Is it okay to continue on US 24 to main and then turn right, skipping the gravel road section? Guide book says it is acceptable, but don't know if it is CTR acceptable. Speed limit is 55, but shoulder is 6 feet wide.

For one, you would relegate yourself for not following the race route. And two, you would miss the great railroad tunnels...honestly I don't know why you want to stay on US-24. I would get off that highway sooner if I could!

Usually the only start list I remember seeing is the list available on Trackleaders. But it's still only showing the ITT'ers.

Start time: 6am

Fixie Dave appears to be headed for Cinnamon Pass?

Hmmm.. looks like Teresa scratched???

Bummer, beautiful night for a bike ride in Bailey right now...

I'd love to see the 'Current Radar' feature on the Tour 14er tracker.

This is an amazing adventure Justin, love following along. Good luck out there!

I hope Karlos doesn't underestimate what he has left from Copper...

It's off Wellington Lake road...right in front of the campground office.

Nah, we don't like northbounders...

 

The whole race went northbound last year...pretty sure you're good!

He's just happy he didn't start a couple days ago...been two soggy, cold days here in Bailey!

I know a lot of CTR vets have done the Vapor Trail 125 (if anyone is prepared to ride all night long, it's CTR vets!). I did my own shortened spin-off of the route (Chalk Creek pass is not part of it)...and it was tough.

For anyone who has done it, the climb back up Poncha Creek road after the Starvation Creek trail must be so painful...race organizers probably get cursed at that point!

I am doing an ITT starting on Aug. 9th.  I would like to sign up my spot on the trackleaders.com so that friends and family can track me during the ride.  As an ITT’er do I need to use exact same detours as the racers?

If you just want people to be able to follow along and you don't like the generic base maps (with no GPX/track) that your SPOT share page provides, trackleaders does have a standing CT trail tracker. But if you are indeed racing, then yes of course you need to follow the same route as everyone else.


In the spirit of the upcoming CTR (and since I can't make it due to an ailing father-in-law) here is a little pre-race vid. This was supposed to be my final tune-up ride before the race, but now I'm just happy to have gotten out there.
http://youtu.be/EoGHriQ0dWI

So much for my planned Aug 2 ITT. I have lots of reasons, but you don't need to hear them. I am just not ready for it and that is probably the only reason that really matters.

That being said - how are the San Juan's in September? Maybe I will try a ride from Marshall Pass to Durango in the first week of Sept. Too late?

Good luck to everyone this year

I remember my wife thinking I had missed a turn there. I agree the track is off...

My Dad was in the war - maybe getting to that memorial will give me a little more motivation this year, to send Dad a picture of what must be the loneliest Vietnam war memorial in the country!

Perhaps an odd place to do so, but I have to recommend a book I just finished: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. I didn't know much about rowing - beyond watching the shells in the Charles river back in Boston growing up, and knowing that my grandfather rowed in the fours in the '36 Olympics in Berlin (which this book is about and why I wanted to read it in the first place).

This book has some powerful stuff and a perfect parallel can be made in so many ways between rowing and bikepacking. Here is a quote from the book if you are wondering where I am going with this:
"Great oarsmen and oarswomen...on the one hand must possess enormous self-confidence, strong egos, and titanic willpower. They must be almost immune to frustration. Nobody who does not believe deeply in himself or herself - in his or her ability to endure hardship and prevail over adversity - is likely even to attempt something as audacious as competitive rowing at the highest levels. The sport offers so many opportunities for suffering and so few opportunities for glory that only the most tenaciously self-reliant and self-motivated are likely to succeed at it." That should be enough to peak your interest!

Seriously, get this book.

Thanks for clarifying nepbug.

Christina N. stayed in that yurt during a nasty stretch of weather last year - she was a couple days ahead of me on her ITT. I do remember her saying something about a sheep herder staying there? She could fill in with better info than me. Here's her final call in from last year.

http://mtbcast.com/site2/2013/08/10/mtbcast-ctr13-itt-christina-nacos-called-in-with-her-finish-call/

I would guess the CTF facebook page would be a good place to ask about the Yurt too.

Is anyone else enjoying all this great poetry?  Reminds me of haiku.

I always love Mark's call-ins and 'snippets' from the trail...dude knows how to live for the moment!

Jefe got a LOT of sleep last night (for him at least). Is the big push coming?

Last year's monsoon was bad - I remember the forecast for Aug. 7th when I woke up outside of Mt. Princeton last year: increasing monsoonal moisture, lowering ceiling, approaching cold front, embedded thunderstorms. I was pretty sure it couldn't get any worse than that!

I think it was the cold that surprised me. I can deal with the rain, and the storms - but I wasn't prepared for the cold. I finally bailed on the trail at HWY 50 realizing I was not prepared for treeline and decided at that point to ride to Gunnison, and continue on to Durango via Lake City and cinnamon pass (today it still seems like a smart decision, but smart is no fun). When I topped out on Monarch Pass, there was slushy snow at the top...and I was pretty close to hypothermic coming down the other side with all my layers on. I must have looked a sight, wicked grimace on my face, wobbling all over the road, teeth chattering, hands losing ability to grip the bars.

I'm going to chalk up last year's attempt as 'gaining valuable experience' but am hoping this year for better luck with the weather. I shouldn't be surprised by it anymore though...and better be prepared now for Cold, Rain and Snow.

-Nick

Come on man. Pushing through the night with a cone of light illuminating the trail in front with a full moon overhead is the very image of bikepack racing.

I can't even remember the last time I got 8 hours of sleep...