Though I don't have kids right now... look out.  I think it's great that a kid/training thread got started, since I got much insight from the CTR planning thread already. 

You folks with young'ins already possess much mental toughness with respect to the long haul.  Keep it up!

Starbucks double shot, precooked bacon (goes down easier than beef jerky), one of those gas station muffins (amazing how good those 450 calories are) and hit the road.

If I had a stove, oatmeal, dried cranberries, and granola are the way to go.  Oh, and hot coffee.

Yea, I saw that the label for the little red guy is "angry" but yes, it seemed to capture the "heat" of many hours of uphill effort.

I, too, have a 30 mile round trip commute that is helpful for training.  Last summer I would often ride longer on the way home around the Boulder/Denver corridor and catch the bus in Louisville or Broomfield (towns along the bus route).

I can't really talk because I only made it to Leadville last year, so my comments were only meant to help.  Different strokes, indeed.  I did very little of the core training last summer since I was riding a singlespeed, and I found that to be a mistake.  More upper body strength this year, for sure.

I bought the LW CTR training plan for last year's ride and I couldn't recommend it more.  I probably only completed 70% of the workouts and rode all summer on a SS.  This year I will modify the plan a little and also will be on a geared bike.

Not doing any kind of special training this time around either.  Just gonna do my daily commute to work and back and ride on the weekends.  Gonna worry more about the mental training than the physical this time around.  Riding it with a couple buddies will help as well.

I would still do a fair amount of core training, weights, all that.  Pushing your bike for 4 hours a day is not something you do while commuting...

Anyway, good luck out there and hopefully you can put yourself in difficult mental situations over the summer to prepare mentally (we do this on purpose?)

To make the best use of my time off I will be starting in Durango this year (July 22).  Aiming for a 10 day finish.

My schedule will not allow me to participate this year, but I am planning on a Durango start on July 22 and riding the course backwards.

If I posted twice, sorry.  Here it is.  48 lbs. with all the comforts of home.  See you all out there.

Gabe

I am getting dropped off at Waterton Canyon on Sunday afternoon.  I was going to ride to the trailhead, but I've never been there.  From Lenny's Rest, up towards the Roxborough loop, I've seen the sign to Indian Creek.  If I follow that trail, does anyone know if it's pretty straight forward to get to the Indian Creek campground?  It seems like it, but I spoke with someone earlier this summer that said the network of trails up there can be pretty convoluted... also, going up Waterton seemed easier than trying to ride there on roads.  Thoughts?

Looking forward for this event to start!

Gabe