The gravel road is actually pretty nice. Not much traffic, nice views of the river, cool tunnels, etc. And, yes, that is the CTR route--which is not always the same as the guidebook. If you're racing, you must follow the course.

Agree that detour is the best detour of all the detours on the CT. Its a fast smooth road with a slight downhill slope in the Leadville->BV direction.  Don't forget to look for the elephant rock too.

Johnny_mtb,

I'm at SWA, trying to figure out all the start dates as my bid is due pretty soon.  Do you plan on doing either of the 2 in 2015.  If I can't get the CTR off the next is the AZT.  Thanks for all the replies fellas and I'm going to have plenty of questions for you seasoned vets! 

Rich

CTR for me in 2015. Couldn't make it happen this year. Good luck to ya!

Looks like David Nice is back on track leaving Silverton.

ifrpilot,
I'm in the same boat here at JetBlue. Who you with? I guessed correctly last year for the CTR and by what dream4est stated I would think 8/2/2015 is a solid guess. Last year started on the July 21st (full moon + Sunday) and this year 8/10 (full moon + Sunday). I remember him saying that starting Sunday works best for the durango->Den route because it lets people travel on Saturday.

Michelle DuLieu - I knew that name sounded familiar. She was the one that got altitude sickness in the CTR last year. Took about 10 days to get to Silverton (started in Durango) and she pushed on after that. I was hoping for a finish but she pulled out for some reason. Hopefully she can pull through and finish the TD! GO GO GO!!!

Clears it up in the comments section of the FAQ's here: http://tourdivide.org/td_rule_4_faqs
As long as they are not on route and return to the same point they left or a point prior without forward help (my understanding).

Question: if a rider has trouble on the route, and goes off route, but goes back to the point of departure from the route, but did go forward... Are they disqualified? My understanding was always, if you leave the route, but go back to the point it was left, the rider would not be breaking race rules. Is this incorrect? I, myself, have never heard "no forward travel allowed", before. However on hearing that call in from Max Morris, I'm a bit concerned for the two guys I'm following. As they did travel forward, however they also traveled back to the point the trail was left and lost nearly two days doing so. I know they are attempting to stick to every rule this race has applied to it. So if there is a no forward travel rule in place, it's the first time I've heard of it. If max is referencing something else entirely, that's cool, he's talking about something else. But can someone give me a little clarification, please? Cause the pit of my stomach has totally dropped on hearing that call. I've even been sticking to the "rules" of not telling the guys what's ahead of them and letting them fend for themselves. Which has been really hard to stick to, as I'm worried for my guys out there peddling their little limbs off. If someone in the know could be kind enough to let me know... Thank you in advance.

from: http://tourdivide.org/the_rules

a rider may be assisted[3] by motor vehicle in moving backwards or directly off the route, but never forward on route.

Who are the triple crown attempters this year?

Did anyone take the Leadville bypass last year? I planned on taking it but had to bail in Leadville due to knee problems. Just wondering about the road conditions etc. on that route.

Forest Baker/s spot is still just East of Breck for 9.5 hours now. Wonder if his batteries ran out?
I'm sure he is up by Scott Ruff if his spot is acting up. We all three traded positions until yesterday when I dropped out in Leadville with a hurt knee.
Michelle DuLieu made it to Silverton! Wonder if she will continue?

Calorie rich backup food, coconut bars, shredded unsweetened coconut and brown rice syzurp. Around 2500 calories right there.

Yummy. Put some chocolate on top and you have a winner.

$75 from me. I would contribute more but we have had some unexpected hospital bills this year.

All Spots are AAA...

Wrong. Spot connect takes AA.

Here is the flipped elevation profile for 2013 (without Tarryall).  Anyone getting excited?

Billy Rice is is picking them off one by one. Smokin!

JP's ghost just entered the closed section. I wonder if he will receive a fine in the mail
It will be interesting to see how much faster the detour is for Jesse Carlsson compared to JP's ghost.

According to the CT Facebook page segments 1&2 have reopened!

Stappler's spot not tracking? He has been stopped for over 11 hours now.
Jesse Carlsson is flying and actually looks like he might be gaining on Mike Hall?

We might not need to bring lights  

http://www.baltimorenewsjournal.com/2013/05/30/june-2013-supermoon-coming-soon/



edit: oops I'm a month early. Still going to be full on July 22ond. Should be good riding if clear!

THat just means that Craig's spot hasn't updated for 3.5 hours. He could be riding right next to Mike and just has bad batteries in his spot. His updates have been patchy today so I suspect his batteries are getting tired and need replacing. The 4 am wake up call will reveal all!

I was hoping that was the case but he just started moving 8 minutes ago. Now Mikes resting so it will be interesting to see if he starts moving before Craig reaches him.

edit - I guess Mikes on the move! That answers that question!