In the final excited/freak stage right now.  I shipped my bike to Denver so hopefully it will be waiting for me on Monday.


This will be my third try.  Try #1 (2010) - Made it to Breck and listened to my son's crying voicemails.  Went home to be a dad.,  Try #2 (2012) - Wife took a job in Seattle, move in date Aug. 3.  So I left Colorado, sold the house in Minnesota and drove to Washington.  Try #3 (2014) - So far nothing looks like it is stopping me.

My bike:


I rode my Mukluk from Waterton to Hwy 9 in 2013 and it was so much more comfortable then my 29".  This bike weighs in at 27# and have the gear down to 10# on the bike and it just rolls over everything.

I'm going to start my ITT on Saturday the 9th.  Good luck to everyone and say hi as you pass.

PS.  I plan on driving back from Durango to Denver on Sunday the 17th.  If someone needs a ride, ping me here.

Any final decision on this? 

Stay on Rock Creek Hills Road (Park County 39) the whole time from Tarryall Road to Lost Park Road or follow the GPX?

Just wrapping up some loose ends on planning.

Thanks

I'll have to take a look as well, but the intent is definitely NOT to take a longer, harder route there, so the GPX track may be in error.

Also, since Toby spends so much time and energy maintaining his .gpx track, I do intend to make it the official version for the CTR. Assuming he's OK with that, which I have a feeling he is... 

I have a functioning one.  Light, small and large battery packs. Want any of it.  Shoot me a price via PM.

Zip

I thought I would try the Mukluk on the Colorado Trail and I did not regret this choice for fast bikepacking.  Probably not for racing but WOW was it fun on the trail.

Sent the obligatory picture on top of Georgia Pass to Fat-bike.com
  Check it out if you wish.

http://fat-bike.com/2012/08/wallpaper-wednesday-colorado-trail/

Hello:

I am relocating from Minneapolis to Seattle and was wondering if anyone has any info, routes, etc on 2-3 night bikepacking routes in the Pacific Northwest.  I know th ePCT is off limits but if anyone has any experience out in this area I sure would appreciate if you could pass it along.

Thanks in advance,
Zip

Before it even started, I have to take my name off the list for this years CTR.

First the good news:  My wife accepted a job with REI in Seattle, so away we go.  Gotta find a new house and schools for the kids.  This all needs to be done before Aug 6.  Yikes!!!

Now the bad news, No way I can race with all of this going through my mind and then try to get to Seattle.  NO WAY.

I'll still be there Monday morning since I still have a few days to ride, just not racing.  Good luck to everyone.  If you see me stop and say Hi.  I'll be the one on the Mukluk.

Hey All:

My dad was going to meet me in Durango with a beer and return trip to Denver, but he called this morning changing plans.

So.....
My plan is to get to Durango in 6-7 days.  If anyone has room to get me back there I would sure appreciate it.  I can leave my phone # as a way of contacting me or PM me here.

If nothing works out I will probably get a rental car or U Haul in Durango for a return trip and would be happy to help someone else out.

Let me know.

(As I told my wife tonight, the least of my worries about this race is getting back from Durango  )

Zip

Unfortunately that horse has left the barn.

Take the iPhone.  It can be your GPS, camera, and is actually required to turn on the Spot device (Spot connect).

It's not "what" it is, but how one uses it.  I for one am tired of all the threads that detour to rules.  The rules are spelled out and simple.  In the end you have to live with the decisions you make and live under the roof of the house you build.  I sleep well under my roof because I have too much respect for everyone else I share these adventures with.

Zip

OK, million dollar question.  Reading both posts and your shop blog, you decided on your fat bike.  If you were to ride the CTR do you see any potential advantage to a fatbikes ?  You mentioned Seg 22/23 and I was wondering if a fatbikes might actually allow you to ride certain segments (like Seargents) more than a 29'r.

I'm still trying to decide if I should choose my 23# Ti 29'r or my 28.5# Mukluk.  Any thoughts.

Finally, I see you have HuDu's how did they perform on the ride.

Anytime Sunday would work best for me.  Although later on Saturday I could be back down from the mountains.

PM me for contact info if you like

Zip

When are you coming in?  I am driving from Minneapolis and will be in the area a few days early to ride. Sunday I will just be doing last minute tasks and driving around so I could pick you up and get you where you need to go if that works.

Zip

just an fyi - looks like the conoco at copper has had some changes. I stopped by last friday night around 8pm and it was closed. From what I could tell the businesses were very different too. The space that was a convenient store looks to be a restaurant now.  Since it was closed I couldn't really tell if the store had just relocated or not.  I'll try to get up there when it's open to find out more.

This is not especially good news.  It is such a convenient stop/minor resupply point.

I like Hopes. Easy to service and last and last.

I might have not understood the other post, but this is what I bring with me when bikepacking to remove the cassette in case I need to replace spokes..  Light and it works

http://www.adventurecycling.org/store/index.cfm/product/517/stein-mini-cassette-lock.cfm

I've never ridden a fat bike, but they sound like fun.

I'd wonder more about rotational weight than overall bike weight. There's a lot of slowing down, and then speeding back up again (as you already know!)--and I wonder how much those big tires and rims weigh. But the cushy ride might offset the difference by keeping you on your bike more and adding a level of control and safety. Sounds like you need to bring both bikes to Colorado a couple of days earlier for some test rides!

Correct on both counts.  The rotational weight is noticable, but since the speeds are gennerally so slow going up, I'm not sure it wouldn't actaully be easier than Hike a Bike.

Bringin both bike out early and trying them both sounds like the plan.  Since so many lighter parts on the 29'er could be swapped over, it would be no big deal to switch.  Also, the frame bag for the 29'er almost fits the Muk' perfectly.  (lucked out there)

Rock whatever bike you're gonna have the most fun on!

Excatly my thought

This summer I'm planning on at least riding Spring Creek Pass to Durango on the Fatback, just to see what it's like.

Keep us posted.  I would be very interested in how it goes.

I looked through their presentation too and noticed that one of them was considering a FatBike to tackle the CTR.  I just finished my Mukluk build and have got about 100 miles on it now.  As I was out riding with some friends last weekend (all on 29'er HT) I noticed that even though we are all in early season, my Muk' just rolled over everything so much better.  This got my mind going (very dangerous)

I attempted the CTR in 2010, but had to bail to attend to some family issues.  For that attempt I had a 29 titanium, weight was 23lbs. The bike was absolutely flawless for me and I could not wait to give it a go again.  The only thing I was going to change was up the front rotor to 180 from 160 for cooling on the downhill sections.

Now my Muk as built weighs 31lbs even.  But, I could swap out the bars and stem with existing lighter ones, BB and crank are currently over 3lbs (could save weight there), Carver carbon fork (1lb saved), and drillout the rear rims (fronts are already drilled).  All this would bring th eweight down to close to 28lbs.

In a race where I am worrying about the weight of my toothbrush (or even if I am going to bring a toohbrush), am I crazy for thinking the Muk' might be a great bike to ride the CTR? This thing just rolls over everything.  I think I might be ablt to stay on the bike more over the rocks, roots, eroded trails etc.

Then I shake my head and think do I really want to carry that extra 5-6 lbs of bike???

On a side note, I have lost 15 lbs and even though it is early season, I am running higher gears on the Muk' than I was midseason last year on my Ti 29'er.

anyone tried the CTR on a fatbike.  Is this just stupid or could this just possibly be an advantage??



See you at the start in August.

Zip

Did you see this yet?

http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/product.php?product=263&catname=Shelter&prodname=Escape Bivvy

I used one of the older one's on the CTR. Worked OK, but I could see condensation getting to be a problem in certain conditions.  This and a pad might do it for me this year.

Zip

This past Sunday, the Star Tribune newspaper just published a full page of trails in Minnesota.  These are all rail to trail with a few exceptions.  You could make a loop about 300-400 miles from Brainard up to Ely then back down to Grand Rapids.  Along the way you could hook into the Arrowhead trail and if you are there after June 11, the new Cayuna Country Trail (An IMBA epic).  Jay Cook state park has some trails and there are others pepperaed along the way.

For more ideas www.morcmtb.org is the local IMBA chapter with lts of very helpful folks.

I have a first generation SPOT that I purchased new from REI in early 2010.  I just took possession of a new SPOT connect to work with the iPhone so this one is for sale.

I was thinking $50.  PM me or email at  mnmtb   at     yahoo    dot     com

Sold now.  Thanks

On the mapping front, I'm about to release a smartphone app that will cause you to think long and hard about how to keep a smartphone charged up while riding long events

I am about to replace my Touch Pro 2.  Any indication of which platform this app might be on?  Could alter my decision if it turns out to be good.

This is from a sampe size of 2  , but I have been running Hope Mono Minis for about 5 or 6 years and in many 24 hour races and one CTR attempt.  The first set is now relegated to another bike and they never had issues.  THis is through rain, mud, heat, cold, the 2005 running of the 24 Hours of Old Peublo (look it up, biblical rain and sleet). I bought another set and they too have been flawless.  For the 2011 CTR my only change will be to put stainless cable for a little more insurance and a 180 rotor rather than the 160. They held up great but the 160 rotor got a little hot but the calipers had no issues.