The sign outside breakfast at 6am showed 45°F. This not overly cold though! Breakfast was of average quality – quite surprising given the dinner fiasco – some food poisoning has been reported!
I left breakfast at 6-15am with the sun barely risen. It hid behind mountains and clouds which made it crispy at times!! As we got further into the Rockies, the scenery became more Canadian like – forest with a high snow line.
I was first to leave sag 1 after 29 miles of rolling country with no huge climbs. The Rockies riders were keen and I reeled in more and more all day.
The 9 mile climb to Monarch Pass at 11,312 feet took almost an hour of climbing, a fairly gentle gradient. I kept the HR as 110-130 generally with a maximum of 141.
After photos etc at the top, I set off down the mountain before traffic got crazy. About ½ way down, my back tyre picked up a tiny wire and deflated – puncture no 5! This fixed, I continued downhill, with a rough road in places, right into town with a slight tailwind.
The max speed for the day was 44.9mph, in 4hrs 6m and 66.1 miles in another fine and sunny day. Afternoon temp was about 83°F.
Dinner was at Pizza Hut at 4pm – all you can eat pizza and salad. It was a good ½ mile walk from the hotel.
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