Day 6

73 miles 4767 feet climbed avg unknown

"This is my favorite view, no this is my favorite place, no THIS is my favorite." This is how feels to ride through this beautiful landscape. This morning, we started out with a 23+ mph blast down the valley from Crested Butte. Then it was an uphill climb through Taylor Canyon then the views of the Taylor Reservoir. After the 2nd aid station, there was 14 miles of climbing on a dirt road with 3000+ feet of verical.
We crossed the Continenta Divide via Cottonwood Pass which at 12,336 feet is the highest point of our trip. Unfortunately the weather can change very quickly at that altitude. As I was summitting, a bad storm was rolling in it was so cold I could see my breath. I hammered as fast as possible on the 20 mile descent and managed to just stay ahead of the rain. Except for setting up camp in the rain, the day went well.
My parents had a very different experience. They were caught in the storm at the top with strong winds, fog, rain and "it sleeted" on Mom. It got so bad as the portable toilets were blowing down the road that the ride organizers evacuated people from the summit. Mom and Dad were SAG'ed down in the back of a U-Haul van with 40 other people.
On the plus side by the time they got to the school the sun was out, camp was already set up, and our gear was quickly dried out.
We had a great prime rib dinner at Quincy's a local steakhouse in Buena Vista. They only serve one item each night. The prices were reasonable and the food was excellent.