CTR 2012 Race Discussion

[edemtbs]

Still a few riders on the course. Looks like Jason Osborne is still out there enjoying the scenery. He's in a beautiful valley below Carson Peak. He's about to go over a pass I know not the name of and soon thereafter he'll reach Cataract Lake.

Some scenes as you enter the valley, climb up it and after the pass, then drop to Cataract Lake. As you can see storms moved in as we approached Cataract.





















Ed

[edemtbs]

Hi everyone!

I'll write more when I can think properly.

Thanks for the write up and congratulations Cat!!!

I hope that deeply resting the last couple of days has helped you recover.

Ed

[edemtbs]

Actually the memory of the hardship and agony fades very quickly and all you have left are the visions of being high up on mountains with the majestic morning glow of the sun turning the alpine grass the most beautiful green you have ever seen in your life.  Only the tip of the serenity is captured in these pictures!

Jesse first off, congratulations!! Very well done!!

Nothing but actually being there can capture the majesty of those mountain ranges and valleys. The pictures do a poor job of conveying the quietude, immensity and beauty.

Ed

[joeydurango]

Ed, that valley is one of my favorites.  Thanks for the sweet photos.  Here's another of my friend Ryan in the same place, on a recent fatbike tour we did:

[fastmtnbiker33w]

So glad so many pics are being posted here.  I really regret riding so much at night.  My last sunrise was somewhere around Cataract with only 3 hours of sleep that night.  I rode around Coney in the dark and was pretty pissed about it. 

While I'm stoked on my finish time (my goal was 6 days), and I was one of the few to rock a single speed, I'll never do it again like that.  I guess that's why after Mark Cammeneti told me I'd be closer to 5....and after some math...I decided to go for it.  That was at the end of my second day. 

I had no flats....never even added air to my tires....and only lubed up twice a day.  I had to put new brake pads on the rear coming off of Stoney Pass.  My bike and kit were awesome.  I slept great, ate well, never had any major problems other than the soles coming off my brand new shoes and some blisters on the hands and feet.  Considering my gps total for the entire month before the event was only at about 460 miles, I'm pretty stoked.

It was great meeting so many riders out there.  Toby had a great idea for next year.  Start all the mortals/newbies/etc on Monday and the fast guys/veterans on Tuesday or later so the slower people can see what the faster people do. 

Next time I do this it will be with my family.... day touring only.

Dave W.

[bmattingly]

Can anyone give information on the bikes the top 3 finishers had?  I want to buy a full suspension in the next year and I'm curious about how good of bikes you Colorado racers have.  I enjoyed watching the race and am very impressed with all of you that finished.  Super job, well done.  Would like to ride the entire CT but am afraid of the lightning stoms in July/Aug.  Beautiful country.  You folks from Colorado are seriously good!

Brad M

[TruthRider]

That is an interesting idea re:  dual start, with slower mortals starting first.  It would be pretty cool to see the freaks come rolling through.  And by freaks I mean "women and men who ride faster than I drive down my street."

[JCarr13]

Can anyone give information on the bikes the top 3 finishers had?  I want to buy a full suspension in the next year and I'm curious about how good of bikes you Colorado racers have.  I enjoyed watching the race and am very impressed with all of you that finished.  Super job, well done.  Would like to ride the entire CT but am afraid of the lightning stoms in July/Aug.  Beautiful country.  You folks from Colorado are seriously good!

Brad M

2 of the 3 top racers were on 29er Hardtails. Jesse was on a Cannondale RZ120 I think...

[joeydurango]

It isn't about the bike... you can do well in this sort of thing on rigid SS, fully-suspended and geared, or whatever, as long as it's quality and you're used to riding it.  Ride ride ride!

[Yogi the Barry]

Stefan and all CTR interested parties,
My plan for the final push from Silverton to Durango [soon to be the CTR, with an R for retreat]: a Sun ride to almost Hotel Draw, a long day on Monday and then finish Tues AM. I purchased food and fuel in Silverton to support this plan. The day before, Saturday, had been the best day of the CTR so far: up to Spring Creek, along Coney/Cataract, down to Stony and Silverton. Saturday had also been totally rain-free. I had assumed Sunday's weather to be the same.
Ride off of Molas pass [with a late start] was very slow for the first few hours, waiting out thunderstorms to get up and over the 12,500' no name pass next to Rolling Mtn. After the close encounters with lightning on the first day, I had a heightened respect and didn't want to intentionally risk my life. All the waiting, I even advanced and retreated two times, after having the lightning start back up, ate up almost two hours. Once over the pass, it started to rain and rain and rain.
The trail had become a muddy river. I fell three times between 4 and 5 PM, descending the back side of the pass. I was very lucky to not get harpooned by a tree limb after falling on a downed tree. At this point I was feeling fine, but was reduced to walking. From 5-7 PM, most of my progress was just due to walking. I started to think that walking for the rest of the day, and probably 3-4 hours the next morning until the trail dried-out a bit, was going to eat up too much time. Walking at 2.7MPH was not going to work. I was one angry hiking biker at this point, because my situation was becoming very clear - it was over for me - my food supply was going to be 1500-2000 calories short.
I'd immediately cool off if I stopped. I kept putting on more clothes and doubled up on my hourly feeds. At the 17.3 mile point on Segment-25, I saw a logging road below me and decided to take that at a bailout.
I slid and tumbled thru the dead-fall down to the road. I was soon cussing at this road, which I soon named The 11-Mile Road to Nowhere [local knowledge would have saved me hours if I had known about the trail down Cascade Creek]. The next 3-1/2 hours was probably one of the hardest pushes I've ever done. So ironic to be digging so deep, after having officially left the course. Thankfully, I ran into a car coming the other way, which I flagged down [actually blocked his progress] for directions. Sans directions, I would probably have taken a wrong turn, adding even more miles. Every low point in the road had become a small river that needed to be forded on foot, almost knee-deep in places. Puddles were filled with floating mats of hail. I dragged the brakes on descents to keep pedaling [to avoid cooling off when not pedaling]. My headlamp output was ramping down, my glasses were fogging, I had no more clothes to put on. All I wanted to do was break out to 550 and pedal to Durango..
Long story short, I made it to the Purgatory Ski Area at 10:30PM, where I found an open food court bathroom. The bathroom was to be my home until the next morning. It was actually a very clean, dry and warm bathroom. Sand/mud, from my tire spray, was all over my clothing and bike. I cried tears of joy while using the motion detecting hand drier. I spent about two hours that night cleaning up and drying to dry out. I ate up almost all of my remaining food before going to sleep.
I woke up early [after probably the only night I got more than four hours of sleep and wasn't bothered by an animal] and spent another two hours cleaning the bike, restoring the bathroom to it pristine state [the way I had found it] and packing up. My bike and I rolled out of the bathroom at 7:45AM and I waited for the coffee shop, literally15 feet away from my bathroom motel, to open for food and drink. Did the soft pedal down 550 to meet my wife at Carver's for breakfast. Instead I was surprised to be greeted by my daughter, who had flown to Albuquerque and driven up in one of our cars, with balloons and a a Yogi the Barry poster.
Breakfast at Carver's was a welcome feast. I was soon talking to a Jill who worked there. I soon realized that it was Jill the Super Freak [said with utmost respect], who had abandoned the race on the first day, due to a sick drivetrain. I gave Jill a big tip, because she had given me a free CTR beer [BTW, beer is awesome with a waffle, eggs and sausage] and she needed a total drivetrain overhaul.
I could write pages and pages more, but I'll just close with... For me it was about attempting the CTR as a continuous push. If I was retired and/or had a few more days, I could have stopped for a full day to wait out the weather and/or retreated back to Silverton. But I didn't and that's OK. It's only a looong mountain bike ride on a fabulous trail and I just didn't get to complete the final few miles. The sun will continue to rise and life will go on, even thought this was my only CTR attempt.
Mucho thanks to everyone involved. And everyone, even those that bailed the first day, are winners for trying. It's not about getting to the final destination, it's really about the journey in trying to get there...
Barry Ritchey [a.k.a. Yogi the Barry, first place Balding, Left-handed, 55-Year-Old With Unshaved Legs]

[simonns]

Stefan and all CTR interested parties,
My plan for the final push from Silverton to Durango [soon to be the CTR, with an R for retreat]: a Sun ride to almost Hotel Draw, a long day on Monday and then finish Tues AM. I purchased food and fuel in Silverton to support this plan. The day before, Saturday, had been the best day of the CTR so far: up to Spring Creek, along Coney/Cataract, down to Stony and Silverton. Saturday had also been totally rain-free. I had assumed Sunday's weather to be the same.
Ride off of Molas pass [with a late start] was very slow for the first few hours, waiting out thunderstorms to get up and over the 12,500' no name pass next to Rolling Mtn. After the close encounters with lightning on the first day, I had a heightened respect and didn't want to intentionally risk my life. All the waiting, I even advanced and retreated two times, after having the lightning start back up, ate up almost two hours. Once over the pass, it started to rain and rain and rain.
The trail had become a muddy river. I fell three times between 4 and 5 PM, descending the back side of the pass. I was very lucky to not get harpooned by a tree limb after falling on a downed tree. At this point I was feeling fine, but was reduced to walking. From 5-7 PM, most of my progress was just due to walking. I started to think that walking for the rest of the day, and probably 3-4 hours the next morning until the trail dried-out a bit, was going to eat up too much time. Walking at 2.7MPH was not going to work. I was one angry hiking biker at this point, because my situation was becoming very clear - it was over for me - my food supply was going to be 1500-2000 calories short.
I'd immediately cool off if I stopped. I kept putting on more clothes and doubled up on my hourly feeds. At the 17.3 mile point on Segment-25, I saw a logging road below me and decided to take that at a bailout.
I slid and tumbled thru the dead-fall down to the road. I was soon cussing at this road, which I soon named The 11-Mile Road to Nowhere [local knowledge would have saved me hours if I had known about the trail down Cascade Creek]. The next 3-1/2 hours was probably one of the hardest pushes I've ever done. So ironic to be digging so deep, after having officially left the course. Thankfully, I ran into a car coming the other way, which I flagged down [actually blocked his progress] for directions. Sans directions, I would probably have taken a wrong turn, adding even more miles. Every low point in the road had become a small river that needed to be forded on foot, almost knee-deep in places. Puddles were filled with floating mats of hail. I dragged the brakes on descents to keep pedaling [to avoid cooling off when not pedaling]. My headlamp output was ramping down, my glasses were fogging, I had no more clothes to put on. All I wanted to do was break out to 550 and pedal to Durango..
Long story short, I made it to the Purgatory Ski Area at 10:30PM, where I found an open food court bathroom. The bathroom was to be my home until the next morning. It was actually a very clean, dry and warm bathroom. Sand/mud, from my tire spray, was all over my clothing and bike. I cried tears of joy while using the motion detecting hand drier. I spent about two hours that night cleaning up and drying to dry out. I ate up almost all of my remaining food before going to sleep.
I woke up early [after probably the only night I got more than four hours of sleep and wasn't bothered by an animal] and spent another two hours cleaning the bike, restoring the bathroom to it pristine state [the way I had found it] and packing up. My bike and I rolled out of the bathroom at 7:45AM and I waited for the coffee shop, literally15 feet away from my bathroom motel, to open for food and drink. Did the soft pedal down 550 to meet my wife at Carver's for breakfast. Instead I was surprised to be greeted by my daughter, who had flown to Albuquerque and driven up in one of our cars, with balloons and a a Yogi the Barry poster.
Breakfast at Carver's was a welcome feast. I was soon talking to a Jill who worked there. I soon realized that it was Jill the Super Freak [said with utmost respect], who had abandoned the race on the first day, due to a sick drivetrain. I gave Jill a big tip, because she had given me a free CTR beer [BTW, beer is awesome with a waffle, eggs and sausage] and she needed a total drivetrain overhaul.
I could write pages and pages more, but I'll just close with... For me it was about attempting the CTR as a continuous push. If I was retired and/or had a few more days, I could have stopped for a full day to wait out the weather and/or retreated back to Silverton. But I didn't and that's OK. It's only a looong mountain bike ride on a fabulous trail and I just didn't get to complete the final few miles. The sun will continue to rise and life will go on, even thought this was my only CTR attempt.
Mucho thanks to everyone involved. And everyone, even those that bailed the first day, are winners for trying. It's not about getting to the final destination, it's really about the journey in trying to get there...
Barry Ritchey [a.k.a. Yogi the Barry, first place Balding, Left-handed, 55-Year-Old With Unshaved Legs]

Hey Barry, you must have been  just behind me.  I left Silverton Sunday morning also and rode though the rain storm all afternoon and into the night. I'm surprised you didn't hear me yelling and cursing at the rain as it got darker.   I got to Hotel Draw at about 8 pm and didn't have much water so I kept going until I found a place to filter water which was about half way through section 27.  The trail was pretty sloppy and slick, and it was cold out.  Too bad you didn't keep going, I camped right off the side of the trail and had a couple extra ramon noddle packs and cliff bars I would have shared if you needed them, but how were you to know.

Also, did anyone find any sunglasses somewhere about halfway through the long detour from section 18 to section 22?  The were pretty cheap sunglasses, but I bought them the day before the race so I didn't get too much use out of them.

Thanks everyone for making this race happen every year. Everyone I met and talked to on the trail was super nice and good people.  I got to talk to all the leaders as they passed me about halfway between Leadvillie and Buena Vista, asking who was in front and when did they pass.  Jesse passed me around 9 am thinking that Ethan was in front, then Ethan passing me about 4 hours later with Jefe right behind him.  Jefe was the only one that actually stopped and talked, and still got a new course record!  It is one hell of a challenge and forces you to know yourself.  I really didn't comprehend how long and hard the trail would be after Buena Vista.  Happy that I was able to finish, albeit slower than I hoped, it was defiantly worth it.

Also wanted to give a shout out to Greg, Eric on the green single speed, and Robert, who I lost just after leaving Apples tent.  I'm not sure if he missed the turn off for the trail off hwy 114.  He had no GPS and I almost missed the turn even with my GPS.  I hope you guys are doing alright.

Thanks everyone and Peddle on..........

-Simon

[Yogi the Barry]

Simon,
I was too busy screaming at the rain and the Road to Nowhere to hear your screams. I was probably about an hour behind you. I had everything I owned on, had doubled up on my food consumption, dragging my brakes and pedaling on descents... and I could barely keep my core temp up. Right below the 12,500' pass, I heard [or thought I heard] the ringing sound that occurs before a lightning strike. I took some falls and was very lucky I didn't crack ribs or puncture a lung. I took a gamble and lost - I assumed the weather would be decent and didn't have any extra food in reserve. When I arrived at my Durango public Hilton bathroom that night, I laid out all my food before eating most of it. All I had was about 2000 or so calories. I ate almost all of that while in the bathroom. I would have been about 1500-2000 cal shy to finish.
-B

Hey Barry, you must have been  just behind me.  I left Silverton Sunday morning also and rode though the rain storm all afternoon and into the night. I'm surprised you didn't hear me yelling and cursing at the rain as it got darker.   I got to Hotel Draw at about 8 pm and didn't have much water so I kept going until I found a place to filter water which was about half way through section 27.  The trail was pretty sloppy and slick, and it was cold out.  Too bad you didn't keep going, I camped right off the side of the trail and had a couple extra ramon noddle packs and cliff bars I would have shared if you needed them, but how were you to know.
 
Thanks everyone and Peddle on..........

-Simon

[Danno]

I could write pages and pages more

For you and all the other crazy strong people that attempt this race, feel free to write those pages and pages more.  I for one love reading about the trail experiences.

[jakomait]

2 of the 3 top racers were on 29er Hardtails. Jesse was on a Cannondale RZ120 I think...

Cannondale carbon RZ140 actually with a Rockshox Revelation 150 fork.  But since I work in the industry it IS all about the bike and gear.  Buy as much as you can   Seriously though, the top three of us had quite a bit of carbon fiber with Jefe on a carbon Giant HD and Ethan on a Specialized carbon HT.  Saving some grams wont get you to Durango but its hard to resist shiny things!

[dream4est]

Sitting at mcdonalds in Durango having a milkshake- about to have another. I am soooo hurting right now but it was worth it. My foot is toast.

Azt 750/ ctr double again! That was the only reason I stayed out there from hwy 50 to the finish. I could barely walk but I think ankle should be okay after rest. Currently it sounds like captain crunch.

[spoke537]

Last call if you need a ride from Durango to Denver tomorrow.  I'm rolling out at 7am, Thursday morning.  Picking up a couple other CTR racers at the Best Western.  If you need a ride give me a shout.  Still have room for one more comfortably and a couple more if we squeeze in.  I'm sure there will be plenty of good stories to fill the 6hr drive home.

Les Handy
303-913-9831

[mtbcast]

Mark Caminiti called in from Durango with his finish! He recaps his ride with all the ups and downs and sends out thanks!
Long, three part call. I didn't get a final sign-off but he probably just left it at that.

[ActionJackson]

Way to go Mark C, was wondering what the deal was. Congrats on the double AGAIN! Tougher than nails...

[gdillon]

Yea nice work there Mark. You've earned some well deserved rest.

[Stefan_G]

Everyone needs to go read about Chris Neumann's experience during the last 15 miles of this years CTR. I sincerely hope this will generate some good discussion about the dangers of sleep deprivation, knowing when to say when, and how to treat a fellow rider if you recognize what he/she may be experiencing.

http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,4460.0.html

The CTR certainly has the capacity to take each and every one of us to places we never thought possible.  Sometimes those places aren't always what we expect or want...