What Joey said!

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24193166/pair-who-walked-colorado-14ers-expect-hit-58th

Might be worth contacting these guys. One is the son of a neighbor, so let me know if you'd like me to help with an introduction.

Dealing with Culebra Peak could be a real issue. Timing is everything, and the limit of 30 people/day could make it tough to climb it on the ideal day. The $150 fee is absurd. Your rules seem to preclude poaching, but I'm guessing that people will anyway (unless you demand permit verification or something).

Absolutely fantastic! I wish that I had the time. Huge kudos for taking the initiative for dreaming this up!

Cool, thanks Apple!

At the end of the day though, yes it's a forum for discussion and I'm just stirring the pot (maybe I should leave that to Toby though  ).

Yeah, leave it to a professional!

In my opinion, the CTR doesn't hold any secrets--and it never really did. Even Stefan had the benefit of the official guidebook when he put together the first race.  I don't think that anyone has ever raced it "blind." There are now dozens of detailed blogs, GPX tracks, etc. Withholding information is pointless, especially in light of the fact that all of us have benefited from the knowledge of others.

It's all about where we each choose to draw the line. There is nothing truly "pure," just different shades. Some people have pizza delivered to the trailhead, and some refuse to stop in hotels. Style counts, especially when it enhances the challenge.

And how "pure" is it to edit your original post so it confuses the readers of the topic?? I don't think some people will be happy unless they turn it into a crucifixion, and usually they are the armchair quarterbacks!

Yep, if you're going to take a position, you've gotta be tough enough to withstand the fury of the critics.

It's easier for me to go under high bars.  It's harder for me to limbo.  Let's lower the bar.

Limbo vs high jumping? Both are good. It's the guys who get confused about which bar is for which that irritate me.

Doing something hard is good. Raising the bar is even better.

In fairness, it doesn't look like this Web site made a direct comparison to self-supported bikepacking races, beyond stating that one of the race organizers completed the Tour Divide.

From the website: "This time I came third, but no blanket. Just a handshake from the US border police and an ice cream. Yup. You heard me right, an ice cream. Race the world's toughest mountain bike race for 17 days and all you get is an ice cream. It intrigued me that someone would race their heart out for nothing more than the satisfaction of finishing."

Further: "The time has come. The time is now. Its time to recognize the racers that have lived largely in the shadows and obscurity while their colleagues bask in the glory."

Seems to me that they are clearly aiming at TD types who feel that they didn't get the recognition or prizes that they deserved. The pitch is straightforward: Relish in the hype, and race for the money!

The race seems like a great opportunity for those who are motivated by fame and fortune. Lots of people out there like that for sure. Probably many more than those who are motivated internally. I wish them the best of luck, even if I wouldn't be caught dead joining them!

Here's the full story behind my CTR GPX tracks:

http://tobygadd.blogspot.com/2012/01/colorado-trail-race-gpsgpx-tracks-and.html

In a nutshell, my GPX includes all of the Colorado Trail waypoints. The entire track was generated from actual tires on the ground, and has been cleaned up and refined over several years. Stefan adopted my track as the official CTR version a couple of years ago.

It's currently very clean and accurate, but I'll look through it again in a few weeks to see if there's anything that might make it better.

Five aid stations. Unsupported? Hell, it's not even self-supported.

Hardest race in the word? $10,000 sure buys a lot of hype.

Probably a great race for those who are into this style of competition. But not really fair to compare it to the classic self-supported bikepacking races.

$10,000 entry fee. Slower riders pay the winners.

I would rather get the ice cream.

I couldn't bear the thought of missing another year, so despite these same reservations I just said screw-it, I'm gonna line up and see what happens.
...
Its super tough, but that was more than offset by the tremendous adventure... good luck!

That pretty much sums it up!

I typically ride clipped in 100% of the time on fun singletrack, but on bikepacking trips with prodigous hike a biking a flat pedal and shoe combo is pretty nice.  I found that it took a couple weeks to get used too (practicing before hand), but it quickly became second nature.

I sometimes think that this would the ideal approach. I ride clipless, but clearly see the advantages of flats on something like the CTR. Alas, I've been too nervous to change. I should probably just suck it up and do it...

I thought the CTR was a hike-a-bike race with some bike riding thrown in for good measure...

Come to think of it, there were several times when I wondered why I even HAD a damn bike. Especially when a not-terribly-fit-looking backpacker passed my somewhere in the San Juans...

Again, not instilling confidence.

If you really hate HB, then stay away from the CTR. There's lots of walking--and most of it is steep and rough.

But I really don't mind hiking that much. Gives me a chance to soak in the beautiful Colorado Rockies, eat a PowerBar, smell the flowers, stretch my legs, give my butt a break, chat with other racers, etc. Fighting it just makes it hurt more.

My profile photo was actually taken at the top of Foose!

Can anyone give me a good idea of where exactly the major HB sections are?

Where AREN'T there major HB sections? With 70,000 feet of climbing over 500 miles, you'll be hiking a LOT. There are even a few downhill HB sections. Sometimes it comes down to whether you'd rather ride at 2.1 MPH or walk at 1.9 MPH. But unless your butt is made of Kevlar, you probably won't mind getting off your bike as much as you might expect.

Anyone guesstimate how long it takes the average ride to reach Silverton from BV?  For example, it took me 2.5 days to get from Seg 18 to Silverton.  Mind you, half a day of that was me hiding from a nasty storm on a ridge on 23. 

A good resource for checking historic times is Trackleaders.com. You can review everyone's tracks in great detail. http://trackleaders.com/ctr