2014 CTR Discussion

[mtnbound]

Of course, YMMV.

[drchristiansen]

no sense in mending your soul after fooses only to have marshal and sargents tear it out and crush it again.

Wow, you guys are really making me think committing to this was a good idea. 

Can anyone give me a good idea of where exactly the major HB sections are?

[Done]

Can anyone give me a good idea of where exactly the major HB sections are?

Where AREN'T there major HB sections? With 70,000 feet of climbing over 500 miles, you'll be hiking a LOT. There are even a few downhill HB sections. Sometimes it comes down to whether you'd rather ride at 2.1 MPH or walk at 1.9 MPH. But unless your butt is made of Kevlar, you probably won't mind getting off your bike as much as you might expect.

[drchristiansen]

Again, not instilling confidence.  Oh well, better than sitting on the couch eating bon bons.

[Yogi the Barry]

What, nobody will offer-up the HAB up and over Tenmile Range to make the short list for Most Sucking HAB? No satisfying release of all that stored up potential energy for a flowing drop to Copper either. Most of the descent is so steep that your brake rotors will discolor. I had to stop a few times and let my brakes cool. Best to let those mental scars lie undisturbed.  

Wow, you guys are really making me think committing to this was a good idea.  
Can anyone give me a good idea of where exactly the major HB sections are?

[Done]

Again, not instilling confidence.

If you really hate HB, then stay away from the CTR. There's lots of walking--and most of it is steep and rough.

But I really don't mind hiking that much. Gives me a chance to soak in the beautiful Colorado Rockies, eat a PowerBar, smell the flowers, stretch my legs, give my butt a break, chat with other racers, etc. Fighting it just makes it hurt more.

My profile photo was actually taken at the top of Foose!

[THE LONG RANGER]

The first HAB section would probably be over Ten Mile, before that it's pretty good riding, and Waterton to the bottom of Gold HIll, it's pretty darn smooth goin'. After Ten Mile, you'll have a pretty easy enough time over Copper (although you may walking some sections, it's not technical going up) and down into Camp Hale, the road to Leadville is pretty mellow and the singletrack from Leadville to BV is one of my favorite stretches.

Everything after that, yeah, it's HAB with momentary lapses into solid riding. Easier to remember the sections with riding: after Sargents Mesa when taking the large detour, getting into Silverton, up to Molas Pass, and a lot of the riding from Molas to Stony Pass. The section from Molas to Durango is really not to be missed. It's quite beautiful.

[dream4est]

I dont want to freak you out Doc, but if you HAB less than 80 miles out of the 270+ climbing miles I will be impressed!!

[Yogi the Barry]

That explains the smile which looks like it was Photoshopped on. Now I know the true facial expression is a Fooses grimace!

My profile photo was actually taken at the top of Foose!

[joeydurango]

I thought the CTR was a hike-a-bike race with some bike riding thrown in for good measure...

[Done]

I thought the CTR was a hike-a-bike race with some bike riding thrown in for good measure...

Come to think of it, there were several times when I wondered why I even HAD a damn bike. Especially when a not-terribly-fit-looking backpacker passed my somewhere in the San Juans...

[Yogi the Barry]

Re: HAB Clarification
I must admit that HAB up isn't inherently evil. It's the HAB downs which really mess with your mind. I remember seeing the "dismount" comment on the map showing the descent off of Cataract - I made it a point to successfully descend that slope and not dismount, just to keep a positive attitude.
However, what I truly have a hard time coming to peace with are what I call 'prick' climbs. Short sections of rocks, logs, sometimes back to back, which require one to dismount for just a few feet, remount the bike, repeat...

[sherpaxc]

These Colorado folks have got it all wrong.  The hike a biking starts on Section one for us low landers.    I have zero problems with hike a bikes.  As Toby said, it's a chance to let the butt take a break, look around, all that good stuff.  On section 23 I really should have just shipped my bike to Stony Pass.  Other than the downhills, I don't remember actually being on it! 

[THE LONG RANGER]

I really don't understand how y'all don't hit buff creek and go, "yeah, let's just hang here for a coupla days"

[Shirey]

I dont want to freak you out Doc, but if you HAB less than 80 miles out of the 270+ climbing miles I will be impressed!!

On a related training note.....

Both my achilles tendons were completely wrecked by day 2 last year from all the HAB. I thought "if this continues to get any worse..." I didn't know how I would be able to continue. I wondered if I was doing serious damage to myself.

Thankfully, it never really got any worse than how it felt on day 2, but it never got any better either. Every morning and after every significant rest break they would tighten up and I would be in serious pain until I could get them worked out a little. The I would either manage to block it out or it would just start to feel a little better... not sure which.

This was my only major physical ailment of the entire race and it took about 3 weeks to recover before I could do much of anything after the race.

If I can avoid this problem this year, then I think it will be a huge help in my goal to knock a good chunk of time off. If nothing else it ought to increase the enjoyment level quite a bit.

To that end...I plan to do about as much HAB training this summer as actual riding. If the snow ever melts I'm gonna make the Tenmile HAB my personal bitch..... lots of toe-hiking.... knocking out a few 14-teeners... and seeking out as much horrible HAB as I can find.

I know I wasn't then only one with this problem as I'm pretty sure it knocked a few out of the race..... avoid it at all costs!

[Yogi the Barry]

Re: Achilles pain
Ski Loveland, All your additional HAB training ideas are great, but what I've done might help from the biking side of the issue.
The first thing that goes in my legs are the calves. I get the warning in my calves from a sensation that feels like ants crawling up them. This normally just occurs in 12/24-hr races, but I've had it happen on multi-day rides to a lesser extent. To prevent my calves from totally cramping up, I have to back off the pace, start slamming extra fluids and try to stretch out the calves by dropping my heels below the pedal when coasting. I read an article in one of the bike rags a few years ago that suggested the foot be moved forward on the pedal to alleviate calf/Achilles problems. The norm is to have the ball of the foot over the pedal axle, but moving the foot forward of this point helps take some of load off the calf muscle. Since reading that article, I've moved my feet about one-quarter inch forward on the pedals and it seems to have helped. But YMMV...

On a related training note.....
Both my achilles tendons were completely wrecked by day 2 last year from all the HAB...snip...

[sherpaxc]

I'm also doing HAB training.  Nothing crazy, but on several rides I have been dismounting on climbs that I know I could make (on an unloaded bike) and pushing up.  A large majority of my bikepacking experience is from riding in Arkansas on some trails that are pretty mandatory HAB.  By the third day I'm usually pretty sore.  I'm hoping to minimize that by doing a bit more practicing.  I'm also most likely using flat pedals and 5.10 shoes. 

[THE LONG RANGER]

Slamming the cleats as far back as seems reasonable has seemed to do me well - I usually slam the plate as far back as possible, and the use the upper of the two bolt holes to tight into. Adjust to taste.  Mine's at least an inch back from the middle of the ball of my foot.

I remember leading up to last year, I was mostly hiking and running - something was hurting me, where I couldn't ride a bike... or maybe the bike was broken... I forget. Seemed to help the HAB'ing for sure. Maybe have a small pack with you.

Shoes specific for HAB'ing are also nice. I'd love to suggest the Mavic Alpine XL's for this task, as they are def. foot pillows, but the rubber bottom of the sole ripped off my right shoe on day #2, causing me lots of grief trying to get it to not do that anymore. Nothing really works - using a small diameter *rope* seemed to be best. I'll give Mavic slack, as they don't market it these as HAB shoes, but more for, "All Mountain", whatever that is.

Also remember your fingers - I went months with numbness in my left hand, as my shock blew a seal on day #...4? and I had no rebound dampening. Worst than no shock, by many factors. Guh. Not sure what the best idea is for that, but perhaps don't skip on the diameter of your tire choice - you'll appreciate it and get your bars set up as nicely as you can. I'm riding Jones H bars, but I don't know if those would be the best for the CTR, as it takes a good deal of time to adjust your riding style to the position they put you in, and like many contact points, personal preference reigns supreme.

[Shirey]

Shoes specific for HAB'ing are also nice.  

I used the Pearl Izumi X-Alps, so I guess I had the "best?" HAB shoe, and I had done quite a bit of hiking beforehand, so this issue is still a huge concern.

Thanks Yogi and LR for the foot and cleat placement suggestions.... I had not considered that as a solution, but I've never had this problem from simply riding... pretty sure it was the crushing HAB on day 1 that got me.

Which leads me to another possibility.... flat pedals and a trail running shoe? I have not tried it yet, but I'm going to thoroughly test it out as soon as I can.

I've PM'd some with dream4est about it, and he has cautioned me that it may not be an easy transition for someone that has ridden clipless their whole life. I think I read that several of the top 10 in the last CTR were riding flat pedals, but I'm not sure about what kind of shoes.

I hope I like it, because I would sure love to use these trail runners I've gotten used to over the last few years as long as it doesn't screw up my riding efficiency or my riding fun-factor.

[joeydurango]

I ran the X-Alp Pros in 2011.  Pretty good.  I then ran Shimano's M162 in 2013, and they were far superior.  I've found a new favorite shoe...