The day started early, really early. I woke up in the tent around 3:30 AM, packed up in the dark, and was already rolling north out of Telluride by 4:30. The air was cold and the mountains were quiet. I had a long, steady descent to start the day, which meant almost no pedaling, but every warm layer I had went on to keep the chill out. After sunrise, I stopped at a state park along the highway to brew up a couple cups of coffee. That warm-up was much needed. From there, I kept riding. About 15 miles in, I turned onto Highway 62 toward Ridgway. Traffic was almost nonexistent at that hour, and I rode in silence, catching occasional shots of warmth whenever the morning sun broke through the trees. I hit the top of the pass just before 9 AM and dropped down into Ridgway. The scenery changed again, mountain forest faded into the high desert and open spaces of Colorado’s Western Slope. I stopped in town for a well earned breakfast at a café and crushed a stack of pancakes. From Ridgway, I picked up the local bike path and took it north to the reservoir. Eventually I rejoined Highway 550, still heading north. The weather was perfect, blue skies and cool air. The climbs were manageable and the descents long and fast. Before I knew it, I was another 30 miles north rolling into the town of Montrose. Touring hunger had set in hard. I was craving a root beer float, so I stopped at a local ice cream parlor, and had two 😂. Fueled up on ice cream and soda, I considered my options: stay in Montrose for the night or keep moving. Holiday traffic in town was noisy and relentless, so that made the choice easy. I rode out. The roar of trucks and RVs faded quickly, and soon I was climbing again. The scenery opened up, peaceful and quiet. I passed Black Canyon of the Gunnison and continued up over Cerro Summit. By the time I rolled into Pleasant Valley, the sun was low and the day was winding down. I found a small campsite, grabbed a cold beer from the camp store, and set up my tent. I fell asleep fast, tired but not sore, and completely content. This was one of the longer mileage days of the trip, but it didn’t feel like it. It felt right. I’m exactly where I want to be.