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Forums / Routes / Bikepacking to the 14ers Guide in Development
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on: January 21, 2020, 04:42:49 PM
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Howdy Everyone, Thought I'd post a project of mine to get the word out: I'm trying to develop a bikepacking guide to ALL the Colorado 14ers. Ride to the TH, leave the bike, hike up/down, resupply in town, then repeat. This was a trip I did in 2014, and found it so incredible, I did it again in 2017 (adding 47 other peaks!). Now, I'd love to get more people out there to experience this on their own. Here's where I've been putting up the rough drafts of the guide: https://justinsimoni.com/routes/14erbikepacking/
The idea is that during the Winter, I'll share what the guide is shaping up to be, so that when summer rolls around, I may get some brave souls to attempt some of the route narratives. I don't have a clear path on how I could fund this as a published guidebook - my fear is this is such a niche idea, the audience would be small, but I'm open to ideas. Anyways, enjoy! Follow along - there's a few different ways to do so listed in the guide.
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Forums / Question and Answer / Re: 2020 drinking water thread.
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on: December 25, 2019, 06:44:30 PM
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Alex Hutchinson just wrote something for Outside about water treatment, https://www.outsideonline.com/2406957/purifying-backcountry-water-researchBut I don't think it really says anything really new, although he stresses that one should try to roughly calculate the risk of a water source. For example: in the middle of Alaska on top of a mountain: risk is probably low of finding tainted water; pond water in the middle of a cow pasture: high risk. This though, shouldn't be too Earth shattering. I just use a filter, with Aqua Mira as my backup. I actually usually use nothing, if i feel there's a low risk of getting something nasty. I'm not a fan of Hutchinson's preference of a UV filter - the ones I've used tend to not work when I need them, are heavy, needs batteries, and don't work with anything but clear water.
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Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: Tour Divide 2019 Start List Link
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on: June 04, 2019, 08:21:35 PM
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How about this declarative statement about Leal Wilcox from a TD FB page. Hmmm, gonna be interesting dot watching this year.
The fastest female ITT record is 15 days, 10 hours and 59 minutes, held by none other than Lael herself, but this year she wants to try and beat the men's record of 13 days 22 hours, 51 minutes. The Tour Divide starts on June 14th, and with all the snow the mountains have been getting, the trails are likely to be in less-than-optimal condition. Whether or not the conditions allow her to break the overall record this year, she aims to be the first woman to ever win the Tour Divide outright.
I say, crush it, Lael.
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Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: 2019 CTR Discussion Thread.
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on: May 24, 2019, 04:35:07 PM
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Certainly going to be interesting to see what's going to happen with the current snowpack melting as well as any parts of the route that are affected by downed trees from avalanches.
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Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: Tour Divide 2019 Preparation and Planning Thread
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on: March 31, 2019, 12:43:35 PM
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Got a blow of bad news; job has pulled my grand departure vacation time. I’m not taking it lightly and have looked at some alternate start dates. I need feedback to understand if the dates are viable and what additional risks/challenges they come with.
First alternate June 5th - June 28th Second alternate Aug 8 - Sep 6th
What say the community?
No perfect start time for the TD - too early and you hit snow, even too slow riding the Grand Depart and you'll hit monsoon as well as hot weather in NM. Later than that, it starts to get cold up high and monsoon could still be a problem in NM. Hard to give a good forecast so far out, so whatever you choose, it's still a guess. But, I would look at snow levels up in the high states and in Canada. If they're at average level or below, you could go a little earlier than the GD. Colorado is at a lot higher than average, but that shouldn't be too concerning. I would also look at what the summer predictions are for NM. If it's going to be a hot summer, a later start/bad fire season may be a bad idea. Another option is to start S->N, where a slightly earlier start time would not make a difference when it came to Monsoon (it would be an advantage!) or snow levels (same!). Plus, you'll bump into everyone going N -> S on the GD to wave hello to. June also has the advantage of having more daylight time.
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Forums / Bikepacking / Re: Bike Packing and Thru Hiking Combo
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on: March 08, 2019, 09:10:38 AM
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And I would doubt any hiker would have issue with you hiking with the bike on your back. At that point you are a hiker too, just with a ridiculous pack.
The Wilderness Act disallows possession of a bike as I've tried to point out, so carrying it isn't some sneaky loophole. I would think the same for partially disassembling it, as the spirit of the Wilderness Act is what's important. It's a Pandora's box to open, and once opened, we're not just talking about bicycles, are we? Could I partially disassemble a car and bring it through Wilderness? Everyone cool with that? Being a good steward of bicycle travel does mean following the rules set forth by the land managers of the area. If it's Wilderness, it's a no-go for bikes - that's all you gotta know. If one would like access by bikes to be broadened (which I would be supportive of, on a case-per-case basis, and especially when utilized to traverse across areas where no other safe access can be found), it's most likely best to do this through diplomacy + community action, rather than breaking the rules and being a bad trail user, because of the feeling of privilege that I can do a thing, because no one with real power (other trail users) is going to stop me, and if they don't like it: tough cookies for them. Who would fine me, anyways: the increasingly understaffed and underpaid land managers? That's a riot. To me, it's no different than a rule that says some trails can't be ridden by bikes in a local trail system because they're hiker only, or that trails close because of conditions would be that if you rode them, you would damage them. For the greater good, and to Do The Right Thing, I abide by these rules. It's not my right to disregard them. Which is, as a community, what we've been doing in the grand sense of things, right? Take the Colorado Trail, Arizona Trail - even the GDMBR - they all reroute around Wilderness. As the West gets ever more populated, this will become a more prickly topic. You can start to feel my own thorniness come up. One of the goals of Wilderness is to provide a hunk of land where humans have a smaller footprint of impact. It's not like we're making a whole lot more Wilderness out there, but we sure are making a whole lot of us. Do bicycles always fit into the idea of a place of conservation?
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Forums / Bikepacking / Re: Bike Packing and Thru Hiking Combo
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on: March 05, 2019, 04:37:40 PM
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https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=0035ffffd6287a3a2120bd5f2db5fc3d&mc=true&node=se36.2.261_118&rgn=div8§261.18 National Forest Wilderness. The following are prohibited in a National Forest Wilderness: (a) Possessing or using a motor vehicle, motorboat or motorized equipment except as authorized by Federal Law or regulation. (b) Possessing or using a hang glider or bicycle. And, https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=0035ffffd6287a3a2120bd5f2db5fc3d&mc=true&node=se36.1.4_130&rgn=div8 §4.30 Bicycles. (a) Park roads. The use of a bicycle is permitted on park roads and in parking areas that are otherwise open for motor vehicle use by the general public. (h) Prohibited acts. The following are prohibited: (1) Bicycle riding off of park roads and parking areas, except on administrative roads and trails that have been authorized for bicycle use. (2) Possessing a bicycle in a wilderness area established by Federal statute. It's not use that's the problem, it's possession. You can partially disassemble a bike, but you still possess a bike. You're still going to have two wheels, no matter how you break down a bike - and guess what? Carts aren't allowed in Wilderness either (ask a hunter). Consider that the Wildnerness Act also disallows hang gliders - no one can bring a fully assembled hangglider into an area - you disassemble it, right? Same idea. Yes, I've asked the various people who managed specific Wilderness Lands. It's a no-go. If you want to double-check the peeps that manage Lost Creek Wilderness, be my guest. They're not going to be into it. The hikers you pass are going to get (rightfully) angry at you. People get really confused, since in/on the Arizona Trail (Race), you can disassemble your bike, and portage it across. BUT the Grand Canyon in that area IS NOT WILDERNESS, and it's the specific rule of the land managers to allow a dissembled bike across (so long the wheels don't touch the ground).
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Forums / Question and Answer / What do want to see in a bikepacking guide?
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on: December 30, 2018, 12:58:54 PM
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I've been threatening to put out a bikepacking guide for objectives here in Colorado. It's a monumental task! and will take a long while to produce to the point where I feel things are done to my liking. But the open-ended question is, what are the essentials you would like to see in such a guide?
For examples, here's some things in my outline:
The route itself: including alternatives based on terrain (MTB, gravel roads, road).
Town type stuff:
services: including bike shops, food, camping/lodging, at least every "x" miles
Start/Finish points, if you would like to do only part of the route. Places to park long term, public transportation to utilize to skip over parts
etc,
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Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: Tour Divide 2019 Preparation and Planning Thread
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on: December 30, 2018, 12:43:15 PM
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Hi Guys, I hope everyone is well. Im a rookie at this forum and TD planning thing and planning to make the grand depart in June 2019.
this is a very rookie question but when is the route released? im trying to look through it and prepare some re supply cards but the TD ACA route and the Race route don't match up. For example in 2018 it took the Flathead alternate. How do we know what to plan?
Good luck to you! The route seems to be historically finalized at... the very last minute! Sometimes, this is because there's route detours that need to be made, and the race directors want to make sure those detours are absolutely needed. Sometimes those detours are because of snow, fire, or construction on route. Best thing to do now is look at last year's route (sans any fire/snow detours), and plan on using that. Lots of time to read past people's race reports and see how chaotic it is out there (sometimes). Do make sure to send your Letter of Intent, and you'll receive updates when they do arrive.
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Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: 2019 CTR Preparation & Plannning
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on: December 23, 2018, 12:58:56 PM
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i was thinking pants could be nice to be able to get up and ride with until warm or keep moving late at night with if it's really cold and/or wet.
Puffy pants are the f*ckin sheeet, but I wouldn't suggest riding in them, as they'll inevitably tear (better for camp time). Instead a pair of running tights is nice. If you're still cold, use a pair of waterproof pants while riding. Can get wet out there, anyways.
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Forums / Question and Answer / Re: Backpack that can be fixed to the bike frame?
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on: December 13, 2018, 05:26:06 PM
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I do a few things, but they mostly start out with an actual pack. One is to get a front rack, like the Surly 24 Pack Rack, and just use the backpack as your front bag. Works surprisingly well. Just tie the pack to the rack and be done with it. This is the pack I use: https://ultimatedirection.com/fastpack-35/The attached photo uses the, "just use the pack as the front bag", idea. The other idea is to flatten the pack, and just tuck it within something like the Revelant Designs Sweetroll and take it out when needed. That works fine, too. I've also used that front rack with the Sweetroll and using both at the same time seems to be compatible enough. This shows the, "Stash in a Sweetroll" idea: https://www.instagram.com/p/BWglQHDDbzO/
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Forums / Bikepacking / Re: Bike Packing and Thru Hiking Combo
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on: December 10, 2018, 01:01:14 PM
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Strapping your bike and hiking through Wilderness ("Wilderness", as defined in the USA) isn't something allowed under the Wilderness Act.
Possession of the bike itself, even if it's stashed on your back, in Wilderness still isn't allowed. Even if you do not intend to ride it.
Thems the breaks.
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Forums / Question and Answer / Re: Colorado Trail Sleeping Bag
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on: December 06, 2018, 05:51:56 PM
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For Colorado in general, I would suggest a 20-30 degree bag - a classic 3 season bag. "Fall" weather in Colorado can start around Labor Day, honestly. It can start to get quite cold at the elevation of the CO trail by then (Southern terminus, especially). I really enjoy the Sierra Designs Cloud 20, and 35 bags. I own the 35, and have used the 20 when guiding in then High Sierra (CA). https://sierradesigns.com/cloud-800-20-degree/I've detailed the sleep system I used (and continue to use) on a 2 month bikepacking trip throughout Colorado, sleeping at elevations from around 6,000' to 12,000' between July and Sept. Those September nights got pretty borderline cold, for sure, and it would have been nice to have something other than a 35 degree bag. https://justinsimoni.com/2017/06/19/my-sleep-system-for-the-tour-of-the-highest-hundred/There's lots of strategies to "extend" the temp rating of a bag. I use a very high R rated sleeping pad. I'm probably going to invest in some puffy pants for next season. Using a sleeping bag liner is also another option.
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Forums / Ultra Racing / Re: 2019 CTR Preparation & Plannning
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on: September 19, 2018, 10:23:51 PM
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Rollins Pass is good fun The crux starting from Durango seems to be trying to get to Silverton before the town essentially closes at 9pm (grocery may close even earlier than that). The riding out from Durango to the top of Molas Pass is excellent, but the mandatory hike a bike starts at the top of the first climb - which itself is a doozy. So much good riding!
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