Apart from breaking my derailleur two hours into the race and having to coast back to Durango for a repair, I had a great race. It seems like I missed the storms and was only rained on a bit in Buena Vista.

I wanted to give a shout out to Devin at Boneshaker Cycles. I had developed a wobbly rear wheel and so dropped in after hours to get it taken care of before leaving town.

Boneshaker Cycles
310 E Main St
Buena Vista, CO 81211
719-966-5075

You do not have to even take a detour as the race goes right past his shop. Sounds like Buena Vista is trying to create more mountain bike trails.

I never seemed to get my caloric intake right. I was low on energy for many days and only started to get it sorted out by Leadville.

My worst section was immediately after Sargents Mesa, going straight up a hill that must have been made by a motor cycle and then washed out.
Ten mile was also bad. I was prepared for the climb, but was not expecting the barren landscape on the decent into Breckenridge.

I stopped and chatted to many of the through hikers to find out how many days they had been on the trail etc and to find out if anyone was just ahead of me. Everyone was friendly.

Great race and thanks to everyone who has shared on this forum.

"No negative thoughts EVER". - Billy Rice

At second avenue sports getting sorted out will be back on the trail soon.

I am back in Durango with a bent derailer.
Looks like velorution and mountain bike specialist are closed today.
I was hoping to get back on the trail today.

Good luck to all racers this year! 

Also, a reminder to all to donate to the Colorado Trail Foundation  (http://www.coloradotrail.org/) for the great work they do in maintaining the CT and supporting biking on the CT, which is too rare among primarily hiking organizations - we need all the support we can get to keep trails open to bikes so please support them, no matter how much you donate.  When you donate, make sure to mention that you bike/bikepack so they know we support them.

I visited the office in April and made sure that they knew I was biking the Colorado Trail when I donated. They are bike friendly, but I don't think it hurts to mention cycling in any communication with them.

Any interest in a pre-race gathering at Carvers again?  Say 7pm?  I could hand out rental SPOTs there, otherwise it will have to be at 3am before the start...

Yes I am interested. It would be great to talk to other folks about bike packing etc.

I am also looking for a ride fromBoulder/Denver. I can leave either Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. Happy to pay for gas.

How many pairs of cycling shorts do people bring? I have only gone on 3 day rides and am wondering how well one pair will hold up after 8 days. Is washing shorts in a stream advisable? I would worry about small amounts of silt.

That is great info. Hopefully I will not need to stop there.

Thanks for the update. I was going to do a recon trip from Buena Vista toward Durango tomorrow. Think I need to make alternative plans. Looking at the Colorado Trail Foundation Facebook page there do not seem to be many contiguous segments that are passable. https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoTrailFoundation

I was introduced to Sportlegs a few years ago and they are great. Not cheap. I carry them with me all the time. I take them if I feel the beginning twinges of a cramp coming on.

Doesn't look like much support for that petition. Not even 2000 signatures.

Signed and shared.

Thanks for the info. That is a nice big ride you did. I was thinking of possibly doing a loop or an out and back from Fruita instead of spending time in the car. I plan on taking all my bikepacking gear for testing.

I am planning on riding there, starting some time tomorrow afternoon. Looks like there might be rain this weekend. From what I remember, from riding it as few years ago, mud should not be a problem, but was wondering if anyone else had a better idea. I would love to be able to do the entire trail, but I am having a hard time finding a way from Fruita to Moab or from Moab to Fruita. There are shuttle services, but they are $175, which is fine as group rate, but not for one person. I most likely will end up riding out one way and then turning around and riding back.

aarond: Been watching your spot and wondering what was going on. Glad you are still having "fun". Hope you feel great when you head out again.

Anyone have a link to Cassi's Facebook updates?

I have scratches on my computer and tried to get them out with bar keepers friend, but it made no difference. I am going to try this Novus product.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UD0GIG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

That was great, nice to see the course from Durango.