woke up to a beautiful morning with a hot air balloon in the air. We had a 64 mile day with 2 climbs in the morning and 1 after lunch. The hills weren't as large as previous days but the descents were long and felt great. A few of us got rained on while others stayed dry. Riding into Montrose we passed by the Black Canyon national park. A few people also stopped along the way to see mountain goats and also mules at one point. The town of Montrose has a nice street of shops and art galleries that a few riders went to see. Our hosts are very accommodating and gave us a great dinner and nice place to sleep. Tomorrow we have a build day that many of us are looking forward to. 

Hot air balloon. 

River valley. 

Along a descent. 

Petting a mule. 

Salida, CO to Gunnison, CO

On Friday we woke up and had a long 10 mile climb bright and early. It felt great though and the view from the top was beautiful. We also crossed the Continental divide for the third and final time. 

Top of the climb. 

Crossed divide. 

View from top. 

After the downhill we went straight to the host. I again explored the town and went into a few shops. Our showers were at a local rec center with an 2 story water slide and an indoor climbing wall, which were both a lot of fun. 

Ride to host. 

4 year old climbing the wall. 

Ate a flower for dinner. 

Breckenridge, CO to Salida, CO

On Thursday I thankfully woke up indoors, but the the people that slept in tents woke up to a damp outdoors. Along the ride we had a few climbs but most of was down hill. 

Crossing the continental divide again. 

After lunch we had a short climb of about 1 mile but then unexpectedly had a 14 mile descent into a beautiful valley. 

Not sure where this was. 

During the descent. 

During the last 7 miles of the ride we started sprinting away from a thunderstorm approaching. We could see the clouds coming and could tell it would start raining soon. We made it just in time to the host but most others weren't so lucky. After the storm rolled through my friend and I explored town. There were a lot of nice shops to look through and some nice restaurants as well. 

Town of Salida. 

Pretty truck. 

Granby, CO to Breckenridge, CO

On Wednesday we had another really pretty ride with great scenery. The morning was pretty chilly so I started off with leg warmers and arm warmers on. We also had to ride on a dirt road for a while but most of the time is was still enjoyable because we were riding through a national forest. 

Cows on the side of the road. 

Nice fields. 

Dirt road riding. 

Lunch stop at top of mountain. 

View from lunch. 

Bike trail along a river. 

Bike trail through woods. 

For the last section of the ride we went along a really pretty bike path. It had some rolling hills and we passed through some beautiful lakes and woodsy areas. About 10 miles from the host it started thunder storming. We knew the storm was coming before it struck so we sped through the bike trail to find shelter before it rained. We ended up staying in a Wendy's for an hour to let it pass and it was pretty clear afterwards. 

Before we got to the host we were planning on camping outside at a public park. When we got there however we were told that the town does not allow camping in public areas. A really cool Bike and Build alumni helped us out by letting us camp out in his backyard and grilling dinner for us. We ended up having a great time at his place and set up a campfire. I was one of the lucky 10 who ended up sleeping inside, which I was really happy about since it ended up thundering and raining at night. Everyone that camped though said they didn't mind and some didn't even notice the storm. Breckenridge seemed like a nice place for hiking and exploring the town but unfortunately I didn't have time to see it. I'm definitely hoping to return to all of these places in Colorado since they are all so beautiful.