Thanks for the suggestion! The area near Red Feather Lakes looks like it has good potential. I've never explored that zone, so it would be nice to ride up there.

I found a GPS track for the 2018 Steamboat Ramble: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27964647

They have another Ramble ride that makes a loop in the Red Feather Lakes area, which looks appealing: https://ramblerides.com/2020fcwr/

This year's Steamboat Ramble looks like it heads north from Steamboat through Clark and then keeps heading north into Wyoming. The zone north of Clark looks like it might have some nice camping options as well.
https://ramblerides.com/2020sbr/

Hi! I'm looking for some ideas for some "Burley" bikepacking trips. And, by Burley, I'm basically looking for the opposite or Burly . Instead, I'm referring to the fact that we are touring with our ~60 pound dog using a Burley-brand trailer.

Last weekend, my wife and I threw our camping gear (and pooch sometimes) in two-wheeled Burley D-lite kid-trailer that we found on Craigslist. We rode a variation of this loop near Salida: https://bikepacking.com/routes/family-bikepacking-salida/ It was awesome, with beautiful scenery and great camping. We went over Memorial Day, so there was some Truck/ATV/moto traffic, but it was tolerable. The pooch walked much of time time and hopped in the trailer for the fast downhills.

So, we're looking for some more options for future trips, hopefully located within a day's drive of Boulder, CO, where we live. Ideally, we would find a loop on dirt roads (or wide singletrack), with low vehicle traffic, and with some good camping options. Probably looking for sub-100 mile routes that we can do over a long weekend.

This "Medicine Bow Rail Trail" looks like an interesting option: https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7048653/medicine-bow-rail-trail-mbrt
It's probably good as an out-and-back, but I drew a quick loop on Forest-Service roads: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32829752
It probably needs a few more weeks to melt out.

Here is another nearby loop in the Snowy Range for mid-summer: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32829701

For trails that are ridable now, I was thinking that the Vedauwoo area east of Laramie might be a nice place, since it has lots of dirt roads and some singletrack options that can be ridden from camp. I sketched a potential route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32774068

The region SW of Walden seems to have some dirt roads worth exploring. Another potential loop: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32773895

Does anyone have more suggestions?

Thanks!

Oh, thanks for pointing out the new XVI model, it looks like a winner. The old impacts were pretty heavy and they did not dry very quickly. Is the comfy fit and pedal grippyness similar to the old model?

I've used flat pedals and the 5.10 impact low shoes for the past 3 years on the CTR. I don't set any speed records in my bikepacking, but the flat pedal/shoe combo is very comfortable, and I don't think that clipless pedals would make me that much faster - especially on a course like the CTR that has so much hike-a-bike. The sticky rubber is very nice when you need to dab on a sketchy rock section. You can go from biking mode to rock climbing mode in about 0.1 seconds .

I've started a few days before the race, done an ITT in the opposite direction, and raced with the pack. I thought that starting a few days early was actually the most motivating since you are frequently getting passed by fast people. When I raced with the pack, there were long stretches where everyone was moving at the same pace and I might not see anyone for the better part of a day.

But really, you cannot go wrong with the Colorado Trail - it's always fun. Touring would obviously be the most "fun" in a traditional sense, because you have time to take photos, sample the local restaurants and take a shower now and then. Each year that I do the race, I promise myself that I'll come back the next year and do the proper two-week tour with time to relax in each town. But, it's tough to take that much time off, so I keep coming back for the 7 day "race".

I was surprised about riding in the cold: it was really not that bad. No wind, and I think that it was maybe 25 at the coldest. I never rode in more than a fleece, and I brought a lot of different glove options, so the hands were comfortable. By the time I started climbing above 6k, the sun was up. So, in general, conditions were really good. The mud right before UPS was pretty bad, but only for a mile.

You missed the record by two mins??? Omg! You should not have stopped for two minutes to say hi to me! If there had not been 6" of snow on ~2 miles of two-track before La Sal Mountain Road, you would have nabbed the record for sure!

I started at the Loma trailhead at 7:37 on Friday night, rode through some sub-freezing temps, picked up some delicious water/burrito drops (thanks to the girlfriend!), and ended up in Moab sometime right around 5:30, so about 22 hours. I probably could have gone a little faster, but UPS–LPS-Porcupine was too much to resist, even after 130 miles of riding.

Awesome trail! Not too much sand this time of year, and only a little bit of horrible mud in the La Sals. I saw lots of elk and heard many coyotes during the night. It's a very cool place to be.

Again, Nice job Matt!

Great! I look forward to running into you out there.

Awesome! I'll be sure to bring the camera - I have no idea how fast I will go (sub-24 hours?), but I'm hoping that I will be somewhere fantastic when the sun rises.

Hey Matt, Are you leaving from the Fruita side? It will be good motivation to know that you are out there chasing me. I'll be on the singlespeed, so even with a big head start, you have a pretty good chance of catching me.


Would you mind shooting me a text tomorrow when you check out the conditions? If it's super-wet I might man up and forgo the water drop. I'll message you my number.

Oh, my plan was to pull a Bob-trailer full of gallon jugs of water. Do you think that will be a problem on the Troy Built section? Just kidding! But that would be a sight to see!

Hmmmm, with the cold weather I would probably only need to carry something like ~5 liters to make it from the CO River to Moab. Good to hear that you have used the Hyperflow in the CO River. Now I'm torn between the water drop and the Toby-way

I'm just worried that I would get to the river, have my filter clog, and be stuck drinking silty mud-water for the next 70 miles. That would be pretty lame.

Cheers, Dan

Haha, yeah, I'm just trying to survive Kokopelli's-in-a-day, don't need it to be "official".

Is it even doable in the fall w/o a water drop? Mike told me (via e-mail) that this time of year there was basically no water on the course. There is the ranger station at mile ~40, but is there anything else I could count on?

I have one of these "MSR Hyperflow" filters that has a little pre-filter that sits in the water: is that good enough to produce decent water from the Colorado?

Hey Matt, when/where are you starting on Saturday? I'll be leaving from the Fruita side sometime in the evening (~8 pm) on Friday. I was thinking about starting early Saturday morning (~6 am), but I don't think that I want to ride the high elevation stuff near Moab when it's dark and cold. It seems like the temps are already going to be frigid enough at night even at low elevations.

I was told that this time of year there is basically no water on the course. My girlfriend is heading to Moab Friday evening for the marathon on Saturday, so I'm having her drop me off water and food at Dewey Bridge (probably right near the north end of the old rickety Dewey Bridge). If you want, I'll leave an extra jug of water for you in case the river is too nasty.

Hopefully see you on the trail!

-Dan

I remember running into Ethan last year! He was so fast that I was totally not prepared to see another racer that soon in the race. At first I assumed that he was just some guy out for a day-ride

I finished at 2:34 am according to my watch. My SPOT was apparently lagging behind, arriving 5 mins later.

Awesome photos! Thanks!

A trip report, of sorts:

Seeing a series of four headlamps (Dave, Erin, Jason, and Paul) climbing Segment 1 up from the South Platte River last night around 11 pm, it seems that a local homeowner thought that the lights belonged to lost hikers and called the local sheriff. Of course, by the time he showed up, the others were well up the hillside and the sheriff found me, sitting down by the river, having stuffed four Kebler Pepper-Jack Sandwich Crackers into my mouth (in the interest of efficiency), my gear strewn along the side of the river (in an effort to find the water filter, which is somehow always at the bottom of the pack), trying to work a clogged-up water filter pump with my knees while flipping through the trail databook with my hands.

After blasting me with his spotlight for an uncomfortably long period of time without saying anything, he steps out of his car and asks the usual cop-question, “What are you doing?”

When talking to a police officer, there is always an implied obligation to offer the whole truth, so I considered replying with: “I’m trying to consume my 6,000th calorie today, drink some of this delicious stream water, and take a break from riding through heavy rain and fog so thick that I had to walk my bike at times because I couldn’t see three feet in front of my face. The ride started almost 7 days ago, preceded by the consumption of delicious breakfast-brick served up at Carver’s that must have consisted of at least 10 eggs. Nearly every waking hour for the past week has been spent riding, pushing, or carrying my bicycle. At night I’ve been crawling under trees and falling asleep with my rain clothes on. I’ve been subsisting on an assortment of junk foods, mostly peanut M&M’s, Twizzlers, and Snickers, but the biscuits and gravy at Jan’s in Buena Vista, the nachos at the Tennessee Pass Cafe in Leadville, the “bacon cheeseburger mac-n-cheese” at Copper, and the lifesaving hamburger at the Stagestop Saloon on Tarryall road, all count among the best meals that I’ve ever tasted. My front tire is going flat, I’ve got almost no brake-pads left, and the bolt holding my dropout onto the frame is just barely hanging on after a late-night repair (aren’t singlespeeds supposed to be more reliable?). My body is in an equally abused and battered condition to my bike. The last time that I did laundry, it was in a sink. Everything I’m carrying is dirty. And Wet. But I’m glad that I’m here.”

But, since I had to shout over a raging river to be heard, I decided to keep things simple. After hastily swallowing some half-chewed crackers, I yelled: “I’m riding my bicycle!”

I immediately realized that this might seem suspicious, because it was 11:30 at night, and because I had left my bike in the bushes, where the sheriff could probably not see it. Also, I expected that this would lead to a lot of follow-up questions like: “Why are you riding a bicycle this late?”, “Why are you riding a bicycle this far?”,  “If you’ve already ridden your bicycle this far two times before, why would you want to do it again?”, and “If a 1x11 setup offers all the reliability and weight-savings of a singlespeed, why wouldn’t you just run that and save yourself some hike-a-bike on the steeps and a lot of spinning out on the road sections?”

Luckily, this cop really understood the core mantra of an endurance race like this and didn’t slow me down with any bullshit questions. In response to “I’m riding my bicycle.” He thought about it, and yelled back: “Okay. That’s fine. Just keep going.”

So, I’m very impressed with the Jefferson Country Sheriffs Office and their staff’s deep grasp of ultra-endurance mountain bike racing. When provided with the opportunity, many cops would offer superficial advice like “Remember to keep your weight centered on the bicycle.”, “Eat a good balance of foods to keep your energy up.”, or “Camping is not allowed by the river here.”

But no. This cop cut straight to the core of things. If it’s midnight, pouring rain, and you’re trying to finish a 540 mile race, there is really only one piece of advice you need. “Just keep going.”

So that’s what I did. 6 days, 22 hours, 34 mins. Half a day faster than last year even with the scenic gravel grind.

--

Also, did anyone else think it was awesome that the owner of the Stagestop Saloon (on Tarryall Road) was super excited about the race? He was following it on trackleaders and it seemed like he knew the names of most of the racers and he could tell you the splits of how long it took people to reach Denver from his shop. He said that he even let some of the racers camp next to the store. I’m guessing that this will be a popular place for racers (and fans??) in future years if the Tarryall detour stays.

Oh, and it was great riding with you Jason! I'll give you a holler when we're heading up to South Dakota!

--

And now for some photos:


Ryan Franz tackles the breakfast-brick at Carver's.


Start of the race in Durango!


Stefan Griebel enjoys the singletrack after Kennebec Pass.


Pushing up Segment 23 outside of Silverton.


Sink-laundry in Leadville.


Jason in the early morning near Tennessee Pass with ~35 degree temps.


The sweet descent off Searle Pass and into Copper Mountain.


My trusty steed on top of Georgia Pass


2:35 AM finish at Waterton. Thanks to Dave for the photo!

It was a great ride!

Dan

In case you're wondering what the Tarryall detour does to the elevation profiles, here are the two elevation profiles plotted together. As you can see, the detour adds a few climbs, but they aren't too bad when compared to the rest of the course.


CTR-compared by danhickstein, on Flickr

And Joey, having done both, I think that riding UP Stony Pass is definitely the way to go. It's a huge climb, no doubt, but riding it this way mean that you do a less climbing and a more descending when you finally get on the singletrack.

Yeah, with Bailey out of the mix, it does make resupply a little trickier. The "McCoy's Mountain Market" in Copper mountain is very close to the CO trail. It's pretty small, but has most of the food and candy bar options that you can ask for. Lithium batteries as well, if I recall correctly. It's open from 9am to 8pm: http://www.copperchamber.com/member-directory/shopping/mccoys-mountain-market?type=directory&w=new
There is a Conoco near I-70, but it's only 7am to 8pm: http://www.copperchamber.com/member-directory/shopping/conoco
The 7-eleven on the north side of Breck is only 3 miles down the bikepath. They don't list their hours, but most 7-elevens are 24 hours. Though the City Market is 6am to 11 pm and only a few blocks south of the 7-eleven. Frisco is more like 6 miles, so I would go to Breck rather than Frisco.

285 is not nearly as bad northbound, but I still voted for Tarryall to keep things interesting. Do we have a rough estimate of how much time it should add to the course?