Where the heck is that photo from? I was told that the trail looked like this all the way to Durango :



and that there were refreshing water-crossings whenever the weather was too hot:



(taken a few weeks ago on the Kenosha to Georgia section)

For the record, I have no moral qualms regarding sloppy joes, and am willing to eat the extras left by those who take the ethical high-road

On the top of Kenosha Pass, there were a couple of people who drove up there just to hand out cupcakes to riders.

I too would like to see an improvement in the quality of these "trail angels".

Firstly, why cupcakes? Why have these hipsters made them so popular in the first place? It seems like there are cupcake shops everywhere these days. I'd take good muffin over a cupcake any day. Pumpkin walnut, lemon poppyseed, or just plain-old blueberry all beat any cupcake hands down.

Secondly: cupcakes at Kenosha Pass? As I understand it, Hostess Cupcakes are about the best food that a hungry CTR rider can acquire riding through Bailey at odd hours of the night. I expect to be about 10 hostess cupcakes in when I finally make it up the hill to the pass. I'll be ready for some real food. How about bacon at Kenosha Pass? Or at least an espresso bar.   

Yours truly,
Dan

Bart, good call on the light - I just put the crazy-bright blinky light on there.

Pink, extra links are going in the bag for sure.

Steve, I think that warm gloves are a very good idea. In Colorado, summer storms routinely bring 45 degree temperatures, wind, and rain to the high country. I'm not bringing the full-on skiing gloves, but I'm packing some that are almost as warm.

Thanks Bart!

My repair kit consists of:
Two tubes + pump + tire leavers + "tire boot" sticky things for mending sidewalls
Multi-tool w/chain tool
Pocket knife
Duct tape + zip ties + 5 minute epoxy
Chain links
Extra chainring bolts
Chain lube

I'm considering bringing an extra spoke or two, but I very rarely break spokes. Anything in your repair kit that I don't have?

My girlfriend has graciously offered to pick me up in Durango on the weekend of the 6th/7th. To give myself a better chance of actually reaching Durango by the 7th, I'm going to get a head start of the rest of the pack and leave Denver on Saturday, the 30th, probably in the evening to beat the heat. I'm looking forward to meeting some of you guys as you whiz past me!

I found these forums really helpful for deciding which gear to bring, so I'll post a quick list of the gear that I'll be bringing for the journey. I've gone with a singlespeed for durability (and to avoid sitting down to much), flat pedals to make hiking more enjoyable, and a mid-weight camping setup that should keep me reasonably comfortable should I have to wait out a storm.

Bike: Salsa El Mariachi, steel singlespeed. Special features: Niner carbon fork (super light), Stan's Flow rims (super strong), Bontrager tubeless tires, flat pedals, 32x22 gear ratio.
Bags: Revelate Designs seatbag for food + tarp-tent, Relevate Sling + drybag on handlebars for sleeping bag and pad, Osprey Talon 22 backpack for camelback (3 liter) and clothes, 2x20 Oz water bottles on bike.
Sleeping gear: GoLite Shangri-La 1 tarp-tent, GoLite 40-degree down sleeping bag, super-thin (uncomfortable) thermarest pad.
Lights: All AA/AAA battery powered. Two on the bars and a black diamond headlamp on the helmet.
Other: MSR water filter, Garmin Vista GPS, rain jacket + pants, fleece, long underwear, 2 pairs of socks.

Here's a picture of myself and the setup (without the bar-bag):

P1010905 by danhickstein, on Flickr

I've been doing some training rides along the CT near Breckenridge and Kenosha Pass in the past few weeks and conditions look pretty good. There is slightly more mud than usual and the mosquitoes have reached Minnesota levels in some spots, but the snowpack seems to be at it's usual late-summer condition and the riding is great!

See you on the trail!
Dan

I'll be using a 32x22 on a 29er. The sections of the CT that I've ridden are generally pretty steep.

Hi CTR people!

I've been gearing up for the race for the past few weeks, but I just now discovered this thread! Lots of great stoke and info, thanks!

I'm way behind in my planning – it seems like you guys have had your gear dialed since February, and I'm just now building the bike (new Salsa El Mariachi singlespeed, it's gonna be sweet) and trying to figure out what to bring. I just bought a nice new rain jacket - from what I understand from reading trip reports from previous years it sounds like I can expect to get rained on a few times.

Does anyone want to meet up for an evening ride and share some tips on how to survive the CTR? I'm in Boulder.

See you on the trail!!

Dan

Mountaindavis, I agree, it's a complete disaster to have wet feet for a long ride. Perhaps we should e-mail 5.10 and request a quick-drying version of the impact!

Stumpbumper, that sounds like a good waterproofing technique! I might have to try it with my current pair of 5.10's. I think that multi-day rides would still be problematic since my feet would inevitably get soaked by a rainstorm, botched stream crossing, etc., and the tape might make them even slower to dry out. Unless, of course, they make a miniature boot drier!

Hi Mountaindavis,
I like running flat pedals as well, and you are right, there really is nothing to compare to the performance of the 5.10 bike shoes. The grip is just incredible and the stiffness of the sole really helps when you're standing on the pedals for long periods. I wore an earlier version of this 5.10 shoe before I bought the Impact: http://fiveten.com/products/footwear-detail/71-savant   
It's made for water sports (rafting I assume) so it breathes really well and dries in about 15 minutes. However, the sole has too many bumps to be good for biking and it doesn't have the stiffness of bike-specific shoes. I suspect that it would be hard to make a stiff, durable shoes that is much lighter than the current bike shoes that they make. However, I am really surprised that 5.10 hasn't made a version that dries more quickly. The Impacts have fairly good water resistance since they don't have that much mesh on them, but once they are wet they are stay wet for the next week.

I'm hoping that you'll find the perfect solution. Currently, I'm planning to ride the Colorado Trail this summer and just accepting the fact that my feet are going to be wet in my 5.10's.

Dan