Later I found out what she meant. They are doing some serious road widening in a narrow canyon and close US50 for most of the day Monday to Friday. You can only get through between 6:30am-8:30am; 12:30pm-1:30pm; 5:30pm-7:30pm. Other than that you will sit and wait by the side of the road. This is a two year project so what I'm sying will be valid for quite a while. This link has all the details: US50 Closure
It's open on the weekends so dumb luck saves me again. The work is being done at the end of the descent after the second pass going east - around the 30 mile/50km mark. Right at the first pass going west. The wide shoulder goes to nothing and the road itself is old and narrow. Be careful ... there will likely be heavy traffic in both directions on a narrow road ... and trucks. It is a relatively short section but there is a climb going east.
You will want to time your arrivial at the construction so you don't have to wait for hours. There are some nice looking camping grounds in the very pretty valley between the first and second passes.
Last night I walked into town and ended up at Guru's, a place mentioned by people at the bike shop. It said Himalayan on the sign but the menu looked Indian to me. Ordered way too much but it turned out to be the perfect amount as I had the leftovers for breakfast.
Things did start out poorly for me this morning. Stupid headwinds. What should have been a gentle warm up at the start became the hard part of the climb. As I got closer to the top the wind went away and it became a really great ride. After a nice descent I stopped at Newberry's Store for some bananas, coffee and chips. Glad I had the Guru's in me.
The valley between the first and second passes was really pretty. The cows were a little threatening. There were more campgrounds and stores than I expected from Google Maps and the ACA app. I think there were two more but I was expecting nothing.
The second pass was easy enough and another nice descent. Then at the end of it the road went into a very narrow canyon ... like car widths wide. This is where the construction is. They are turning a goat trail into a highway and to do this the canyon needs to be much, much wider. It's a short section but it's easy to see why this is two year project.
The end of the construction brought me to the top of the pass and it was downhill from there to Gunnison. Just easy riding with a nice shoulder. A bit of traffic but the shoulder made it OK.
Had a nice Mexican meal again when I got into town.
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