Gunnison – Russians are known for their strong constitutions, and Yevgeniy Glavkovigser certainly lived up to the reputation Wednesday on the Ride the Rockies bicycle tour.
Battling a stiff morning headwind as he left Montrose, the native Muscovite now living in Milwaukee just put his head down and hammered on the pedals along the 65-mile trek to Gunnison.
“It seems like it’s very hard today. I should have been able to go at least 20 (mph) … but I was only going about 10,” he said, catching a breather at a roadside aid station. “The wind just makes you meaner. We all need some meanness in our lives to get through, and I think this is a good sort of exercise.”
It was a day of challenges and rewards for the 2,000 riders in the tour, as wind, sun and rough roads were balanced by the wide-open spaces of the Western landscape.
“It’s really beautiful here,” said cyclist Celia Nash of Park City, Utah, as she gazed out over Blue Mesa Reservoir creased with occasional motorboats. “It’s been a really pretty ride, weaving down through the mountains.”
Rolling past vivid green pastures dotted with fresh hay bales, and then along the Gunnison River, where herons fished alongside human anglers, cyclists enjoyed a glimpse of the spectacular that is so commonplace in these parts.
The volcanic rock of the Dillon Pinnacles and rock-rimmed plateaus guarded the sage- choked valley, dwarfed by billowing cumulus clouds towering high into the sky.
Road construction on a 5-mile stretch of U.S. 50 broke the reverie, however, and turned the descent from Cerro Summit into a goopy mountain-bike track, as riders negotiated loosely compacted road base that left a tarlike paste on their tires, legs and chains.
“That stuff was coming up and hitting me in the head,” said a laughing Tim Patterson, one of a number of disabled cyclists on the tour who travel the route in low-to-the-ground cycles pedaled with the arms.
The construction had been delayed because of wet spring weather, and despite the loose debris, the oil made it reasonable for a decent descent at 20 mph or so.
“They really bent over backwards to accommodate us and make it safe. I’d rather have 2,000 dirty bikes than 25 people down,” said tour director Paul Balaguer.
For all the grumbling among the riders, the pie at the Pleasant Valley Country Store eased any suffering.
Each day for the past 28 years, Linda Griffin and her crew have baked her “secret” recipe pies – apple, strawberry-rhubarb, peach and pecan – to sell to the tourists passing through “the Bowery” of the Cimarron “metropolitan area,” as she calls it.
Normally, the store sells from 10 to 12 pies a day; for Ride the Rockies, she made 100 pies and eight dozen cinnamon rolls – and was doing a land-office business.
“We don’t get days like this too often,” Griffin said.
Watch Larry Green on CBS4 between 5 and 7 a.m., at noon, and at 4, 5, 6 and 10 p.m. today with reports from The Denver Post Ride the Rockies presented
Host city spotlight – Salida
County: Chaffee County seat
Population: 5,504
Elevation: 7,080 feet
Slogan: A little town with a big heart
Name: Spanish for “outlet,” referring to the place where the Arkansas Valley opens out
Brief history: The town was founded as South Arkansas by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad when the line was built through there in 1880. A railroad official who had visited Mexico suggested to the Postal Service that the name be changed. The Postal Service ordered the change in 1881. For many years, the town was a rail hub and supply center. It also had a very large lettuce-growing industry in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Currently, the town’s main businesses are tourism and recreation. There is still some cattle ranching, but that is diminishing.
Recreation: The largest indoor hot springs in Colorado was built in Salida in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration. The project employed about 200 men to dig and lay the original pipeline and construct the buildings. The Arkansas River, which runs through Salida, is the most rafted river in Colorado. Many of the state’s rafting companies are based in the town. The 57th annual FIBArk (First in Boating on the Arkansas) festival, which includes the oldest and longest kayak race in North America, ended Sunday. The boat races got their start as a bet between two friends who challenged each other to a 56-mile canoe race on the Arkansas River from Salida to Cañon City through the Royal Gorge. As more people found out about the bet, a parade and festival were organized.
Sources: “Colorado Place Names” by William Bright; Denver Post archives; Heart of the Rockies Chamber; Salida Chamber of Commerce; USGS; U.S. Census Bureau 2000; Salida Hot Springs Pool; Colorado River Outfitters Association; First in Boating on the Arkansas (www.fibark.com)
COMPILED BY BONNIE GILBERT
