Tim, glad you're mapping out an AZT alternative. I have tried to make the AZTR for the past two years to no avail. This might make my long awaited riding in AZ a reality. I look forward to your report and maps for your Oct. ride. Have fun! I might see you at the Coco start.

Brilliant Mike. You caught the essence. Well done.

Lets run this thing...count me in. It's a crap shoot either way so lets do it.
I agree with keeping the the start in Auburn and keeping the commitment level high. The possibility of smoke does suck but we'll have to take as we get it.

Hope to see a solid group of riders at 6am in the Raileys parking lot.

Sean, thanks for being proactive on this.

Glad folks are still on the trail and moving along.
Huge props for Michelle D. for getting back on the CTR one more time. She has the tenacity to finish this thing...hope she has the time.

well done Triple Crowners Forest and Eric. What a great way to spend a summer.
Forest, I'll see you on Labor Day in Ca for the CSTR.

All in all, the race was great.  But, if you are a rookie and are out there right now, just finishing up or you intend to race for the first time next year or some year thereafter, make sure you thoroughly enjoy the time on the trail and pocket those memories.  They are grand.  And meaningful.  I promise you.

Cheers folksies,
Jerry

First off, great ride Jerry. Yep..fully agree with this statement. The memories are meaningful. Drink fully of the CTR and enjoy all it offers. I did just that last year on my rookie run and watching the dots this year brought back some great memories. Thanks to those finished and those still pedaling. The CTR is truly special.

just want to give a shout out to Joe P. of MTB Cast. Thanks Joe! it 's a great service you provide for us armchair folks. Some pretty funny things from the racers on their calls. I'll be sure to call in on my future rides. Keep up the good work!

yep, we still have plenty of the Mere Mortal Class excitement to enjoy. Plus our SoBo guys are moving along swiftly. Looks like continued impeded progress at work for few more days.

Stellar ride Jefe and Jesse. Mindblowing!
They're probably ready to make an 8 day loop of this thing.

I'd be thinking of a burger at Coney Island right about now

That's the difference between us and them.

Yeah some kind of Loop like the Coco 250 is exactly what CO needs. Seems like it has to be possible to come up with something. I've only driven thru and ridden Kenosha to Georgia once, sweet stuff, there's tons of trails somebody just needs to map out a sweet loop.

+1 for a CO loop. But keep it at least 400 miles.

Enjoying the racing this year. Strong field of riders setting the standard for the NoBo CTR.

Yeah it might work. They made a movie about some guy who moved his whole house that way. Pretty cool. It think this was the movie:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=I0CQmbm-UKRbwM&tbnid=e5oBwf4GWRHcTM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmovies.nytimes.com%2F2009%2F05%2F29%2Fmovies%2F29up.html&ei=GcPtUYXsO5T29gS3qoGoCQ&bvm=bv.49478099,d.aWc&psig=AFQjCNHttrR7Bjm8oC86mDdrF-hoJ5GxhA&ust=1374622844015097

Looks like Max and Neil are getting soda and lemon cookies in the shade.

Is the trackleaders "Leaderboard" working? I don't see any splits posted yet  .

click refresh, then the split you want. that's working for me

Ouch!!
 Looks like Wayne_Keith (ITT) spent 5-6 hours backtracking on Seg 22 on the high stuff. Probably trying to dodge the storms??

Looks like a nice steady line of blue dots pushing on. This will be fun to armchair.
The next best thing to riding it is reliving it through the dots.

I'm thinking about one of these. http://www.sawyer.com/water.html
Anybody have experience with it...pros/cons. Seems like a good lightweight and packable option.

spent some time perusing the route today and it looks sweet.
Get those legs and lungs ready. Like the profile suggests...lots of big ups and downs 1000' here and 1000' there kind of bumps. I like the low point on the route of ~550' and the high of ~9600', that's a good bit of elevation change. The scenery will be breathtaking also.
Sean, thanks for pulling this all together and giving us west coast guys a local high caliber course!

How well would a tandem work on this trail?

Like a submarine with screen doors.
Plenty of technical but rideable stuff that would be more enjoyable on a bicycle built for one.

hey zuren - yeah i like the Candy/X-Alp combo. I just wrapped up a 200 miler in Utah with plenty of HAB and I was reflecting in how much I like the shoe. Soft enough to take up the impacts of hiking over rugged, sharp terrain and stiff enough to be out of the saddle and climbing. Also comfy at camps and resupplys. I switched from the Eggbeater to the Candy and did notice a platform improvement, although other pedals might offer more. Another major plus is the ratchet closure. Comes in handy when your beat at night and just want to get the shoes off, no fusing with laces. And...I normally wear a size 45 but need to size up to a 46 with these. Hope that helps.