2014 CTR Discussion

[boatmana]

And another question, and this is a very important one. Where can one find a good burrito in Frisco, Buena Vista, and Durango?

Tacos Nayarit...stay on jx creek rd all the way to main and its on the corner.

[JosiahM]

About a month out ya'll! Monsoon season in SW Colorado has been in full swing for the last week, so hopefully after a month we'll get a reprieve.

If you want a SPOT tracker or want to add yours to the trackleader webpage, go here:  http://trackleaders.com/ctr-signup

It's probably a good time to remind everyone to donate what they can to the CTF.  I know last year, the CTF expressed great gratitude towards the CTR because of all the support they received from CTR riders.  We want to keep up that generosity in supporting the CTF since they support us and what we do.

[nepbug]

Oops, wrong thread.
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[Yogi the Barry]

Re: SPOT Trace
Anyone have experience with the SPOT Trace? Trackleaders now has the Trace as a renting option, but I'm thinking about just buying one myself.
-Barry

About a month out ya'll! Monsoon season in SW Colorado has been in full swing for the last week, so hopefully after a month we'll get a reprieve.

If you want a SPOT tracker or want to add yours to the trackleader webpage, go here:  http://trackleaders.com/ctr-signup

[Done]

Re: SPOT Trace
Anyone have experience with the SPOT Trace? Trackleaders now has the Trace as a renting option, but I'm thinking about just buying one myself.
-Barry

No 911. No OK. No custom messages.

http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=128

[Yogi the Barry]

Re: Spring(s) on Monarch Crest
I rode/HAB'd up Fooses on Sunday, along the Monarch Crest and then down Marshall. Mini goal was to find the spring past the Green Creek lean-to. I've biked past that spring probably a dozen times without seeing it.
The spring is the 10.6 mile point in the Segment 15 Databook. Description is "re-enter tundra, w/ piped spring."
Per my GPS = N 38 26.322'  W 106 15.401' at 11, 591' The mileage doesn't quite match Toby's GPX file. Per that mileage it would be about 10.6.
Distilled, this spring is about 3-tenths of a mile south of the lean-to, ~15' uphill of the trail and about head high on a small talus slope.
Wish I had the databook with me that day because it lists another piped spring just past this one. This one, which I have also biked past a dozen times without noticing [this is a hauling-ass section], is at mile 13.0 in the databook and right after the single track turns to double.
Directions for both springs assume southbound travel.
Bonus treat on Sunday - Ran into four sobo Tour Dividers pedaling up Marshall. I u-turned to snap a photo and chatted a bit with the lead rider, Mark Meyers from Brisbane. Easy to spot fellow bikepackers, since they all had bar/frame/seat bags.

[Shirey]

Re: Spring(s) on Monarch Crest
I rode/HAB'd up Fooses on Sunday, along the Monarch Crest and then down Marshall.

I think I saw you also did Searle/Kokomo..... what was the snow situation like on these rides up high?

I'm attempting Tenmile Range to Marshall Pass this weekend so kinda wondering what I'm in for. Tenmile still looks pretty deep up there in places.

[Couloirman]

This is getting exciting!

I'm starting my ITT Northbound from Durango to Denver on the night of August 1st. I will be getting a one way car rental from DIA and leaving it in Durango either late on July 31st or early Aug 1st. I will likely have room for one more rider if anyone else is ITTing backwards this year and wants to start a bit early.

I am still recovering from a broken wrist/elbow/thumb but have high hopes it will be well enough to make it the length of the trail-- either way I am going to give it a go! I got out of my cast a couple weeks ago and have been doing tons of PT, but haven't touched my bike yet since the incident. I graduate med school and start residency next May so this year is the last chance I will have at the CTR for the next 4-6 years. At least it's good motivation not to bail out early!!! I am getting "Don't stop. It's now or never" laser etched onto my headset cap to remind myself of this.

EDIT: Does it seem like a bad idea to anyone else to register the type of bike you have on trackleaders? Especially if you have a really expensive bike, seems kinda like advertising where and when you will be most easily robbed. Like that recent video where the guy got his bike stolen at gunpoint? Anywho, just a thought....

[Yogi the Barry]

Re: Searle - Kokomo Snow
Yes, rode from Copper to Leadville on Saturday. Snow patches started around 11,700' below Searle. Right below the hut, I just picked up the bike and bushwhacked for a few hundred yards to get thru the snow. From Searle to Koko, had to either walk thru or around a dozen snowfields. Feet got a little wet. Koko down to Hale soon became snow free. I'm sure in 2-3 weeks all, or almost all, of the snow should be gone.
Re: Fooses to Monarch Crest
Upper part of Fooses was pretty soggy. I just did most of the HAB to the side of the trail, to stay out of the mud. Only a couple patches of snow in upper Fooses and one more patch on the Crest. Moderate mosquito pressure, even with light coating of bug juice, in upper Fooses.
Re: Tenmile - I hated going over that in 2012 and I'm saving that special fun section of HAB for August 11th.
-Barry

I think I saw you also did Searle/Kokomo..... what was the snow situation like on these rides up high?

I'm attempting Tenmile Range to Marshall Pass this weekend so kinda wondering what I'm in for. Tenmile still looks pretty deep up there in places.

[mtbcast]

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

[JosiahM]

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

hope so
maybe early saturday afternoon/evening so we can still get to bed early.

[Yogi the Barry]

Joe,
Your offer to buy everyone a pint is awesome! Or was it two?
Seriously, my better half and I thought about eating at Rockyard Brewery [in Castle Rock], which is about 17 miles SE of Waterton. I'll be driving over from Leadville and have to pick her up at 6pm from a flight into DIA. Don't know if that will put us too late after the drive down to Chatfield Reservoir, where we'll be camping Sat night. Perhaps someone with better local knowledge can suggest an alternate brewpub.
-Barry

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

[mtbcast]

Joe,
Your offer to buy everyone a pint is awesome! Or was it two?

Hmmm better be a short list! 

[Homegrown_CTR]

I live in Roxborough, which is only about 2 miles from the trailhead...as for a watering hole closer to the trail head, you may consider the Roxborough Tavern.

http://watertontavern.com/

I don't get out much, so I can't say how it is. But it is close! I will talk to them and try and get  a feel for what it's like there. BTW, I attempted the 2012 CTR; I failed but I am considering trying it again next summer as a tour. Just don't have the time to pay my dues for that kind of an effort! I can at least know what it's like to try. You all are amazing athletes, putting it all out there for only the reward of doing what you love! Will post more later...

[J-wow]

The Platte River Bar & Grill may be another good option. It is right off the bike path which is roughly a 6 mile ride to the Waterton Canyon trail head and it has a large outdoor patio.

http://www.theplatte.com/

[drews256]

Alright guys. I am not certain how I am going to get to Denver yet. I live in Durango. So is anyone heading from Durango to Denver for the start? I might be willing to give someone or people a ride from Durango to Denver when we all make it to Durango! Let me know if anyone has any thoughts? Another thought was to rent a car one way in Durango and drive it to Denver and then ride from where ever I drop the car off to the start. But that would probably mean leaving Durango on the morning of the 8th. Spend the night and ride to the start on the 9th. Then race on the 10th.

Or if people want to caravan in a car from Denver to Durango then hop in my car and ride back to Denver before the race and then I could have a ride back to Denver to get my car after the race?

[simonns]

The Platte River Bar & Grill may be another good option. It is right off the bike path which is roughly a 6 mile ride to the Waterton Canyon trail head and it has a large outdoor patio.

http://www.theplatte.com/

Hey J-wow, just wanted to comment of this, I believe the Waterton Canyon TH is a little further than 6 miles.  I live fairly close and have biked to waterton from home several times in training for the CTR  in '12 and my tracks show it's about 13.5 miles if you take all bike path and trails through Chatfield Res.  No disrespect, just didn't want anyone to be surprised if they did ride from The Platte bar and Grill and the mileage was a little more than they were expecting.

[boatmana]

I'm leaving from Durango a day early for the Denver start.  If anyone needs to leave a drop car at or around the finish they can use my house.

[Yogi the Barry]

We're staying at Chatfield State Park on Saturday night. Loop C, Site 153. If anyone want to double up [bike or vehicle] on our site and/or wants to take a shower Sat night or pre dawn Sun, feel free to drop by. I can also fit at least one other bike if someone needs transport from Chatfield to trailhead Sun morning.

[sanjuanrider]

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.