Wildlife ride

I went out for a 4 hour ride this morning. Basically, I took the out and back option (really the only choice if I ride from town). I cruised down to Gunnison fighting an unusual headwind from the South. I rode down the highway a little past Almont where I took some county roads that bypass the highway and are really quite beautiful. Gunnison is a ranching community and the county roads roll through a lot of different ranches. I headed West from Gunnison and looped out to Hartman rocks and then back towards Almont. On my way through Gunnison one of the ranches had a bunch of sheep that got loose and were milling about in the road. As I neared the center of Almont a coyote stopped in the middle of the road about 100 ft from me and proceeded to stare me down. He was about Gibson's size and after a few moments he moved off the road and just kind of watched me ride by. Once in Almont I turned up Taylor Canyon and cruised up to Jack's Cabin cutoff (dirt road steep climb) and on back towards town. I was fortunate that the headwind I had fought southwards decided to turn around and become a steady 20-30 mph headwind coming from the North. There's nothing quite like putting out nearly 300 watts and riding 10 mph. To break up my suffering I had a golden eagle rise up out of the scrub and literally fly right out in front of me. I have never seen the markings on the topside of a raptor's wings before. Now I know where all the Southwestern Native American artwork comes from. Very cool.