Thanks everyone for all the kind words and support for my effort on the trail!  I'm still struggling to compose my thoughts but my hallucinations are finally starting to settle down.  Getting 1 hour of sleep each night has some interesting side effects!  Every time it was just a log or a rock but things we saw out there felt like a vividly moving Dali painting!  We knew there wasn't a jeep with a 8 foot high toy reindeer mounted to the roof backing into a carport on top of Searl Pass but my brain couldn't convince my eyes otherwise.  And I say "we" because I didn't even race half of it, there was some other dude on the bike pedaling and I was just trying to help out and keep him company.  I'd suggest he should try eating something or maybe put on arm warmers but he wouldn't always listen.  I can't make him do it; he'll have to live with the consequences, it's just the way it goes!  Other times he's say I should get the rock out of my shoe or put on my rain jacket but I never wanted to interrupt my progress.  He didn't put up too much of a fight and was a pretty cool guy!

After dedicating my life to this trail for 5 years and learning from the great masters Ethan and Jefe I sit here with a huge glow of accomplishment finally content to just sit in peace without the endless urge to do more training, planning, gear hunting, strategizing...  It was an amazing journey out there and the feeling of watching a sunset above treeline and still marching upward with a stray marmot chirp in the distance will be etched into my mind for the rest of my life.

Good luck to all who are still out there!  Sorry if this is a little incoherent, I've spent the last 2 hours trying to type somethi, oh look a SQUIRREL!

I'm looking forward to another big adventure out there!  Jefe, sorry you aren't firing on all cylinders but something tells me I'm still going to see your tire tracks across the trail when I wake up from my first night of sleep!  For myself, I'm prepared as I can be and excited to push myself as hard as i can to make it to Junction Creek on Thursday.  Good luck to everyone who is taking the CTR plunge.  I promise you will all have stories for a lifetime!

Anyone know when the Trackleaders site will populate with all the riders names that signed up?  Curious to see how many nutters are taking the plunge this year!

Matt,

The closest resupply off of Hwy 9 that I know of is 3.1 miles south (uphill) on 9 to a 7-eleven.

Addy,

Good to hear another Canadian is here to join me! For Durango Lodging try Days End or Adobe Inn.  Both about as cheap as they get for mid summer in Durango and a short 5 min pedal to the start.

The slope of the race flow for the top guys is getting steeper = speed is increasing!  Even after 14 days and almost two thousand seven hundred miles they are finding more power in the legs.  Neil's 3 hour nap last night is a gutsy effort to get to the finish line first!  

160 miles to go!  Looks like they have another 12-14 hours of pedaling??  That would put the finish tonight just after dark tonight??  I have no idea of the road surface so I'm just guessing based on their current speed and terrain.

Aaron, that video is fantastic and brings back all sorts of memories!

As for the unsupported CT by bike, it would be very possible to be under 5 days especially considering Jefe started with 3 days worth of food in 2013!  It's an interesting idea to not need to stop in a town and worry about syncing up with business hours.  Just keep plowing forward!

I'm not sure I'll ever start with 10lbs of food but I do plan on giving this trail one more ride this year!

Wow, amazing terrain!  Worth keeping this on my radar!

It's so early to be excited for the CTR but after missing this year I'm really hoping to line up in 2015!  Marking my calendar now...

Right on!  I've give Z Packs a few paychecks myself and very familiar with all of their products and materials.  That weight of material should probably hold up very well.  Good stuff, thanks for sharing!

Nice piece of work!  What weight of CF did you use for that?

Congratulations on toughing it out to make it to Durango Neil!  Enjoy the sweet feeling of success and a warm dry bed  

Really bummed to hear Neil's knee is giving out.  So much gravity to help him to the end but I can picture every small rise that is going to seem like getting up Miners Creek to him now.  Hang in there dude!  

Damn, Neil is crushing segs 22/23, should be in Silverton in a couple hours....sub 4 day finish could happen! 14 or so hours to do Silverton to Durango, gonna be tight. Possible?

Neil is a machine!  To be close to 4 hours with the Taryall detour is mind blowing!  He'll need to be out of Silverton by 3pm at the latest to give him a very solid 15 hour push to Durango to be done by 6am.  Can he do it?  I'm excited to find out!  No matter what he's setting an extremely high mark on the CTR and doubly insane that he's only been racing bikes for a few years and barely in his 20's!

Cant. Stop. Refreshing. Track. Leaders. Web. Site.

GO NEIL! and go everyone else!  Durango or bust!

Looking at the time splits on the LCW Tarryall detour it looks like it added about 5 hours to the race time for the front of the pack.  Neil made it to BV at 4:35pm which would have been something like a half hour before noon from 2 years ago!  If he can keep up this appetite for miles he could make it to hwy 50 at the end of today's push around 1am and keep well on track for 4 days.

It's pretty fun to armchair race this thing!  Not quite as much as on the trail though but a lot better hygiene.

Without the ghost times I can say Neil is hauling the mail!  When I was digging into split time goals for myself making Leadville by noon would be a hero effort.  Its only 11am and I'm sure he's stuffing his pie hole with anything he can grab over there!

Don't jinx it Jesse!!!
[

Don't jinx it Jesse!!!

I can't make it this year so I'll jinx you all I want, heh, heh, heh!

Weather report: lots of rain
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/wxstory.php?site=gjt

You need to check the forecast again!  Looks like everyone can leave the rain jacket at home this year!  (although I wouldn't advise actually doing that )

I dont think the Colorado River will dry up that time of year!  There are plenty of modern ways to make it safe to drink if you want to follow ITT ethics.  So the fall will leave you down to one refill in the middle of the course rather than being able to break it up into four or 5 dry segments.  Harder with only one water stop but considering the White Rim has zero refills its not like you need to cart around a Bob trailer full H2O! 

Dan, I used a MSR Hyperflow for the CO river.  Silt will jam it up over time but for one day you should be able to pump a few liters without it clogging up.  Just dont let it sit after and backclean it otherwise it may never work again!