CTR 2013 Discussion

[Stefan_G]

It wasn’t until losing my knife on day 3 that I would institute a strict, 2-part, sit-you-ass-in-one-place & double-zipper-check break policy that would stem the tide of strewing my gear all over southern Colorado.

Ooof.  I'm no stranger to this either.  I call 'em "Stoner Checks" nowadays.  As soon as you get up and roll 5', turn around and look at where you were sitting to make sure nothing is getting left behind!

Thanks for posting! So glad you and the others didn't get electrocuted up there. Tarryall Pat is quickly becoming a legend!

[Stefan_G]

A trip report, of sorts:

Nice work (again!) Dan.  What an awesome story talking to the police officer.

[Stefan_G]

Stefan later admitted to being surprised by what a gumby I was.

Yes, totally surprised since you're a well-rounded bad-ass at everything else.  And then the next time we went riding, you were cleaning technical parts that I wasn't and you surprised me once again... A fast-learning bad-ass to boot. 

Great job out there, Brady, and thanks for the nice write-up too! Look forward to getting out with you soon, maybe for some riding/climbing combo.

[peteshoe]

Withdrawals………. I wish I were still out there. Don’t get me wrong, I love my suburban life, my 3 kids, et all.  But this race brings you to a place you can’t imagine unless you’ve been there.  I feel very fortunate that at 42 with a job that requires constant travel and with a family of five, I was able to complete this race in less than 6 days on a singlespeed.  Todd Johnson, Jeff Spencer and I rolled into Waterton a little before 1:30 am Saturday morning to the applause and cheering of my kids, wife, and friends.  We proceeded to tail gate until around 3:30!

The people you meet on the CTR are amazing.  After reading other race reports, I realized how lucky I was to have such a social race. Everyday I was surrounded by great people to talk with and learn from.  Some days it was the same crew, others we would lose a friend and gain a new one.
A peek behind the curtain: What do racers talk about? How lucky we are to be there, and the friends and family that helped make it happen.  It’s funny, we’re racing, but we’re not.  It’s this connection to the reason we are there along with track leaders allowing those same people to watch what we are doing that makes this bike pack racing thing so unique.  Bike packing is an amazing community I am fortunate to be part of.

I met Todd Johnson in the 2011 CTR. We drove down to Durango together this year and planned on staying together for moral support as long as the race strategy allowed.  We both wanted to finish sub 6, and to be smiling when we finished. ( I had to go to the ER after finishing 2011, so this goal was for my family as much as myself).  We played it conservatively for the first 3 days. 
Day 1 Durango to Silverton, Todd and I were both sick from the extreme exertion it took to try and get to Silverton.  We did, Todd at 10:30 and me at 11. I spent from 4pm to bedtime on day one just trying not to puke my valuable calories and fluids that I so diligently packed and calculated so I could reach BV.  We met Nate a fellow single speeder this day. His speed and demeanor was compatible and I really enjoyed riding with him for 3 days.  Day 2 Silverton to Slumgullion: Ian, Aaron, Nate, Todd and I took on 22 and 23.  An amazing day I will never forget.  Riding single track at 13k is pretty special.  We camped near Slumguian Pass and reconvened the next morning at 3:40 for some dirt road riding.  Day 3 Slumgullion to Marshall Pass  It started out easy enough with downhill dirt roads and ended at Marshall pass after riding the dreaded Sargents  stretch.  Other than the heat, I didn’t think it was too bad.  Each day I felt better; Todd and I would re-assess our ability to still hit a sub 6 finish and what it would take.  We knew we would have to put in a few big days.  Day 4 Marshall Pass to just past Twin Lakes.  We woke up at 3am and climbed to the monarch crest.  Todd and I wouldn’t see Aaron and Ian after this morning unfortunately.  Amazing guys who I really enjoyed riding with.  Brady Robinson jumped into our posse on this day.  A rookie and a dad with a great attitude.  We would push all the way past twin lakes this day.  Day 5 Twin Lakes to Georgia Pass We woke at 3 am to rain on our bivy’s.  We packed in haste knowing our gear was wet and hit the trail.  The 4 of us had a hard time getting in synch this am, we all needed to stop at different times and it seemed like we were crawling.  Nobody was stressed, we sort of laughed about it.  We took a 15 minute break before attacking Searl and Kokomo.  This is unfortunately when we would last see Brady and Nate.  Our plan was to re-meet at Copper for a one hour re-supply and bolt for 10 mile before the storms rolled in (if they hadn’t already).  Todd and I were on plan, after one hour of eating and prepping we headed up 10 mile in a hurry.  Storms were everywhere around but no thunder at the time so we pushed on. Todd is ridiculously fast at the HAB.  I thought this is where I would see him last.  He took off.  I stayed within myself knowing you can’t soft pedal a single speed and I needed to conserve energy.  I too was hoping Brady and Nate would catch up.  In the end Todd and I got over the 10 mile in the nick of time.  A storm rolled in behind us with hail and lightning that was sure to cut off the racers behind us.  As the revolving door continues, we met Jeff at the bottom. He had holed up in a bus stop while the storm passed. He hadn’t seen a racer in 2 days!  We got on with climbing out of Breck and made it to the base Georgia pass after passing Aaron Johnson sleeping.  We thought we might catch some more racers in the morning. We were excited and really felt like we were racing and picking off some competitors.  Day 6 Georgia to Waterton After 2 hours of restless, cold, wet sleep, we were up HAB’ing Georgia Pass.  The descent was a dangerous dream of sleep deprived poor judgments after another.   Detour – I didn’t vote, so I have no say, but I would have preferred dropping down to Bailey for a hot breakfast and an afternoon finish.  The bummer was we had to wait for 1.5 hours for the next shuttle.  Legs tightened, soreness ensued.  I did get a 30minute nap in, so that was good.  We had a blast in Buffalo Creek, segments 3,2,and 1 this direction are a blast. This brings us to the Waterton and the tailgating ensued. 

Gear Thoughts:  I used flat pedals and 5.10 shoes. It’s interesting to note that 2 guys in the top 15 this year rode flat pedals.  I think it’s a trend you will see continue. I had zero blisters and no feet issues.  That is priceless considering I probably walked/pushed 130 miles. The sticky bottoms of the new generation of shoes almost give you the efficiency of clipless.  I used a 34x24 and was really happy with that balance.  It was a too easy on the detours, but I used those detours for hydration and calorie consumption given that I was spun out at around 12-13 mph. Lemonade out of lemons……. I didn’t bring a sleeping bag.  Only one night did I find myself wishing for one.  For me it was a weight and space issue balanced with lack of training and wanting to finish on a single speed.  I had to lose weight somewhere.  It’s not something I would recommend however.

Thanks to Stefan for sharing this idea/event with us all. It has brought me a lot. I hope those that read this that are considering a try will take on the challenge and receive the same benefits of taking your body and mind to such a great place.  Afterwards, the food tastes better, the colors are brighter, and the yelling /fighting kids don’t seem like quite such a big deal. It’s a life view changer……. Good luck.

[Lauraandedward]

Re: ski_loveland.  

[I’ve slept most of the day, besides the few minutes when I was awake and eating, so I thought I’d post up my race report while it’s still painfully fresh.  Sadly, there will be no pictures to accompany as I lost my camera somewhere on day 2. This was after losing my sunglasses on day 1. It wasn’t until losing my knife on day 3 that I would institute a strict, 2-part, sit-you-ass-in-one-place & double-zipper-check break policy that would stem the tide of strewing my gear all over southern Colorado.

My husband, Hal Loewen, found a camera on the trail a few days ago.  It could be yours.  He is still on the trail (should be done tomorrow or early Thursday).  Please give me a call at 720-210-7610 so we can figure out if he has your camera and how we can return it to you.  The phone number will only be active for a few more days - we are Canadian and got temporary phone numbers for our time in Colorado, so please call by the end of this week, as we will be heading home very soon.

[aaron w]

Great write-up Pete.  I really enjoyed your company and motivation while I was with you.  Even though I felt great when we woke up at 3 on Marshall Pass, almost immediately upon starting to ride I felt very tired and thought I was going to throw up.  Soon after we hit the singletrack I pulled out my pad and bag and went back to bed.  I awoke at 6:30 and felt much, much better.  I half heartedly tried to catch you and Todd, but I kind of knew that was probably not going to happen.  I knew that even though you would take a break here and there, that the breaks would be short and very efficient as usual.  Congrats on an excellent ride.  Please look me up when your down in Salida and we can do a relaxing ride and drink a couple beers!

[mikedeber]

I had such an amazing week out there!  The CTR buzz is still very fresh and I'm quite ok with it.   I won't go into detail about all that went on in my head and on my bike but I will say that I had the absolute pleasure of riding some of the most wonderful trails, meeting some of the most fantastic people, and seeing some of the most awe-inspiring views that Colorado has to offer.  Segments 22 and 23 absolutely blew my mind!

I was the guy riding southbound that was pulling out the SLR and shooting quick interviews with people, if you helped me out thanks a bunch.  I wish that I had shot more but was still trying to maintain forward progress and finish the ride within a reasonable time frame.  The footage that I was able to get looks like it came out really great and I will be working on it for a while but will be sure to post it here when finished.



This was from the morning of Day 5.  Around 4am I had just finished the hike up to the Monarch Crest and proceeded to ride it under a very bright, nearly full moon in pure isolation.  One of my favorite moments of the trip

[ridevintagemtb]

Someone needs to give the CTR the "Ride the Divide" documentary treatment.  You could get some sweet, sleep deprived interviews late into it.

[THE LONG RANGER]

A pleasure to ride with you, Mike. "Well-timed Red Bull" will forever be in my personal vernacular! Looking forward to seeing your footage, and listening to the interviews.

[Gimmearaise]

Someone needs to give the CTR the "Ride the Divide" documentary treatment.  You could get some sweet, sleep deprived interviews late into it.

Was thinking about this... I would really like to do something of the sort. Started to chat with some people. It truly deserves it, Jefe, Jesse, Matt, and well everyone deserves it.

[mtbcast]

Mark Caminiti called in from Matukat Road!
http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/ctr13/

[Matt Schiff]

Was thinking about this... I would really like to do something of the sort. Started to chat with some people. It truly deserves it, Jefe, Jesse, Matt, and well everyone deserves it.

These events seem destined to become less esoteric and underground. Just look at the coverage of Rebecca Rusch on the Kokopelli trail. Or the dozen photographers from Durango to Silverton. What happens when Rebecca decides the CTR is her next challenge? The Lance Armstrong effect on Leadville? It certainly stands to lose the feel it has now. Guys who road back in 2007 could say it already has. I love the idea of more recognition for people's efforts and a story can be told from first place to DFL. It seems like a delicate balance of keeping the nature of the event and bringing it to an audience that ultimately might want to take part.   

[joeydurango]

If the "Lance Armstrong/Leadville" effect ever happens to the CTR, I will no longer be interested in the CTR.  The underground feel is precisely why I like this event so much.

Personally, I don't think people like Lance/Rusch/et al have what it takes to be self-supported for that long.

[joeydurango]

By the way, photos just posted here:

www.velorutioncycles.com/ctr13.html

Teasers:

[Gimmearaise]

Yes... it would have to be done in a way to focus on the athletes more so then the race itself. I was so upset when that whole Rebecca Rusch/Kokopelli Trail challenge arose. She's a hell of a rider but for some reason, maybe the way she caries her self, it really pissed me off.

[Woodland]

Mark Caminiti called in from Matukat Road!
http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/ctr13/

Hands down the best MTBcast 'caller-in' award goes to Mark. Love his call-ins!

[MikeB]

There is a great scene at the end of Race Across the Sky when Lance stops because he has a flat...he doesn't know where the #2 rider is, but he also, clearly, doesn't have a clue what do about a flat. Double panic. Like a deer that is NOT in the headlights of a support vehicle. So he just rides it in... I thought that scene was greatly amusing. And telling...

[Matt Schiff]

Personally, I don't think people like Lance/Rusch/et al have what it takes to be self-supported for that long.

She has an adventure racing background and has mentioned considering CTR and AZT300, but she rides for a living, so hopefully those events are aren't marketable enough.

[Nancy]

No, no, no!  Don't shine bright lights on the CTR!  The minute it goes Leadville is the minute I stop watching---and caring.  Keep it underground, keep it esoteric.  Right now it belongs to us.  Don't hand it over to the big buck hucksters.  If you do, it'll become just another X Games and the praise won by the winners won't be praise worth having.  

[joeydurango]

As we both know, Matt, one has no idea what one is getting into on the CTR or AZTR until one actually goes and does it.  Mentioning interest in something you've heard about and actually doing it are very different.

Nancy, I agree completely.