This is a good question for someone like Dylan Taylor who has done more of these events than most riders. I've wondered how The Black Hills Expedition stacks up on this list? It seems to have one of the highest attrition rates. CTR and HTR from personal experience are really tough single track but I've never done AZT.

Jeannie Dreyer is also tearing it up!  She looks like she will set a new women's record (that includes the Tarryal detour)!

She holds the "Freedom Challenge" record in S. Africa. I did a casual ride with her and her husband a few days before the CTR and she can really pedal up he hills easily. Very humble person - I would have never guessed she would be crushing the course this hard. Still many miles to go but she might make the women's record pending the multiple variables this course throws out to its riders!

Not doing CTR but happy to assist again with some logistics. My full intent was to do it this year but a new job hasn't allowed me to train. That in mind, my wife and I are always happy to help those in need of support before and after the race. I live just a few miles from the finish line in Littleton Co so feel free to PM me if you need to store gear or need a place to crash after the race! Sometimes we have just a few riders and sometimes up to 20 so don't hesitate!

Wow! DT (Dylan Taylor) is pulling a bigger gap this morning. He doesn't seem to be affected from his 3rd place finish at the Smoke n Fire 400 just a couple weeks ago. Going strong!

Fun to watch an event this late in the season! Looks like some good riding weather for a few days! Hope they can get done before the front arrives early next week.

Congratulations Mark Caminiti! What an incredible feat and you just joined such a small elite group of riders. I could not even imagine how it feels! It was a blast watching you this year!

WOOOW...You all rock! Thanks so much for the support during my ride......

I really want to thank you all for sending positive vibes......

Thanks for being out there Joe, It made for a fun story. and thanks to everyone I met on the trail. How beautiful a place this is...


Thanks,

Neil B.

Now that's a true champion. Congrats to Neil - what a great show!
Bummer for those who had to drop - nothing wrong with that in a race like this. Good luck to all those that remain! Looking forward to Caminiti completing his triple crown within the next couple days! Hope everyone stays tuned into the race until the caboose rolls into the finish.

Not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but what, exactly, makes this an "expedition"?

If you've already pre-ridden the whole thing, and have .gpx files to hand out, then it's a ride for sure, even a race, but does not, to me, qualify for the "E" word.

Discuss.

Sorry Mike - I respectfully disagree.

n
1. an organized journey or voyage for a specific purpose, esp for exploration or for a scientific or military purpose
2. the people and equipment comprising an expedition
3. a pleasure trip; excursion
4. promptness in acting; dispatch
[C15: from Latin expedītiō, from expedīre to prepare, expedite]

#3 from the definition fits this perfectly.
Have fun and hope you can ride this "route".
Cheers!

Does anyone know if there are any other "Triple Crown" riders besides Mark Caminiti? He sure has been fun to watch this year with the AZT and Tour Divide. What a tough dude!

Cool! Trying to plot out things to see as I traverse the route where I can for coverage. We'll see.

That is a very remot area with no phone or data service. Nearest town to get communication is Gunnison (about 50 minute drive).

Where on the route is this?

Him and the trailer are located about 1/4 mile before the " La Garita Wilderness Detour" as noted on the Colorado Trail Race page (climbingdreams.net).

The horse trailer shelter at Apples camp.

I stopped at Apples camp yesterday to tell him thanks for everything he does. He is excited to see the bikers roll through soon. A local rancher brought up an enclosed horse trailer retrofitted with a stove and windows for people to take cover in (clean and dry). Apple has a big dome tent set up as well and is helping lots of people out right now with water and snacks. He is located just before the wilderness detour (same place as last year , I believe). That guy is awesome!

Is the route finalized for this? Looks like a great route so far! I don't think I will have the days off to do the entire route but can probably give a ride or 2 from the Denver area up to the start if anyone is interested (I have to work up there for a couple days, then plan to ride for a couple).

Still planning to  be at the start. Is there a pre-race racers meeting/dinner/beer tasting?

A great place close to Chatfield State park is the new High Plains Taphouse. http://www.bardenver.net
They have great beers and a few small menu items. It is within biking distance of the state park (about 2 to 3 miles). Lots of room for large groups of people. It's also right next to the grocery store if you need supplies.

Agree Dan, I think it was made pretty obvious that this is a race closer to the AZT than TD.

I haven't done AZT or Tour Divide but thought this race mimicked the CTR very closely, without the high elevation. Some of the hike a bike between Ullapoole and Poolewe were the hardest I had ever done. I'm feeling for all those racers in that section right now.

The numbness in my hands and feet is almost gone. But my left hand is still goofy. I don't have the same level of dexterity I used to. It's improving, but so, so slowly. I've started using one of those hand squeezee things to add strength. Maybe it'll help. Up until about a week ago I had to have my wife clip my fingernails. I couldn't squeeze the clippers!

Glad your coming back around.  I was in the same position as you since the end of May (end of the Highland Trail race) with not being able to even use nail clippers.  I could barely even use a pencil, pick up a plate, and the fingers started curling back under all the time.  I started seeing specialists and every one of them said surgery was needed right away to fix the problem.  All of them said it was a process of cutting the ligament, opening up the nerve, then stitching the hand back together.  I was a day away from doing the dreaded surgery until I decided, after reading a lot of posts and talking to many other bikers, to wait it out and let it heal on its own. I still have tingling and numbness in a few spots of the fingers but the strength came back and I'm sure the rest of the numbness will be gone soon as well.  Long story short - I'm so glad I listened to the advice of the biking community instead of the surgeons that make a lot of money cutting on people every day to make a living.

There is a lot of useful info in this thread.  I have begun having hand and elbow problems recently.  When I ride on a bikepath/road on my mtb for more than a couple of hours, I start to get needle PRC sensations in my hands, making it hard to grip the handlebars.  If I keep going, if I even just touch the handlebars, it feels like a bunch of needles are shoved into my hands.  However, I don't think I have ever had that same sensation on pure singletrack.  Not sure what this is a symptom of.

The other problem that just started a few weeks ago is "tennis elbow" (I am over 40 years old, which may be a factor).  I have had it crop up a few times in the past 10 years (previously either playing tennis or lifting, but I don't do either now) but it has been a few years since it last popped up.  However, I rode mtb 3+ hours a couple of weeks ago and the next day, I got the same symptoms in my elbow - lots of soreness on outside of elbow.  It went away after 3-4 days.  I rode 4 hours this past weekend on the mtb and the elbow pain came up again (shortly after the ride this time) and it is lasting longer this time but slowly getting better.

My grips on the mtb are very old and I am looking to replace them, which I think will help both problems (I am also thinking of raising the bars 1/2 inch to ease pressure on my hands.  I also wear full finger padded gloves).  However, I don't know what grips to get.  I was thinking of Ergon GS1 or Serfa has two different types, all of which have a pad for the palm.  Ergon GS1 has the palm pad for the outside of the palm (i.e. under the pinkie) while Serfa has the palm pad for the inside of the palm (i.e. under the thumb) along with a small raised area on the outside edge of the grip to rest your pinkie (they claim it is a ulnar pad for your ulnar).  Anyone know why the palm pad is in different locations for these two brands and if the ulnar pad is useful?  Second, are any of these features useful for my specific problems?

Thanks!!!!!

I've been doing a lot of research on this the last 2 weeks do to the severity of my problem. A quick explanation of the causes is from a Google search http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00069 . Most of the times it seems that a change in positioning seems to solve the problem.
 I used Ergonomics grips for the CTR 2 years ago and had no problem.
 I used Ergonomics grips for the Highland Trail 400 and have tons of problems.
Difference -I was on a hard tail and leaned over at a more severe angle on Highland Trail than I was on CTR with a full suspension with a more upright angle.
Not conclusive yet but I'm sure positioning and cushioning coincide with the problems.  The elbow soreness (which I did NOT have) has been asked by each of the doctors I have consulted with since it often causes the same problems with the hands. I would do short rides and adjust angles to see if the soreness changes. If NOT stop riding (I know that should never be said) but I learned the hard way!

I would use surgery as a last resort. I've heard somewhere it takes 1 month for 1mm of nerve to regenerate, or something along those lines. You mention your hands are becoming more useless by the day. Are you saying they're getting worse even though you aren't cycling? My condition got worse for 3 months afterwards because the first month I continued to ride, the second month I was painting boards and lifting lumber every day, and the 3rd month I still rode once a week. Make sure you aren't doing any activities that are aggravating it, which can be hard depending on your profession. It took 7 months before I found out what exercises would help me. My issue was with the ulnar nerve. What are your symptoms? Is it numbness or loss of strength? Which parts of your hand, palm, wrists are effected? Don't be worried that a test shows nerve impedance. I've heard that most serious cyclists have reduced nerve conduction whether they experience symptoms or not. Have any exercises or the ones in the Canadian video been helpful?

Thanks for the replies guys. Great information.

Matt - my issue is definitely with a severe blockage in my ulnar nerve in my dominate hand and a moderate blockage in the same nerve in the left hand. The blockage then causes muscles to atrophy due to lack of blood.
I did stop biking completely in the last 2 weeks because the muscles got to a point that I can barely open a jar or operate a pencil. My Occupational Therapist told me to do the "lubricate with motion" just like Long Ranger mentioned. I'm told the fluid motion of the arm is the modern thought of healing over flossing since it is about getting the flow of blood in the nerve to come back prior to growth being able to occur.  Apparently - if scar tissue builds up in the ulnar nerve after damage then the muscles can't recover without the blockage being removed, hence surgery to get growth to start occurring.

All that info aside, I'm still in hopes of some alternative (acupuncture, cortisone, sweet drugs) to get my hands back.  These forums are helping a great deal in learning more about the problem which is extremely common in bikepacking as I am noticing.

After reading all these posts and talking to many riders I decided too wait it out, do some exercises,  then consult with the doctors and Occupational therapists. Every rider is telling me to give the hands time and they will heal. I'm 2 months past the end of my last big tour (Highland Trail 400) and my hands are becoming more useless by the day. Decided to have an EMG (Electomyogram) done too see what was happening with the nerves in the hands. Tests show significant nerve damage damage and now severe muscle atrophy. Doctors are telling me that a minor surgery should be done quickly but that scares me almost more than lightning on the CTR.

1. Has anyone else had this advice and diagnosis?  If so, did you do surgery and did it help? If no surgery, did you regain the muscle strength in the hand and how long did it take?

2. Those of you that did acupuncture, how many sessions and time before you noticed improvement?


Post ride corrections:

I got rid of my Ergonomic grips since I'm convinced they did more harm than good.

I have stopped riding (which is mentally painfully) too let the hands try to heal.

Bought some Pearl Izumi gloves that are supposed to protect the nerve for future rides.

Any and all comments are very welcome since I'm about a week away from making the decision too be sliced on!