He knows. He hurt his wrist and is done

Fire in Breckenridge:
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/05/wildfire-breckenridge-july-2017/

I'm not sure that I would *start* filtering after Camp Hale - the trail from BV to Leadville is so heavily trafficked by man and horse, that every creek crossing will have horse shit either in it, or around it. People camp literally right on the trail, right next to water sources - no one seems to pay mind to LNT/trail ethics. Trail's getting nothing but more popular.

Ah I realize what I wrote was kinda confusing. I just meant that I managed to get water from already-treated sources before Camp Hale. (Pumps, spigots, restaurants....). It wasn't that I elected to not treat the water until there

I used a Sawyer inline in my CamelBak hose in 2015 and hated it. It was super fast to fill, but required too much suction to get water out and caused me to drink less water than I should have. In 2016 I used AquaMira with no problems at all.

Side note: It's amazing how far you can get on the CTR SoBo without needing to treat water if you know where to look. I think I made it past Camp Hale before I really NEEDED to use my tablets.

1. Overnight rain is likely, especially if you sleep all night. If you're shooting for an 8-day pace and not doing the whole sleep deprivation thing, then comfort is pretty important. But if you're OK with the thought of carrying 32oz of bivy sack, why not use a solo tent? A car sunshade used as a sleeping pad is incredibly warm, just not super comfortable.

2. I typically turned off my handlebar light on HAB and navigated by headlamp, but I wouldn't dream of doing any actual riding without 2 lights burning at once. I think AA/AAAs are the smart choice for something like the CTR.

3. Didn't shower at all (I don't think most people do either)

I would never do the CTR on anything but a full-suspension bike, but the refrain you'll hear from everyone is that the bike won't decide whether you finish or not. People have finished (and some quickly) on pretty much any bike. Full-sus will most definitely mitigate the abuse you put on your body though.

Can't speak to the Lauf.

I used a 180mm front rotor, but many people have used 160mm. If you have the money to spend, go for it, but in all likelihood it won't make or break your race.

Most definitely carry extra pads. I haven't needed them but many others have

Cold Weather
Your setup will definitely be warm enough. I would hazard to say that you could leave some of that stuff at home if speed is a concern for you. Last year I slept in my SOL bivy with a 30 degree quilt (no pad, no insulating layers) and was completely warm sleeping 4-5 hours a night. Your setup as listed would be comfortable even on the coldest CTR nights (as long as it's not raining).

Water
Water is abundant on the CT, and the only places where water is "scarce" is from the La Garita detour to Tank 7 Creek. And even then for bikers, it's really not that bad to manage (and there are less-than-ideal options if you get in a pickle). Just make sure you get lots of water near the bottom of the long dirt road descent off of Slumgullion. There are limited options for water from there to Hwy 114, and that section can be blazing hot. There are creeks in the detour, but they're on private property for the most part and fenced off.

100 miles might be an exaggeration, but the amount of hiking you do is really dependent on your fitness, gearing, and weight of your setup. I'd guess I probably did closer to 50-60 miles of hiking.

Here is some great advice from a very experienced racer:

What is really important is the following:
1. No time limits. Each year many racers give themselves a strict time limit that is unrealistic. The trail is harder than they think. The moment comes when a person realizes that they cannot make their goal, and they quit. I have seen people that are way faster than me riding with me. That is very common as logistics become overwhelming under duress. The person has the ability to meet the goal, but reality means sleeping, breaks, being tired, not being able to eat, etc.
2. Adversity- how to overcome it without cheating or quitting. Things will not go your "way". What are you going to do when that happens? You may have to ride a tire with leaves in it-lash your frame bag with paracord-walk 80 miles-glue your shoe back together-etc.
3. Training is good but specific training is better. If one does not have a decade long endurance base, that is okay. By specific I mean HAB training. Overnight training. Weather training. Etc. I go out and hike a bike all the time in the fall and winter. I do overnighters in the cold or damp weather.
4. Mindset. What is your motivation? If it is 15 minutes of Warholian fame (like blog bragging, Facebook posting, etc.) your odds of quitting increase. This is a journey that has to be internalized. You must be one with the trail and block out human emotions that are ego driven.
5. Riding/racing alone. If you cannot handle being alone in the most remote stretch of Colorado, dont count on the company of other racers. Teaming up for anyone slower than true middle pack racers usually results in a DNF. The team slows you down almost all the time. I practice by camping alone near home often.
6. Injury. What happens when you have body issues? The will to continue the journey when dealing with pain is very important for all racers, not just fast ones. I had to deal with intense pain in 2012 in AZT and CTR. I ended up taking one aspirin in 25 days though I dealt with a heel/achilles injury in Arizona and a stress fracture in the lower leg in CTR. Do you have that drive to succeed? Even if it means your elapsed time sucks in comparison to others or your goal? Many folks quit because their final time would be not good enough or they cant break a record, etc.
7. Logistics. Dont fly in the day before. Have your gear ready prior to the morning of the race. Etc.
8. Practice with a fully loaded bike often. I am riding my bike fully loaded for the AZT 750 and it is 5.5 months from the start. Any gear movement or bike issues are being solved now-not on the trail day 1.
9. Eating. It is a skill to eat and keep up with caloric intake early in the race. Dont downplay this important aspect of the CTR. People quit all the time from this, even saying they got a bug or got sick from what they ate or whatever. It is calorie deficit not a bug. Your brain functions poorly without food not just your body.

So in conclusion if you can race with no time limit, handle adversity, ride alone, deal with pain, ride a loaded bike, HAB 50-100 miles out of 500 and eat food while moving then you have the ability to finish. If that sounds too hard then you understand why CTR is what it is. Is is a lot harder out there doing it than sitting here discussing it. Even people who finished the route underestimate it sitting at home/work talking about it. You "forget" how hard it really is. Time heals those wounds physical or mental. We forget how good it feels to finish or how painful/demoralizing the lows points were.

I'd add two things to this advice:

• Do some practice "races" with your complete setup long before the CTR starts. Things that are annoying on a 1-2 day trip can end your race when you get out there.
• Since you're coming from a flat, low-elevation area, I would highly recommend some form of structured training plan

That HAB from Tank 7 to Windy Peak was worst moment of my 2015 attempt. Everyone talks up Sargents and Tenmile as being brutal, but nobody usually mentions this infuriating piece of trail. Going southbound and getting to descend that section put a smile on my face as I fondly recalled the beatdown I endured climbing the other direction.

Awesome pics! That nighttime HAB shot should be the cover photo for the CTR.

I wish I could line up again for 2017, but life got in the way this summer. What an incredible, painful, amazing adventure!

Selling my BT20 light system. I bought it for the the CTR but decided not to use it, so it's only been used for 1 overnighter.

Picture shows stuff included:

• BT20 and accessories
• Charger
• 2 Fenix ARB-L2 batteries (3400 mAh)
• 10% Code from the Fenix store

$100, buyer pays shipping

(I can't get the picture to flip around, but I assure you this light works in the Northern hemisphere)

A total solar eclipse is passing pretty dang close to this route on August 21 next year...

http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/maps.htm

brassnipples! Thanks man, glad to hear you guys had a nice ride. Hopefully we get some of that good weather. We've seen some intense storms on the Front Range the last couple days.

I'm running 1x11 with 26T on a 29er. For me, 32t would be WAY too tall,, but you may be stronger

[so]

Donation made. Sitting at work is so hard this week. Ready to get out there.

Thanks Barry, the Google says they're open til 10, so it's nice to get info directly from them.

I've never been there, so could anyone tell me how safe it would be to rely on getting some calories (~1-2K) from the store?

Well you guys have me intrigued. I'll do a little overnighter soon to see what I think about it.

The coldest location on the CTR last year was sleeping at Spring Creek. There was frost on my gear in the morning, but I was comfortable in my SOL Escape, 30 deg quilt, and car sunshade (cut to fit my torso). It's knowing that I may see nights that cold again this year that are preventing me from ditching the sleeping bag altogether. I can't imagine that I would have been warm enough to sleep comfortably without my quilt. I didn't have the luxury of sleeping in the bathroom like Addy Marx did

If anyone would like to attempt to sway me towards ditching the sleeping bag and just going with the SOL Escape and worn layers, I'm all ears. I'd love to drop another pound from my setup.