Distance today = 54.10 km; Total distance = 5669.05 km; Location = Cherry Valley – 39 14.218′ N, 104 41.764′ W; Start time = 0819, Finish time = 1619

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/172306438

It’s easy to tell that I’m on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. The landscape now is in stark contrast to the desert-like vegetation I’ve been running by this past couple of months. Today was a mix of mountain streams, rolling hills, rustic farming country, and pine forests that afforded me cover from the strong winds which blew up as the day progressed.

I ran out of Colorado Springs this morning on a bike path that hugged a fast flowing stream. This stroke of luck was thanks to Mark, a local who was going to run with me during the morning but got caught up with work commitments. He called me instead and told me about the path.

The latter part of the morning was a steady climb of 500 metres, much of it through a lovely forest. At the top of the climb I exited the forest into an exposed area, only to realise there was a gale blowing (the forest had totally protected me from the wind).

However, as I descended again, I picked up a bit more cover from the rolling hills, and the conditions became more pleasant. The last part of the day reminded me a lot of the region between Neville and Newbridge, south of Bathurst in New South Wales. Admittedly, there was a lot more traffic, and I was three times higher in elevation, but the landscape was very similar to look at.

As the ever alert JD noticed yesterday, I was approaching 50 km of cumulative vertical ascent for the world run so far. Well, I passed that milestone today. That means I’ve almost climbed the equivalent of six times from sea level to the top of Mount Everest. I wonder how many more Mount Everests I’ll climb before the end of this endeavour?

Anyone who has been following the tracker will have noticed that it is working regularly again. This is because I have had T-Mobile reception since hitting Colorado Springs yesterday. I expect this to be the case for at least the next few days.